Male Nail Polish: Nay or Hooray?
You can say these are made for men, but they look suspiciously like polish seen on plenty of women
J. Crew’s Jenna Lyons caused a big stink earlier this year when she was featured in an ad painting her son’s toes pink (and then again recently when it turns out she might have left her husband for a woman). Would it have been any better for any reason if she’d used nail polish on her son that was made just for men instead?
That seems to be what a brand called Evolution Man is banking on. It’s a new nail polish that’s marketed towards men, available in “masculine” colors like Pavement, Alter Ego and Stand Out, according to The Huffington Post.
No matter that all of the colors look suspiciously like polish seen in many a salon for women, and on many of the toes and fingers attached to women. Because these polishes are really like “new car finishes,” according to the manufacturer of the polish. And cars are men-things, right?
Of course Jenna Lyons’ son isn’t the first guy to don nail polish. Über-heteros Johnny Depp, David Beckham and Prince Harry have all been spotted with painted nails.
But are mainstream men really going to go out en masse and paint their nails now just because they have a line of polishes that’s made just for them? Is this any different than deodorant marketed towards men that would work just as effectively on women but is packaged in gunmetal gray? Is it going to start a revolution in male beauty products? Will it turn men gay if they wear it, as some right-wingers suspected will be the case with Jenna Lyons’ son (I’m talking to you, Keith Ablow)? Or is this just a silly little novelty item that will leave the market as quickly as it entered?
Would you buy this polish for the man in your life? Or are his nails just fine they way they are — unpolished and half-eaten, thankyouverymuch?
My husband did this in college, I think…but it strikes me as odd that a grown-up man with a real job, kids and a life would spend time on something so frivolous. To me, part of the appeal of a man is that he is too serious and has too much important stuff to do to worry about such preening.
Nay. I want my man to be a man… if I wanted a woman… I’d be with a woman.
I would love it if my husband used nail polish, but I could never get him to. My son, however, adores it.
Mixed feelings. One the one hand, I’ll say that I think there should be room in American “male culture” for some flavor and color. We’re really very restrictive, and I think that might even take some of the fun out of life. I mean, why should I not be able to enjoy a pina colada without raising eyebrows? Having a penis and liking women doesn’t cause my senses to operate differently.
That said, I also value being free from fretting things like fingernails and, so, I would want to discourage other men adopting the practice of polishing nails.
I shouldn’t have to, though. This attempt to broaden the market for cosmetics is likely doomed at the start.
Before we got married, my husband used to wear black or blue nail polish on occasion, and also had a few facial piercings. Now that he’s a mental health professional he doesn’t feel comfortable wearing either anymore, but I find it attractive.
I think nail polish is fun and don’t see why it should be only for females. I also think the men who are wearing nail polish probably don’t care if it’s sold in a manly looking bottle. The men who would care probably wouldn’t wear nail polish.
It would be nice if my kids could grow up seeing things like this as optional frivolity for anyone, male or female.
What I find most amusing is the rather stupid comments about manly men. What does that mean? That girls in no make up ate not girls? Just means those who think this way are well into what society tells them what they should think.
Anybody should be able to do whatever they want as long as it doesn’t hurt anybody else. It’s all about appropriateness imo so that I don’t wear glitter over the top color for a job interview, or even at work as that’s for the clubs. Bright red on my toes, why not. I can choose where and when I show it, even if I never do.