Out With The Old, In With The Neosexual

Fads come and go at a surprising rate these days; however it appears the trend of the ideal man has changed once more. It seems just when guys may have a standard to try and adjust to, the trend shifts once more, leaving them in the dark of the ever elusive answer to the life-long question: “What do women want?”

Gone is the desire for the snag, metrosexual, grunge tough guy, or guy’s guy.  The women of today want a man who is sensitive and cares about his appearance, but doesn’t dare spend more time in the bathroom than they do. Sensitivity and sweetness alone doesn’t seem to cut it for all the self-proclaimed softies out there. Women apparently want their cuddly hubby to be a macho-male as well.

To make this new standard even tougher to achieve for men, it’s apparently proclaimed that women want their man to be as tough as James Bond, with the looks of Hugh Jackman, the humour of Jim Carey, and the boyish charm of Zac Effron. At least, that’s what a recent study from a well known deodorant company found.

Sure, the concept is a great one: the guy who will make you laugh at anything and keep you on your toes with excitement and spontaneity; the guy who will sweep you off your feet with the most romantic  gestures; the guy who everyone swoons over but only has eyes for you; the guy who is as tough as they come and not afraid to stand up for who against anybody; all of these wrapped up into one tidy, cleanly, sympathetic and helpful package.

Ladies, I don’t think we’re being too fair on the opposite gender.

For years we’ve fought society’s standards on the perfect woman. From the housewife to the slim Hollywood body, women have fought back against the stereotypes the media has tried to place on them. After all one size does NOT fit all.

I feel bad for the guys trying to figure out what it actually is that women want. The dating game is hard enough after all when you’re fighting just to break down the barriers that so many people have put up to ward off the sleaze.

Maybe, just maybe, this new class of men will strike a perfect combination for millions of women, and help some poor blokes get their act together. But then again, it may also be setting them up for failure as they define themselves by society’s standards instead of staying true to themselves. Going against your own personality and desires is always going to come back and haunt you, regardless of your sex.

So good luck to this new neosexual class of men, maybe one day we’ll learn to follow what our mothers always taught us: be who you are and they will love you. Too bad the media’s mother didn’t hound that one into it.