ABSTRACT
The term has developed into a way of explaining modern men who invest time and money improving their personal appearance and style through the purchasing of a number of consumer goods and cosmetics (Flocker, 2003; Hall, Gough & Seymour-Smith, 2012). Accordingly, Clayton and Harris (2009, p. 134) explain that metrosexual men “indulge in daily routines that might previously have been labelled effeminate, such as grooming and dressing for style.” Coad (2008) documents how the media has become supportive of this process, arguing that there exists less cultural coercion for men to conform to one archetype of masculinity. Football arguably provides the biggest hotbed for sporting metrosexuality, as Coad (2005, p. 126) comments: “Fashionable footballers and the ensuing discussions about gender and sexual identity are in fact the most visible manifestations of the metrosexual movement.” While footballers such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Freddie Ljungberg provide high-profile examples (Coad, 2008; Hall & Gough, 2011), it is David Beckham who represents a true “poster-boy” for metrosexuality (Clayton & Harris, 2009, p. 135). Cashmore and Parker (2003, p. 224) argue that Beckham epitomizes the sporting metrosexual because his “complex and contradictory identity suggests that there is more room for more than one version of masculine construction.” Clayton and Harris (2009, p. 135) add: “His ever-changing hairstyle and his courageous fashion choices . . . such advancements have now developed into a full-blown metrosexual tornado.” The changing nature of masculinity in Britain is highlighted by the acceptance of metrosexual behaviors. In 1998, David Beckham was photographed and pilloried in tabloid newspapers for wearing a sarong (Adams, 2011; Harris & Clayton, 2007), as Western traditions dictate that undivided below-waist clothes are associated with femininity (Cashmore, 2004). The attempted emasculation was unsuccessful, and Harris and Clayton (2007) suggest this instigated the dawn of a transformation of male footballing identity in the UK. Beckham’s performance of this metrosexual masculinity challenged the strong sense of working-class masculinity associated with football (Parker, 2001; Russell, 1997; Walvin, 1994). After the earlier efforts of the media to subvert Beckham’s presentation of a divergent, metrosexual form of masculinity, and to re(emphasize) hegemonic forms of masculinity-described as Clayton and Harris (2009, p. 136) as “retrosexuality”—they changed tack. This was best exemplified in 2003 when The Sun described Beckham as “the perfect role model for every generation . . . a glamorous, handsome fashion icon,” which stood in stark contrast to previous representations.
