Now that everthing has become partisan in this increasingly polarized country, William Safire uses his pop-culture/etymology column "On Language" to smear Howard Dean. This is a two step process. Safire's word of the week is "metrosexual". Here is a typical definition found on the web:
Metrosexual: (noun) Of or pertaining to a straight, urban male who is eager to embrace and even show off his feminine side, especially when it comes to expensive haircuts, designer suits, and $40 face cream.
Source:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=metrosexualSounds like a metrosexual has some money to spend (which Dean has) and good grooming habits (personally I think Dean's wardrobe could use a makeover).
First, Safire attributes mostly NEGATIVE connotations to the word, assuming his audience probably has no prior exposure. His source happens to be the guy who coined the word, but the point of Safire's weekly column is that language is alive and changes through popular use - otherwise there wouldn't be much to write about. Safire then cites an instance when Howard Dean identified himself as a metrosexual. Isn't learning about language (and smear tactics) fun?
<snip>
Simpson titled his article ''Here Come the Mirror Men,'' evoking Narcissus of Greek mythology, the young man who pined away staring at his image in a pool and was transformed into the pretty flower that bears his name. Last year, the coiner defined the term in its expanded form: ''The typical metrosexual is a young man with money to spend, living in or within easy reach of a metropolis -- because that's where all the best shops, clubs, gyms and hairdressers are.'' (Metro is based on the Greek for ''mother,'' as in ''mother country,'' and polis means ''city''; a metropolis is a chief city, though metropolitan now includes suburbs. End of tangent.)
Straight or gay? ''He might be officially gay, straight or bisexual,'' Simpson writes, ''but this is utterly immaterial, because he has clearly taken himself as his own love object and pleasure as his sexual preference. Particular professions, such as modeling, waiting tables, media, pop music and, nowadays, sport, seem to attract them.''
The term has been embraced by at least one sports megastar. (A mere superstar is no longer a big deal, as top-billing inflation roars ahead; keep your eye on gigastar.) The celebrity most often associated with the word is David Beckham, captain of Britain's soccer team. The beloved ''Becks'' wears designer clothes off the field, has been seen in sarongs and nail polish and boasts a different hairstyle every week. He is proudly and indisputably a dandy, comfortable with what is called his ''feminine side'' (on the theory that each person's personality contains masculine and feminine characteristics).
Should a political figure interested in reaching out to every group identify himself with the word? Probably not. Speaking at a breakfast in Boulder, Colo., Howard Dean recalled signing a civil-union bill when he was governor of Vermont and said, ''A great many L.G.B.T. groups -- for those of you who are not initiated, that's shorthand for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender groups -- asked me to come speak all around the country.'' On one of those occasions, Dr. Dean was complimented on his appearance. ''There's a term for that,'' he said. ''It's called metrosexual.''
</snip>
I bet Safire has a few nice suits and moisturizes.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/07/magazine/07ONLANGUAGE.htmlOn edit: The Magazine cover story is Dean, so that's a good thing (ABB!).
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/07/magazine/07DEAN.html
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
