Male Homoeroticism In The Advertising Campaigns of Dolce ...

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Male Homoeroticism In The Advertising Campaigns of
Dolce & Gabbana, Calvin Klein and Abercrombie & Fitch
determine a metrosexual, all you have to do is look at them. In fact, if you’re
looking at them, they’re almost certainly metrosexual.’ 7
It seems that according to Mark Simpson, David Beckham, a man who has
confirmed to be straight and has indicated that he liked to be admired and didn’t
care whether this admiration was done by women or men, exhibits a good example
for the metrosexual man. 8 Beckham, back in late 1990s and early 2000s, wearing
his wife’s sarongs and panties and having his nails done with pink nail polish,
changing his haircut frequently, showing himself on advertisements and in fashion
spreads seminaked, is indeed a good example.
With the metrosexual defined, or maybe even before, came the skincare
products, cosmetic products marketed directly to men. More men started to attend
hair removal and grooming salons. What metrosexuality began to refer to, from
that point on is actully; ‘the life of a heterosexual man who has taken on more
predominate feminine characteristics, which are stereotypically associated with
homosexuality.’ 9
Via selling the queer style, not only the drawback of being regarded as
homosexual among heterosexual males who craved for being admired was
revomed by a kind of commercial masculinity, but also gay market was extended
with the metrosexual market.
... metrosexuality as deployed on US popular culture assuaged and
managed anxieties relevant to the threat of feminisation and
homosexualisation of men posed by commercial masculinity by
foregrounding and organizing homosociality in strategic ways. 10
Metrosexuality invited the appropriation of feminine and stereotypic gay
aspects of self-presentation styles by heterosexual males and this appropriation of
course, at the end of the day, resulted in lifting the effectiveness of gay consumer.
Thus came the wide acceptance of gay consumer.
Consecutivly, by the help of this commercial masculinity, objectification of the
male body became prevalent in fashion photography, fashion spreads and
advertisement campaigns of most fashion brands. This objectification, especially
in recent years, began to be approached with a homosocial manner, urging
designers, stylists, and photographers to present men in homoerotic mise en scenes
more explicitly.