Category Archives: retrosexual

Use Our Straight Acting Cosmetics — Or Everyone Will Know You’re a Drag Queen

A well-executed, very funny Brazilian ad from Ogilvy & Mather for Dove Men + Care shampoo that is bound to go viral (translated here). And ads that send up the absurdity of other ads often are very funny. But when an ad does, the absurdity that it’s usually frantically trying to distract you from its own. …

March 21, 2013 – 1:16 pm | By Mark Simpson | Posted in advertising, metrosexual, retrosexual | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (4)

Retrosexuality isn’t what it used to be

My attention was recently drawn by a concerned member of the browsing public to a piece on Salon.com, ‘Retrosexuals: The latest lame macho catchphrase’ by Aaron Traister, entertainingly lambasting the ‘new’ retrosexual trend: I woke up this morning to discover my local paper, the Philadelphia Inquirer, peddling a story about America’s new favorite model of …

April 10, 2010 – 11:41 am | By Mark Simpson | Posted in commentary, metrosexual, retrosexual | Tagged , , , | Comments (15)

The Metrosexual Noughties

Amidst the swathe of drearily predictable ‘decade  in review’ pieces that appeared at the end of December this one by Amanda Hess at The Sexist stood out as one which actually managed to offer some observational cultural insight, rather than just recycled cuttings and cliches: Think boys are simply born into their masculine gender role? …

January 7, 2010 – 7:11 pm | By Mark Simpson | Posted in commentary, masculinity, metrosexual, retrosexual | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (24)

Epic Illusions and Metrowarriors

Achilles, Alexander, Jason, Odysseus — the fabulous scrapping, rutting warriors of the Ancient World fulfil every boy’s own fantasy. Now, says Mark Simpson, Oliver Stone’s spayed movie ‘Alexander’ and the recent crop of ‘epics’ confirms that Hollywood has abolished heroes — past and present. (Originally appeared Independent on Sunday, 19 December 2004) For some, the …

September 5, 2008 – 11:55 am | By Mark Simpson | Posted in commentary, metrosexual, popular culture, retrosexual, sex | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (12)

Duckie Goes Retrosexual

Ever with its middle finger on the cultural pulse, this year, Gay Shame, the Duckie collective’s artsy alternative to the pink poppered-up roller-skating jollity of Gay Pride, has this year decided to go retrosexual. But unlike the mainstream appropriation of retrosexuality — e.g. those tiresome cloney beards all men, straight and gay, have to accessorise …

July 4, 2008 – 11:59 am | By Mark Simpson | Posted in commentary, masculinity, retrosexual | Tagged , , | Comments Off

Transexy Time!

  Mark Simpson on why we’re all going transsexual — but without the balls to actually change sex    (Out magazine, March 2008)   How do you turn a penis into a vagina? It’s not as difficult from a medical point of view as you might think. Yes, it involves some rather delicate major surgery and the …

March 25, 2008 – 4:19 pm | By Mark Simpson | Posted in article, journalism, metrosexual, retrosexual | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (3)

The Sun newspaper: Retro or Metro?

So, Cilla, which of our lovely lads is the public going to plump for? Will it be ‘Dave’ the retrosexual PE teacher from Liverpool with a pint, who only uses aftershave his mum bought him for Christmas ‘on special occasions’ (but seems to be rather fond of hair product)? Or will it be ‘Joe’ the metrosexual …

February 20, 2008 – 4:12 pm | By Mark Simpson | Posted in commentary, masculinity, metrosexual, retrosexual | Tagged , , , | Comments (3)

From Metro to Sporno: Mark Simpson interviewed in Greek National newspaper Eleftherotypia

Interviewed by Spyros Chatzigiannis in the Greek national newspaper Eleftherotypia (18 Nov, 2007, Edited) SC: What inspired you to come up with the term ‘metrosexual’ back in 1994? Was it the outcome of an obsession? You have said in the past that your writing is based on your own obsessions… MS: Well, I’d obviously spent …

December 17, 2007 – 7:08 pm | By Mark Simpson | Posted in interview with Mark Simpson, metrosexual, retrosexual | Tagged , | Comments (7)

I Wanna Hold Your Hand: Touchy-Feely Footballers

By Mark Simpson (Guardian CIF, 30/11/07) In an age of broadband hardcore it’s rather sweet to discover that men are still so easily aroused. At least, that is, football fans and tabloid journalists. A little innocent hand-holding by Liverpool FC during a team-building training session before their crucial Champions League match with Porto worked the …

November 30, 2007 – 6:13 pm | By Mark Simpson | Posted in metrosexual, retrosexual, sport | Tagged , , , , | Comments (1)

Retrosexual Underwear

Dutch men’s underwear company JBS are really kinky. At first glimpse it seems they’re marketing themselves as the anti-metrosexual underwear brand: it features no gorgeous male models with abs and bulging packets filling out their products and provoking the lust/envy/anxiety of the male consumer. Instead there are pictures of hot porno babes in various states …

October 7, 2007 – 1:49 pm | By Mark Simpson | Posted in fashion, retrosexual | Tagged , , | Comments (1)