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Blokes, don’t be afraid of a bit of man grooming

Lucy Kippist

by Lucy Kippist

28 Aug 03:25pm

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Filed under: Anthony Mundine, Grooming, Men, Pedicure, Tony Abbott

30 comments

Here’s the thing about men and pedicures. Actually scrap that, here’s the thing about men and massages, moisturiser, Pilates and yoga classes and manscaping, it’s all totally fine. In fact, it should be encouraged.

Funny looking massage….

It doesn’t mean you’re a lay-about with too much time on your hands, it just means you care about your appearance. Plus, it feels great.

So why do men feel the need to vehemently deny that they dabble in a bit of self-care every now and then. And what makes massages more acceptable than pedicures?

Before Abbott was snapped with his trouser legs rolled up, Anthony Mundine’s doppelganger was spotted getting what look suspiciously like a pedicure.

When asked to comment on the photograph, Mundine firstly denied it was him before adding petulantly, “I don’t get pedicures - that’s girl’s stuff.”

But that’s just ridiculous. With all respect to you Mr Mundine, and Mr Abbott the only thing silly about this whole business is refusing to admit that you’re up for a bit of man grooming in the first place.

As has become quite clear, everyone is doing it.

Follow me on Twitter: @lucyjk

Comments on this post will close at 8pm AEST

Most commented

30 comments

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    • M says:

      03:46pm | 28/08/12

      Come now lucy, you should be perfectly aware of why men don’t admit to it. As soon as they jump up on the metrosexual bandwagon all the women bitch and whine about how they want a rugged man who doesn’t look like a pretty boy, or how they don’t want a boyfriend with a more onerous beauty regime than themselves, or how they don’t want to date a narcisist, or, etc etc etc.

      The moral of the story is never listen to a woman about what she wants in a man.

      Reply

    • Nick says:

      04:41pm | 28/08/12

      It’s a cliche but it’s true…women have no idea what they want…you don’t have to be mean or disrespectful but women much prefer you if you’ve got a bit of mongrel.  For the most part guys start out trying to be nice to women and wondering why they get treated like skunks on heat.  Once they lose respect for woman-kind they get bonks galore and a nice life partner.  I’ve never quite understood it.

    • Douglas says:

      05:27pm | 28/08/12

      I hope we (taxpayers) weren’t paying for Abbott to get this treatment!!

    • Aias says:

      03:54pm | 28/08/12

      Hear ye! Hear ye!

      I am sick to death the of the constant reinforced traditional gender roles in our society. None of us should bat an eye at a man who loves to bake or a woman who loves to rebuild engines.

      Thanks Lucy. I never thought I’d be defending Abbott, but here I am…

      Reply

    • Tator says:

      03:54pm | 28/08/12

      MMMM, I reckon I could do with a good pedicure, nothing like looking after the old toenails, prevention is better than having to cure a ingrown toenail.  BTW enjoy a good massage, need one every week basically to keep moving otherwise after spending up to 40 hours a week driving long distances, my arms and back tend to seize up.  One more thing I have noticed is the resurgence of the Barber shops for men.  Nothing like going in and having the indulgence of having a hair cut and beard trim/shave.

      Reply

    • Scotchfinger says:

      03:58pm | 28/08/12

      Abbott is smiling as he anticipates a ‘happy ending’.
      to the upcoming election, that is!

      Reply

    • Tim says:

      03:59pm | 28/08/12

      Massages can have a happy ending, pedicures can’t.

      Seriously, the only grooming a man needs is some aftershave and deodorant.

      Reply

    • Scotchfinger says:

      04:29pm | 28/08/12

      deodorant?? *rages* you poofter!

    • Macca says:

      04:33pm | 28/08/12

      A haircut every now and then probably wouldn’t go astray, Tim.

    • M says:

      04:54pm | 28/08/12

      Hair product is acceptable.

      Scotch, you’re a terible ocker.

    • VVS says:

      05:21pm | 28/08/12

      @ Scotchfinger

      Deodorant is acceptable if it is in lieu of a shower. They don’t call it a shower in a can for nothing…

    • Tim says:

      05:35pm | 28/08/12

      Scotchy,
      after a long day diggin holes and shearing sheep you need to do something before you take the missus out to dinner at the local RSL.

      Macca, M,
      you don’t need hair products when you keep your hair short for your career as a footy player or fighter.

    • Scotchfinger says:

      05:42pm | 28/08/12

      *grudging* ok VVS, in this instance only, Old Spice deodorant is acceptable.

      M, hurtful comments.

    • Mouse says:

      06:00pm | 28/08/12

      Tim, there is nothing better than having your feet massaged. My job involved being in work boots all day, week in week out. One of my fave things was to have someone massage/exfoliate/moisturise my feet once a month…........ahhhhhhhh bliss! Definitely a happy ending!  :o)

      hahahahahaha Scotchie, are you telling me that you don’t “deodorise”? Please, don’t believe all the hype about women loving the smell of sweaty men, certainly not over a meal anyway! lol ;o)

      M, hair product is aceptable ONLY if it doesn’t leave greasy marks all over clothes. It is a bugga to get out!  lol :o)

    • marley says:

      07:58pm | 28/08/12

      @Tim - you’re young.  When my dad got into his 80s, he was more than happy to go to a foot guy to have his feet massaged and his nails trimmed.  He wished he’d done it sooner.

    • Give Me A Break says:

      03:59pm | 28/08/12

      I wish I was a women so I could tell men all about how to be a better man and all the stuff associated with being a man, like supporting Germaine Greer.

      Reply

    • Scotchfinger says:

      04:39pm | 28/08/12

      I stopped reading after ‘I wish I was a woman’. You have made yourself quite clear.

    • Fiddler says:

      06:20pm | 28/08/12

      I wish I was a woman so I could be a lesbian….. sorry, had to be said

    • andye says:

      06:23pm | 28/08/12

      Germaine Greer… well you certainly have your finger on the pulse.

      I bet a large number of young women have no real idea who she even is.

    • andrew says:

      04:07pm | 28/08/12

      i think the line needs to be drawn somewhere, and for me that is DIY. I can operate a razor / nail clippers / tweezers to a reasonable standard, but i’ll leave the visits to the salon to my girlfriend thanks.

      Reply

    • Troy Flynn says:

      04:59pm | 28/08/12

      It’s a lot cheaper too.

    • Dick says:

      04:17pm | 28/08/12

      I had a pedicure about two years ago (I’m 50). Made a huge difference to the health of my feet. Stopped all the cracking that usually happens in the summer when I go bare-foot at the beach. Should have done it again last year. And a massage is great. I don’t drive for a living like Tator, but spending 40 hours a week in front of a computer screen certainly doesn’t help posture and stiffness in the back and neck.

      Reply

    • Jock says:

      04:53pm | 28/08/12

      Nope, this article is just another example of the feminisation of men being forwarded somehow as a good thing. It isn’t.

      Reply

    • Aias says:

      06:21pm | 28/08/12

      Hey Jock, how is it a bad thing?

    • Yak says:

      06:06pm | 28/08/12

      As stated in another column, I received a manicure & pedicure voucher for Xmas. Highly recommended. Not so much the manicure, but the pedicure was wonderful. It comes with a leg and foot massage. I can’t believe it took me 49 years to discover this pleasure.

      It’s not poofy. It’s not feminisation. It’s just common sense to look after your feet. And if you can get your wife to pay for some young girlie to rub her hands up and down your legs, that’s a win. As long as you have hair on your arse, you can feel confident about your manhood.

      Reply

    • nihonin says:

      06:13pm | 28/08/12

      I’m not of Scottish heritage, so I don’t wear a Kilt, I’m not of the female gender, so I don’t need their assistance or advice in what I wear or whatever I might spray on or how I preen my body.  Free the man….......free the man.

      Reply

    • Audra Blue says:

      06:23pm | 28/08/12

      That woman in the picture should get danger money for touching Abbott’s nasty feet with her bare hands.

      Reply

    • andye says:

      06:39pm | 28/08/12

      I am a male who has paid over $200 for a haircut before. This was met by some small amount of wide eyed confusion by some of the males in my office. Others were like yep, where at? good?

      I grew up in a very Aussie, very anti-intellectual culture in a coastal town. Bikie goatees, f***en being used pretty much in place of commas in conversation, and enunciation is for poofters. I had to learn that gay people were just people by meeting them and becoming friends with them once I escaped. Sharing a house with a gay couple in the 90s in Sydney was a great experience. They knew how to have fun without watching the footy, for one thing. They were just two people in love and I enjoyed their company very much.

      Since escaping my white homophobic cultural heritage I have danced in gay clubs (sure, you get hit on but just explain you are straight, smile and have a boogie with them), got female priced haircuts, dressed in drag (this was pretty amusing), and never been afraid to camp it up for comedy value. Not once have I worried about anyone thinking I was gay. Except if they tried to hit on me, then its just ethical to tell them.

      Why is it that so many guys are SO concerned about appearing feminine? When I do gay it up a bit and some guy throws a mocking comment, it can be rather disconcerting for them when I go along with it. I have also got no small amount of pleasure from suddenly becoming very camp when I come across someone who is being homophobic. This throws them, and I haven’t been punched yet.

      I am a guy with a strong feminine side. Not really metrosexual, just not afraid to show it.

      Maybe I am just weird, though.

      Reply

    • Jacko says:

      06:52pm | 28/08/12

      Hell yeah there is something deeply wrong with a man getting a pedicure, manicure, moisturiser, or anything like that. Even the thought of it is just wrong…massages are fine but none of that other crap.

      Reply

    • Babylon says:

      06:57pm | 28/08/12

      always Abbott for the ridiculing picture, never Gillard.

      Reply
 
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