WHATMAKESAMAN IN FASHION TODAY?

What makes a man?

This question was the starting point for a recent issue of Vestoj, the journal I edit and publish. I called it ‘On Masculinities’, since today it seems more apt to use the plural, to underscore the many ways in which one can be a man, or become one. What we’ve thought of as ‘masculine’ has changed considerably during different historical periods and inside different cultures, and the social position of masculinity has helped shape not just the gender order by which we continue to define ourselves, but also a hierarchy of masculinities that encourages certain ways of being a man over others.

With this in mind, a term like ‘diversity’ is fraught. How to be the ‘right’ kind of man is a battleground for many, and some might say that when it comes to manhood, man is warden and prisoner alike. Hegemonic masculinity stipulates how to act, dress and talk ‘like a man,’ and men who don’t want to risk being shunned have to position themselves in relation to it. Redefining this masculine ideal, and the power, legitimacy and privilege that goes along with it, takes time and concerted effort.

Lately there have been cries about masculinity ‘in crisis’ and the emergence of a ‘new man’ – an idea that the fashion industry in particular has been quick to capitalise on. What should this new man wear? In a shifting landscape where masculinity is being supplanted by masculinities, surely another, more diverse, wardrobe is being called for? But while men try on pussy-bow blouses sceptics point out that the catalyst for this plethora of new looks might be more closely related to the ever-increasing commodification of everyday life than it is to any kind of new man. After all, fashion in capitalist culture is primarily about promoting an unattainable ideal – as it turns out, fanning feelings of inadequacy is still the most effective way to get us to spend more.