Meet the metro sexual

You’ve seen them on the streets, places of work or out in the clubs, guys with plaited or treated, shinny- curly hair, studs in the ear, wearing lip glow, donning silky shirts, well manicured fingers, they’re of male gender and are not gay. Meet the “Metro sexual”, this is a term defining a man who spends a huge amount of time and money on his lifestyle, specifically his looks; some people define Metro sexual as “a straight man in touch with his feminine side”.These guys can easily be mistaken for gays, in fact the term ‘metro sexual’, can perfectly describe heterosexual men who have adopted the dress and appearance of gay men. They describe them selves as straight- modern men with taste & style, who know a thing or two about fashion, art, music and other non-macho pursuits.” I managed to corner one of Kigali’s Metro, Marvin Gaju 29 a hair stylist at Kigali Hair Clinic. Greeted first by his heavy cologne, he thrust his well manicured hand for a hand shake, his long jet black hair steered away from his immaculate clear face in a pony tail. “Yes, I’m a metro sexual; and I’m not ashamed of it, I don’t see anything wrong with taking proper care of my body. My looks, clothes and general appearance matter to me. Although my looks at times send wrong signals, this does not bother me. I’m not gay, so I don’t care what people say.” With a shrug he said. It’s not wrong for men to go for manicure, pedicure, a fresh haircut or wear a cologne, even stealing a glance in the mirror is acceptable in the male world. But why would a man strive to look and behave more feminine than a woman? Okay, let’s say there’s nothing wrong with a man having 20 pairs of shoes, silk shirts of all colours and owning just as many watches and half a dozen of sun shades, but isn’t it a little queer for a man to carry a purse(male bag) or paint his fingernails? I don’t know about you, but I strongly believe here in Rwanda, men are supposed to dress and act like real- men! Normal, straight heterosexual masculine and macho. Though it may sound a little harsh calling our brothers ‘gender-confused individuals’, else I don’t see the point of dressing, acting, and looking gay if they’re not. My old man before he met his maker used to say, if it looks like a dog, walks like a dog, and barks like a dog, it’s definitely a dog. If you’re a man, act like one; if you’re a lady behave like one. Real men out there If lately you’ve acquired the habit of applying more than one product in your hair, borrow hair or skin products from the woman in your life, jump off the metro bus, chances are it’s heading to metro land! martin.bishop18@yahoo.com