So my two excommunicated Ateneo-UP combine friends were having a discussion about how our present society is getting to be “soft.” Soft as in there appears to be a trend where the men are not the “men” of yesteryears who are ingrained with the “old-school” DNA of men being “men” in the traditional definition of what a man is or should be.
The 90s saw the emergence of the metrosexual; a man who took care of his looks by being like a woman in terms of use of skin care products, going to the gym for regular workouts and very fastidious when it comes to both his sartorial and physical appearance. This meant going to the barber on a regular basis and getting a manicure, pedicure and facial, which is beyond what a man usually does when he goes to the barber shop.
This was the stark opposite of the “old-school man” extreme who usually wears jewelry, gets a manicure, pedicure and colorless nail polish on his fingernails and toenails, exposes his chest hair by keeping two shirt buttons unbuttoned and adorned with a necklace, bracelet, watch and one or two rings. Pomade or hair gel is optional. Typically a misogynist.
Then came the advent of not only the metrosexual but politically-correct man who is a liberal in most respects. This is the part where it gets complicated with those who do not really identify one hundred percent a man, particularly when it comes to sexual partners, which means he’s either bisexual or non-binary but is more inclined to the female of the species but also gives in to his wild fantasies of same-sex sexual experiences.
The world has certainly gone a long way from the “bakla” and “tomboy” of old. Nowadays the “bakla” has so many variations. There are the trans and cross-dressing varieties. There are those who live with their gender and those who feel more of a woman to have gender-reassignment surgery. The same is true for the “tomboy” of old as well. There are hormone supplements facilitating the transition process and medical technology has also improved by leaps and bounds that it becomes hard to distinguish between what is “original” and what is “modified.”
This reminds me of my first visit to a massage parlor in Bangkok where I was amazed by the number of selections in the “aquarium.” Our Canadian agent who was based in Bangkok for the longest time laughed when I told him “what the fuck Jim, how can there be this many women in one place?” He answered “that’s because they’re not all women dumbass! You gotta be careful with your choice. That’s half the fun!” That was my initiation into the world of ladyboys in Bangkok.
When the two Ateneo-UP excoms get into it in our chat group, I usually watch by the sidelines because my intellectual depth does not run as deep as theirs. This is the result of the hybrid Bedan-La Sallite in me, but I do enjoy the two of them duking it out and thus was born the concept of the manlet in our present society.
➡️Join link: https://www.minetrx.vip/share?code=227149
To be fair, the two did not say that manlets now dominate Philippine society. But in the political context, manlets tend to identify more with the liberal-leftist ideology. Need proof? They are all over social media, particularly Twitter. Alt accounts on the micro-blogging app have content which borders on the R rated but these are par for their kind. Those who like their tweets are mostly personalities who are not out and out gays but you can tell they cannot stop themselves from ogling at Twitter profiles of muscular men who are not necessarily straight either. It is really an interesting phenomenon. Perhaps a student from Ateneo or UP who is majoring in sociology should make it the subject of a thesis or dissertation.
When the excoms got to the point of the origin of the phenomenon, they came to the conclusion that part of it was attributable to the growing feminism among women. Women who belong to the ABC bracket are not following stereotypes anymore. They may consider having a child but not marriage. Motherhood these days is not cheap either. It is hard to get house help even if you can afford it and there is also the issue of balancing a career with motherhood and being a wife. Most modern women shirk from these challenges. They prefer to lead less complicated lives as they also need to cope with the existential crises in their heads.
The same is true with millennial men. They find male companionship easier to handle thus creating that deep bond which may be stimulating the tendency to become gay or bisexuals. Gender confusion is prevalent among millennials and Gen Zers. They are also the pioneering digital natives who grew up outside of the stereotype of past generations who had the experience of playing in the streets of their communities and attended exclusive schools which reinforced the stereotypes then.
It appears that this manlet trend is more prevalent in the ABC bracket than the D and E where the challenging issues are more serious that the focus is on survival rather existential crises of identity. This may be where the traditional “bakla” and “tomboy” still exist as opposed to the new and improved of the same which can be found in the ABC.
It will be interesting to find out if women are still attracted to strong old-school men; specially those who are well-versed in the art of seduction. Nowadays hooking up is anywhere in Facebook Dating, Tinder and even TikTok. It is not like before when you usually are attracted to someone withing the geographical confines of your work environment. No mobile phones so it had to be the landline at the office because not all residential areas had landline service. Courtship involved going out to the movies, dinner or drinks at any of the plethora of watering holes around then. It took time before scoring a home run was possible and that was also the only time that one realized whether or not a relationship was feasible.
But going back to the political context, the other excom did mention that Filipinos prefer a strong leader which is why Duterte won in 2016. Duterte is as old-school man as one can get and while he can be politically-correct out of the need to do so, it is safe to say that his personal views border on misogyny as other politicians of his generation are like Chavit Singson and Erap, to name two of the more prominent and popular womanizers in the country.
Change and death are supposedly the only constants in this world. Other individuals may be gender confused. In my case, I am very confused with the acronyms and the variations. I like to keep it simple being an old-school man who worships at the altar that is the woman.
But then again, that’s just me.
Comments