"I visit beauty salons at least twice a week. The most common cosmetic services I do are facial treatments, eyebrow plucking, peeling. As for cosmetics, I use Gotje and Kelvin Klein men's cosmetics. In the evening, I use blush for men, colorless lip gloss. I spend on makeup a lot of money, especially for the man I order from abroad," Sergej Damjanović, a metrosexual from Podgorica, begins his story for "Vijesti".
Speaking about his need for beautification, he states that it originates from the period of his earliest childhood.
He believes that this need is not innate to him, as much as he is used to it.
When it comes to looks, he says his role model is singer Robbie Williams.
When it comes to style, he appreciates Jelena Karleusa, although, he emphasizes, he is not a fan of her music.
"Despite atI don't look back on the pain and insults that I experienced before. I have had a girlfriend for nine months. I simply consider myself different from others. I can walk in the world, unlike others who have primitive thoughts," says Sergey.
According to Montenegrin beauticians, the number of men visiting beauty salons is growing rapidly day by day.
A beautician from one of the salons in Nikšić, who wished to remain anonymous, says that as many as 40 percent of customers are men, and that they most often do waxing and facial treatments.
Beautician Tanja Dobrović from Podgorica says that she herself is surprised by the number of men who seek cosmetic services.
Just one of the possible models of the identity of a modern man
Commenting on the increasing number of metrosexuals in Montenegro, anthropologist Assoc. Dr. Lidija Vujačić says that in Montenegro, as everywhere in the world, cultural attitudes towards the concept of masculinity, as well as towards femininity, are changing more and more intensively.
"Metrosexuality is, in fact, only one of the possible models of the identity of a modern man. And the fact is that identity, especially in the XNUMXst century for both men and women, is a changing category and is more and more simplistically equated with image, fashion, a certain lifestyle, etc. ", says Vujacic.
He believes that, although Montenegro is still considered a traditional society, it is no longer so according to many parameters.
"As a part of the global community, it shares the current values of mass culture, adopts a new, so-called culture of needs, strives towards the aesthetic and value standards of the consumer society," Vujačić believes.
He says that in such an environment we have a plurality of identities, so even modern men can "choose" between several "models" of masculinity.
"In this context, we still have the traditional homo balcanicus (or retrosexual) who refuses to care about his appearance, the metrosexual who is extremely devoted to his appearance and, let's say, as theorists like to say, the ubersexual who is devoted to improving both his physical and intellectual beings," states Vujacic.
Rejecting traditionalist notions of masculinity
She states that in practice the boundary between several different types of male identity has never been so clearly drawn, just as other socio-cultural patterns in society are not so simplified.
"The bottom line, especially when it comes to a metrosexual, is that he rejects traditionalist notions of masculinity and does not agree to the limited roles of men and women that patriarchal society has intended for them. Therefore, traditional society simply concludes that a metrosexual is always a "feminized" man, which is again the consequence of stereotypes about certain "male" and "female" behavior, appearance, etc., although we know that gender roles are only a cultural pattern, unlike gender roles, which are immutable," says Vujačić.
In the distant past, women's appearance was only a pale image of male splendor
Vujacic states that, if this phenomenon is analyzed throughout history, it can be seen that, especially in the distant past, men took much more care of their appearance, and judging by some external rappers.
"Among other things, men usually wore more expensive suits, jewelry, hairstyles, and even make-up, and were, in general, visually more "striking" than women (say, if we were to take a cursory look at pictures of medieval men dressed in elaborate costumes, leggings , robes of striking colors, expensive and heavy jewelry, then they would see that the female appearance is only a pale image of the male splendor," says Vujačić.
She states that, in a historical sense, only since the 18th century, since the French and industrial revolutions, things change and then men jump into a simple suit, and women give themselves a break and "complicate" their appearance.
"Thus, in modern society, women's fashion and cosmetics are much more substantial and change much faster, and hence everything related to appearance, somehow, according to the pattern, people classify it in the "female" sphere. Therefore, metrosexuality can, in a way, be interpreted as as a response of (aesthetically conscious) men to these changes," says Vujačić.
He notes that we cannot ignore the fact that it is immanent to human nature, both male and female, to improve themselves aesthetically, they show others through a dose of narcissism, i.e. (self) likability.
"On the other hand, metrosexuality is to a significant degree also a consequence of consumer culture and media "propaganda" dictated by the fashion and cosmetics industry, of course, from their extremely practical, i.e. commercial motives," says Vujačić.
The need for the beautiful in human nature
The head of the psychology department at the Faculty of Philosophy in Nikšić, Milorad Simunović, believes that men's need for beautification hides the same type of need as women.
"We want to present ourselves as morally good and aesthetically acceptable. Since women are in aesthetic competition, so must men. This can be explained in terms of evolution in which the struggle for survival triggers the struggle for prestige and affection of the partner. All in all, it's a fight for a good look," says Simunović.
He points out that the need for beautification is not related to homosexuality, stating that each subculture has its own distinguishing mark.
"However, the mere fact that someone is inclined to beautify and uses cosmetics is not a sign of homosexuality," says Simunović.
An urban man with a sense of aesthetics
The term "metrosexual" (the term "metro" represents a metropolis as a rich enough environment in terms of fashion, beauty salons and sports centers) was coined by the British journalist Mark Simpson in 1994.
By definition, it is an urban man, of any sexual orientation, who has a strong sense of aesthetics and who spends a lot of time and money on his appearance and lifestyle.
Most often, a metrosexual compares his appearance to men like David Beckham or Brad Pitt.
The common feature for all of them is the ideal man - muscular and in good shape, in excellent health, successful in his career and in seducing girls.
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