Boys and Mansome - Blog 6

         One connection I saw between the Mansome video and the Boys Will Be Boys by Guy Garcia was their similar focus on hair and how it defines a man. The Mansome video made it clear that a good haircut is important to a man because it not only affects his outlook on himself, but other people's outlooks on him. The reading tells us that the hair, for some men, is a way to express their sexuality. This focus on hair comes to light with the higher acceptance of gay culture in today's society. The video tells us that the affect of a higher focus on hair is caused by courtship and possibly job orientation. These connections may not be completely direct with one another, but we definitely are able to see overlapping themes of culture and self-image between the two pieces.
       Another connection I saw between the two sources was their perspectives on masculinity. The text tells us, "Masculine style has become flexible, fungible, and negotiable, reflecting the lack of
consensus in male consciousness." This, I believe is the result of the changing climate around the term
the broadening accepted view of men's image. The video never gives a concise answer, but portrays their
view of it being a open playing field based on people's perspectives.
One last connection I saw was the focus on defining metrosexual. In the video, we see this interesting
character, Ricky Manchada. He gives us the perfect example of a metro-sexual highly driven to mold his
self-image because it is a vital part of his life. The writing tells us that metrosexuality is a man's excessive
use of clothing and other appearance items to showcase themselves in a "positive" way. That "positive"
being achieved through their vanity and ideas of beauty derived from popular culture. These prefixes on
male identities has made variability common for young consumer-men.

conscious