The Perfect Gentleman Issue 2 - April 2016 | Page 50

The Perfect Lady

Ideals of Masculine Beauty
Come from Within
When I was first given this writing assignment, I
thought about and argued with myself about
men and the concept of beauty. I thought about
the things that I think make men beautiful:
physically, his shoulders and his jaw;
presentation: a gent’s clothing and grooming
practices; and mentally: his attitude and
behaviour. But could I pin anything down? What
is men’s beauty and how could I measure it? I
found myself in a maelstrom of questions and
research in my quest to find the answer.
In his BBC series, The Human Animal, zoologist,
Desmond Morris, said that a man’s wide
shoulders above a narrow waist is considered the
most appealing masculine body type. This
classical shape speaks of a strong healthy body the ideal of men’s beauty. To me, this masculine
shape reflects masculine power.

I believe that power lies at the widest points on
the human body: a woman’s hips, a man’s
shoulders. Men who wear suits or uniforms
know that sliding on a fine, hard-shouldered
jacket makes them feel different and stand taller
(and women pay more attention to them).
When men wear garments that draw attention
to the breadth of their shoulders and chest, their
size is exaggerated; this visually increases their
power and casts an attractive silhouette.
But it wasn’t always this way. Clothing, like
anything else, is an evolution, and directed by
many influences: social rules, economy, and
technology. Before people understood how to
weave, they wore fur and hides; textiles were
born when humans learned how to cultivate
crops, handle sheep, and weave fibres. This
early technology bore clothing, but clothing in a
very limited state. In the early weaving days,
clothing was a rectangular piece of linen or
wool, confined to the dimensions of weaving
looms. People wore their fabric rectangles
draped or cut a hole in the centre to slip over
their heads. At that time, all that differentiated
men from women were their beards, their
stature, and a shorter costume.
Ideals of men’s beauty through clothing have
changed considerably since ancient times. Men
have moved from loose, unisex robes and
mantles to the structured clothing of our
modern period. In between, there have been
some fascinating changes which set
contemporary male beauty standards.

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