Masculine beauty
The previous
historic retrospect one may give the impression that descriptions of beauty
have mostly dealt with womens appearance. This is more than likely due to
the fact that most artists and writers were men. With the emancipation of
women during the 20th century increased interest has been focused on the
male body and appearance.
However, its a mistake
to believe that men, from a historical perspective, were uninterested in
their appearance or in fashion. Although the term beauty isn’t often used,
concepts like attractiveness and good grooming have been common in the description
of men. Even from early writings it’s obvious that the male has been very
interested in his appearance.
Egyptian men were very conscious of their clothing. They liked to wear jewelry
and beautified themselves with charcoal around the eyes.
But it’s still the ancient Greeks who were most interested in male beauty.
In fact, the Greeks focused more interest on the man’s appearance than on
the woman’s. To them the appearance of the body and the person’s psyche
were strongly entwined, and equal appreciation was given to a man’s psychological
and physical
qualities. Greek culture was also very body-oriented,
and nudity was not something that embarrassed the Greeks. Sports were often
carried out in the nude. The Greeks zealously trained their bodies, as the
ideal body measurement of the day required much physical training. During
the Renaissance, when the ancient Greek ideals were revived, much time was
spent discussing body proportions. As earlier mentioned, the criteria for
female beauty were described in detail, but we dont have similar descriptions
for male beauty. Michelangelo (1457-1564) was a Renaissance man who was fascinated
by the male body and its beauty. It has been suggested that Michelangelo’s
passion for the male body probably reflected his sexual preferences but that
these only found expression in his art.
The men of the Renaissance were manifestly interested in clothing and went
to great lengths in choosing materials and in decorating themselves with jewelry.
During the Elizabethan era homosexuality became more obvious. Androgynous,
beautiful young boys frequently appeared in literature. It’s been speculated
that William Shakespeare (1564-1616) had an inclination towards male beauty,
something the Irish poet Oscar Wilde claimed.
In the middle of the 18th century there were groups of men who had an exaggerated
interest in their appearance. The men of the Macaroni Club in London used
corsets to emphasize the waist and cosmetics were an important part of their
image. The cheeks were made red with rouge, as were the palms of the hands.
A Macaroni man wore a wig with long curls. They tried to emulate Casanova
and viewed themselves as the connoisseurs of style and class. Their obsession
with the opposite sex had an air of the ridiculous.
