There has been a new man in my life for three months. He loves foot massages and a meatless diet , goes to yoga with me and relaxes to classical music. This makes Henri a trendsetter, even if he doesn’t realize it: after all, my little son doesn’t even know how to reach for a rattle.
However, it is also men beyond infancy who have surprised their wives with irritating behavior in recent years. It’s irritating because we’re so familiar with it: we women have been doing these things for a long time. And men used to do it, if at all, in secret.
Twenty years ago, my mother suspected her life companion of stealing her expensive French night creams in the bathroom. Tempi passati. The men we meet in our bathrooms and gyms these days display their cosmetic trophy collection over the sink as openly as their grandfathers displayed elk antlers over the hunting lodge door. In the steakhouse they order the lamb’s lettuce – but please without the bacon bits! – and they know their BMI better than the DAX. You can even see some of them in abs, legs and butt courses.
And even men’s books and films have recently been seasoned with a dose of estrogen: a private broadcaster advertises its series “Californication” as “Sex and the City for men”, young authors get rich with stories about stubbly singles with body problems, and the last James Bond suffered more from lovesickness than from his opponent.
Table of Contents
The NEW man
Tip
Does your husband always rob your vanity cabinet? Then try out the unisex creams and body lotions from the organic cosmetics company Sante. Natural aromas and nourishing ingredients such as ginger and mango, basil and shea butter are great for both sexes.
So feminine, so good.After all, it’s not forbidden to copy pleasant and sensible things from women. Personally, I like to share my vegetable curry and I’m glad that my loved one doesn’t only go to the doctor when he has to be transported lying down. But, to be honest: There are areas where I would like to keep the small difference. Razors, for example, are very useful devices for removing facial hair – but they have no place on other parts of the body on men! The only thing more off-putting than a clean-shaven stomach is a stubbled stomach. Also, men need to be wider and heavier than women, at least a little bit. If only so that we remain credible when we buy jeans with a baggy “boyfriend cut”. The same applies accordingly: hands off our closet!It may of course be that in 15 or 20 years the New Man will be history again. That’s when all the little Henris and Maltes and Lucas who populate the baby massage and postnatal yoga courses today hit puberty. They probably wear full beards and eat dead animals raw for breakfast to distinguish themselves. Is also fine with us. Then at least no one will eat away from us the delicious vegetable risotto. And we can get an appointment at the day spa again without having to register weeks in advance.
