The image that you are supposed to project as a man and the realities of being a man in this day and age are quite different. We are all familiar with the male stereotype. You are supposed be artless and uncaring about appearance. You are supposed to be straightforward to the point of Neanderthal-like. The reality is much different. Men have to groom every bit as carefully as women do. Personally, I have been using Aveda hair products since I was 13, and if anything I have become more concerned about my appearance over the years.
I don't mean to advocate Aveda hair products over any other. I could just have easily settled for Paul Mitchell hair products or l'Oreal. The point that I am making is that I and judged by my appearance every bit as much as a woman is. I even use the same Aveda hair products as my sister does. That is how I learned to groom myself in the first place – from watching my sister.
And that brings me to my point. I could not ask me older brother about Aveeda hair products. It is not that he did not know about such things as shampoo or fragrance for men. He knew every bit as much as I now know. It is just that it is not considered to be a manly topic of conversation. To ask him about Aveda hair products would have been tantamount to admitting that I was a girl. Only girls, after all, are supposed to worry about their grooming and appearance. It does not matter that guys worry about these things every bit as much as girls do. What matters is that a guy can not talk to another guy about Aveda hair products. Doing so is a threat to the masculine image.
When I raise my own kids, I am going to do it differently. My son will not learn how to shampoo his hair from his mother. He will learn it from me. I will show him my Aveda hair products along with my razer. He will begin to shower every day before he reaches puberty. He will take pride in his appearance from the age of Johnson and Johnson Shampoo to the age of Aveda hair products. That way, he will not have to deal with the hypocrisy that I had to deal with. He will grow up healthier and more consistent.
