Are men in Korea overly feminine?

First and foremost I gotta say I think we are doing a great disservice to men when we say they are dressing feminine.. though I like the question. Traditionally we come from cultures where the roles of men and women were extremely different. Girls wore dresses all the time and guys were expected to work outside in the dirt. Women cooked and cared for the children and stayed at home. Men provided for the family.

While this does still exist, we believe this is a bad representation of modern gender roles. I understand some people are going to disagree with me here, but freedom to express oneself has never been more important in society and cultures around the world.

The first time I learned about guys wearing makeup is when I started dating one of my co-workers in university, and once I got close enough realized that he wore makeup….. to hide a really bad acne problem. That was my first experience with a guy being metrosexual.

Hear me out. Women around the world care so much about our appearance. I don’t know any girl out there who doesn’t mind a bit of arm candy to be with. Just like any guy likes a good looking girl, most women like their men to look good too. That isn’t to say they can’t be ultra-manly. Some of the more metrosexual men that I’ve known have also been some of the greatest and manliest men that I’ve ever known.

It makes me think back to even the difference between my father and my grandfather’s generation. For example, when my father left for the military (before I was even born), nobody even saw him off because he had t be tough and ‘be a man’. He was just doing his duty. But when my brother left to go t the military, we were all there and I distinctly remember my father giving my brother a huge bear hug and allowing himself to cry.

I think we put too much pressure on guys to be ultra manly. I think about it as nowadays, girls are allowed to wear whatever they want, wear makeup or not wear makeup, wear pants, wear a skirt, wear a tie even. I have ridiculously short hair and I hate skirts. But that same thing by some is considered taboo if guys want to care about their appearance or don’t feel like they want to fit in with the hyper-masculine, macho look. I mean, we label these guys as being feminine or gay. And while some very well may be, it doesn’t mean its across the board. Just like because I like to wear pants and have short hair doesn’t make me a full on lesbian.

Humans vary across the spectrum, especially in this day and age where there aren’t set gender roles in occupations. There should be more leniency all around. This is just another one of those things that is going to take time to become accepted. Besides, look at the smexy men of the Renaissance. Casanova himself was into the arts, wore makeup and dressed lavishly. We should all try to let everyone be who they want to be without fear of being negatively judged.

Have a question for Richard and I about Korea? Drop it in the comments below and we’d love to answer it for you in a video! ☺ Thanks for all your support in 2013 and here’s hoping 2014 is an even better year for everyone!