”Today it is all right to look like you are doing something with your appearance also when you are a guy”
Cosmetically modified masculinity between possibilities and pressures
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7146/kkf.v35i1.133896Keywords:
Cosmetic treatments, Botox, Masculinity, Qualitative Interviews, Affect, ResepctabilityAbstract
The market for non-invasive cosmetic treatments for men has experienced a significant growth in the recent years. The article contributes to the discussion on masculinity and appearance with new empirical data from Denmark, where the male body is increasingly emerging as cosmetically modified in the media. In the article, we explore how cosmetic bodywork influence on men’s experiences and perceptions in relation to masculinity, appearance, and ageing, based on qualitative interviews with Danish men aged 27-63 who regularly use cosmetic treatments. We apply affect theory to frame our analysis of the men’s narrative accounts. We argue that the men who use cosmetic treatments experience both an increasing acceptance of cosmetic bodywork for men and feel happy about their cosmetically modified appearances. Their experiences are, however, marked by ambiguity, as the men also experience an increasing pressure to work on their appearance and hide the signs of ageing and several of the interviewees described feeling addicted to the cosmetic treatments. We highlight ‘the natural’ as a dominating ideal for correct and respectable self-presentation in the Danish context.
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