Tuesday 21 August 2012

Tough men in flip flops? Epicene-macho defined

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For a few years I have notice a particular style: tough-posing young men, stripped to the waist with well-defined muscles (due to weight training and steroid use) striding around the big city wearing shorts and flip-flops...

(Flip-flops are those rubber sandals held on by a pillar between the big toe and the index toe - Australians call them 'thongs'.)

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This fashion was initially affected by upper-middle class young men, primarily sporty or Jock types who play rugby football, do vigorous athletics, or ski/ snowboard or something of that ilk. 

But the posing torsos and thongs now seem to have spread to more working class would-be hard-men.

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Tough guys in flip-flops!?

Hard men with drug-sculpted muscles!?

Ahem.

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This is epicene-hardness. This is non-macho masculinity.

This is Hollywood/ Comic Book tough-guy.

This is a girl's idea of the a man of action - a mobile, jointed, pussy-footing mannequin.  

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What can be hoped-for from such stuffed-shirtless? 

Can a nation be defended against the forces of evil by young men in flip-flops?

To ask is to answer.




7 comments:

JP said...

On the plus side, those guys put their shirts on when they attend my church. Adding a tee shirt to the shorts and flip-flips ensemble indicates their respect for the institution and how seriously and solemnly they view the ceremony.

dearieme said...

Three years ago I was in shorts and sandals when I got off my bike. A nasty-looking dog started barking and, I thought, menacing me. I glared at it and its owner said that he had it under control. "Just as well" I said "or I'd have killed it." My God, he leapt. Had I de-epicened my machoness?

Bruce Charlton said...

@d - I've seen a photo of you - 'epicene' was not a word that sprang to mind.

dearieme said...

What, "epicene" doesn't mean fat old man?

Bruce Charlton said...

@d - I would have said 'burly'.

dearieme said...

"I would have said 'burly'": that might confuse your American readers, who may remember when 'burly' was rather a code word.

And once I was slim.

Bruce Charlton said...

@d - The word, for me, is always associated with Enid Blyton's descriptions.