raju The Physical Barrier
Inexplicably (and some might say obnoxiously, as well) the beauty industry doesn’t want to admit that masculine men are…men. That’s why they’ve expanded so many resources to establish a stronghold in traditional beauty venues that cater to women. Such as those rows of gleaming department store “beauty counters” – and they aren’t going to change that setup in order to make the shopping experience more comfortable and inviting to masculine men.
Drug stores and discount retailers aren’t much better. While they don’t have the department stores’ ever-present glossy “beauty consultants” hovering around, the men’s section (if there is one at all) offers paltry few options – most if not all of which are what the beauty industry considers to be basic skincare and “low-end” anti-aging products. For men who are determined to find more advanced skincare and anti-aging products – even if it meant braving the women’s section, they are faced with multiple aisles and a dizzying array of skincare products, each with its own set of hyperbolic claims – making shopping for the right products and making sense of them all, frustrating, to say the least.
Basically, as far as the beauty industry is concerned, if masculine men want to take care of their face and want the best products to do it, not because they’ve responded to the female sensitivity training and want to look “pretty”, but so that they can gain a competitive advantage and maintain a more youthful and vibrant appearance…well, that’s just too bad for them! Masculine men either take what the traditional beauty shopping experience offers, or leave it. And to no one’s surprise, they’re leaving it.
The Psychological Barrier
Because the beauty industry is doing such a horrendous job of reaching men, naturally – they’re doing just as bad a job educating men about the need, value and proper use of men’s skincare products. And that ongoing ignorance – which is the fault of the beauty industry – perpetuates the stereotype and stigma attached to a man’s use of skincare and anti-aging products.
We all know what that stereotype is: beauty and anything related to its maintenance is an exclusively feminine ritual – and any man who uses such products is somehow less of a man. In other words, the stereotype emasculates men. This alone is enough to prevent masculine men from going anywhere near so-called “beauty products” in the first place.
And the tiny portion of masculine men who do break this barrier, because they care about their appearance, are forced to hide this fact – because they’ll be mocked by their peers, and all too often, their girlfriends or wives are under strict orders never to divulge this closely guarded secret.
So What’s Behind These Barriers?
As alluded to above, the force that keeps these barriers in place, the force that alienates, emasculates and insults masculine men – is the beauty industry’s position that there’s just no need to pay attention to masculine men, because 70% of men’s skin care products are purchased by women anyway. And so they simply use everything they’ve learned from their women’s lines, from product to marketing, as a blueprint for reaching men. After all, if a woman like what she sees, she’ll buy it and take it home to the man.
So that means the packaging, the marketing, and everything else in-between is geared toward women. Men aren’t really on the radar screen any more. They aren’t that important, now that the beauty industry has decided that the more effective and fastest way to get through to men, is by sneaking around his back to the women in his life. You know how it is – convince her that he needs it and thereby get her to do the beauty industry’s bidding (or nagging) for them.
Is this contemptuous of men? Utterly! Is this disrespectful to men? Entirely! Is this necessary? Absolutely Not!
