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(2015) Metrosexual masculinities, Dordrecht, Springer.
It seems many men continue to be obsessed with their penis and especially its size and look. Two thirds of men in a recent UK study (Veale et al., 2013) reported some dissatisfaction with their genitals. Arguably much of this anxiety is perpetuated by the media and marketeers, but may also follow more general trends in male body-image consciousness (Flowers et al., 2013; Grogan, 2010). Marketeers have been quick to offer both surgical and non-surgical remedies to help change the size, shape and image of the penis, especially online. Stepping aside from more traditional scholarly foci on culture (Lehman, 2006), media (Lehman, 2007) and social (Davison, 2000) and personal relationship issues (Lever et al., 2006), I focus instead on how men account for pubic hair shaving to enhance image. I discursively analysis online electronic talk in response to an advert promoting male groin grooming showing the complex ways in which men discursively negotiate their interest in this non-typical gender practice. The analysis shows the way in which charges of vanity are swept under the carpet in favour of heterosexual pleasure, cleanliness, self-respect and individuality. The implications for understanding traditional and contemporary masculinities are also discussed.
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Full citation:
Hall, M. (2015). It's what women want: groin shaving, in Metrosexual masculinities, Dordrecht, Springer, pp. 104-118.
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