Gay straight men aka Yuffies
February 7, 2012 03:48
Carrie: The gay straight man was a new strain of heterosexual males spawned in Manhattan as a result of overexposure to fashion, exotic cuisine, musical theater, and antique furniture.
Samantha: Well, hopefully he’s a gay straight man, which means he’s straight, with a lot of great gay qualities.
Charlotte: I am so confused, is he gay or is he straight?
Carrie: Well it’s not that simple anymore, the real question is, is he a straight gay man or is he a gay straight man?
- From Sex and the City season 1, 1998
Today, almost 15 years later, women all over the world are still asking themselves the same question. Forget the Metrosexual, that is so 2002, I call this the revival of Bateman (the fictional character of Bret Easton Ellis American Psycho) but without the split personality disorder. It’s February 2012, all those Champagne bubbles from December’s parties have barely left your body, and we shouldn’t even mention that gym membership you still haven’t signed up for. You wake up to get ready in the morning only to be pushed away by your male partner. What he’s fighting for? The mirror. It’s 2012 and the men of today are not only caring more about their looks but also what specific beauty products they’re using for their skin and hair (organic, aloe vera and paraben-free of course). It’s not just the wardrobe, shoe closet, or bathroom space today’s men are fighting for. Women are loosing space on a daily basis – not only in front of the mirror, in the shops (menswear shops such as Trunk Clothiers in London and MrPorter.com have quickly gained popularity), or on streetstyle blogs, but also on front row of the Fashion Weeks.
Should we be worried?
The recession of the 21st century has made the aspire-to-be-Gordon-Gekkos of the world to close their eyes and ears to the years of crisis laying ahead of us. Perhaps they are seeing more interesting things in the fashion horizon. Leave the Yuppies back in the 80′s together with Cher and Culture Club, 2012 is the year of the Young Urban Fashion Flock, Yuffies, these young men are not only working hard for the money to gain attention from beautiful women through conspicuous consumption but for the gaze of other men through their perfect soft skin, pretty cashmere scarves and polka dotted bow-ties. Think Oscar Wilde goes Kanye West. The greed for women has changed to the greed for the latest fashion collaboration – not only does the Yuffies of 2012 want to be first with new products, they want to be innovators and trendsetters. Heterosexual men are taking front row seats on the fashion weeks of Milan and Paris and the menswear shows are gaining a vast amount of visitors from press and buyers. The recent Pitti Uomo tradeshow in Florence saw well dressed men walking up and down outside the Palazzo Corsini competing for the most flashes by street style photographers.
We’re seeing a new modern dandy growing out. Regardless of sexuality, he is best described as a man about town and a gentleman with (hopefully) refined manners and elegant clothes. He follows his own trends in fashion, try to produce the unexpected but finds his inspiration from many things.
Dear Yuffies I embrace you with open arms. However, In this war of space and vanity, until you’ll start wearing 6-inch heels, don’t you dare coming near our sacred shoe closets – the rest we can lovingly share, but also remember this means you need to book in those regular waxing appointments as well, after all I thought 2012 meant equality on every level?
Photos above: Tommy Ton for GQ.com
