Retrosexuals ‘R Us

The emergence of the metrosexual as the leading character trait for males at the Democratic National Convention has lead to a resurgance of a counter movement called retrosexuals. Numerous bloggers are jumping on the bandwagon. Columnist Mark Steyn discusses the problem indirectly while deriding metrosexuals or “girlie men” and Michelle Malkin comes down on the side of Retrosexuals in her No Girlie Men Allowed posting.

What is a retrosexual? It is someone who believes in the retro idea that Biblical sexuality and morality is the right approach to sexual identity and sexual activity for men. In this age of mega sexual discovery, Joseph Farah of WND waded through all of the various new sexual identities (homosexuals, bisexuals, lesbians, transsexuals, transgendereds, metrosexuals, and whatever else is out there) last April and decided nothing quite fit him. After some reflection, he determined he was a retrosexual, a biblical and traditional male reared in the feminine honoring tradition of Western Civilization (somewhat in line with Mark Simpson’s application of the term as anti-metrosexual). Back when I read Farah’s article I said count me in, in spades.

At the time, upon reflection, I discovered it was time for me to reexamine my commitment to the newly identified retrosexual lifestyle–not an easy task. It meant taking responsibility for being the provider of my family, of considering my wife worthy of the supreme sacrifice and all of the little sacrifices leading up to the big one (he who is faithful in little…), of treating my wife, my daughter, and indeed all women with the utmost dignity and respect. In short, it meant being both reliable and accountable. My wife is holding me to task on that commitment, as well she should. Tonight she decided that if I didn’t come and open the car door for her she would just stand there until I did. You go girl!

One group that seems to fit the retrosexual label is Promise Keepers, especially their fourth promise, “A Promise Keeper is committed to building strong marriages and families through love, protection and biblical values.” No wonder retrosexuality is not popular in our culture and instead is derided as “a man with an undeveloped aesthetic sense who spends as little time and money as possible on his appearance and lifestyle”.

No matter. What is right is right and if you want to be tight with God, slackers need not apply! He expects total commitment and being a real man means giving it all. So, calling all real men. It is time to measure up, to check yourself to see if you are fit for the task. If you think you might be a retrosexual or even think you might want to be a retrosexual then I challenge you to take stock of yourself. Putting a twist on the old Army commercial, “Get tight with God and be all you can be”. Be a real man, be a retrosexual.

Update: If you have come here from the XXIX Christian Carnival, welcome. I hope you enjoyed my submission. If you did, I invite you to browse some of my other postings. Click here to go the home page of my little blog. Also, don’t be afraid to leave a comment. I really enjoy interacting with those who visit here. Remember, there is no such thing as a dumb question, only impolite answers, which I endeavor never to give.

P.S. As I told the Carnival host, Neil, in a comment, I am all for good shirts and decent shoes and being dressed decently so your wife is never embarrassed to be with you. I would go so far as to say having a decent suit and at least one really good tie is a must (mine is a Gerry Garcia tie that I am told is still servicable ;-). For me retrosexuals are more about being what God intended us men to be and while fashion isn’t directly talked about in the bible, Paul did say in 1 Cor 9:22 “I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.”

Thanks for stopping by and grace and peace to your day.

Update 6/27/05: Welcome to those coming from ADFREAK.com. As you can see there is more to the concept, much more, than the limited caricature expressed in the article that brought you here.

Update 9/2/05: This posting remains one of my most read, being found by numerous search engines. If a search brought you here, welcome. I pray my words met some need you have today and if not, may the love of Christ touch your life in some way today. If you need someone to talk to email me.

5 thoughts on “Retrosexuals ‘R Us

  1. It is sad how the wave of tolerance is moving. It is a fad, one that should not be brushed off lightly. For the record, both the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological Society say that homosexuality is not genetic it is a choice. Now, how that choice is swayed is what is up for debate. How you were raised has a significant part of that decision. If you parents show little or no love or respect for you as a child or if you parents weren’t there or if they themselves were engaging in this behavior are all indications of symptoms that could sway the decision of someone to choose to be homosexual. But, ultimately the decision is yours. The bible does condemn this kind of behavior because we were designed both physically and emotionally to connect with the opposite sex. God didn’t condemn this because He doesn’t want us to be ‘individuals’; He did it because He loves us and wanted to protect His creation. One, this kind of behavior un-hygienic; two, he wanted his children to grow-up in a diverse environment, meaning a father and a mother. Both sexes have something to share and give to their children. If a child is deprived of that, the decisions he makes, for his entire life, will be more difficult.

    This subject of homosexuality, ‘is it right or wrong?’ falls parallel to other big subjects in our world today. The terms ‘absolutes’, ‘morals’, ‘tolerance’, ‘your truth vs. my truth’ all lead down a road that becomes very gray. We are allowing ourselves to be stripped of the very thing that makes us ‘individuals’. When we say there are no absolutes or my moral base is different that your moral base we open ourselves up for destruction. The fact is, both worldly and biblically, that the ‘Truth’ is static, it is narrow-minded, there can only be one truth, that’s what makes it the truth. There is a right and wrong and a black and white, but with the onslaught of ‘tolerance’ we are being forced to look at the world through gray glasses. We can no longer have an opinion nor can we rely on the facts that define or existence. We need to realize this as a society before we cross the point of no return. We need to look at history. Why did Rome fall? Why did USSR collapse? Canada is a great country but look at where they were 50 years ago vs. now… Look where we were 50 years ago vs. now. We are quickly loosing our grasp on the things that keep order and meaning in life. God does exist, He does care about all of us, and He wants us all to choose Him and live our lives to glorify Him.

  2. I don’t hate homosexuals. I had a very close friend who was a homosexual die of aids. I just don’t care to join them in their perversion and sin. Nor am I jealous. Of what would I be?

    You obviously don’t know your Bible or your New Testament. Is this the reason you are so angry, because the Bible condemns something about the life you have chosen for yourself?

    There is still hope. While there is life there is hope.

  3. For God’s sake just get it over with, put your dick in another man’s ass or have him put his dick in yours, whichever it is you’re jealous of, and stop hating on people who are (typically) born gay. Jesus must be rolling over in his grave at the way religious people use his name to bash gays. The only admonitions against homosexuality in the Bible are back in the Old Testament, right beside the death penalty for eating shrimp, the price to be acquired if you sell your daughter into slavery, and the command to kill all your family members if they change religions on you.

  4. Honestly it never crossed my mind, especially since I prefaced it with “It is someone who believes in the retro idea that Biblical sexuality and morality is the right approach to sexual identity and sexual activity for men” which precludes that.

    However, now that I think about it, and because of the pervasivenss of the problem, I could have added to my second statement something like…

    It meant…treating my wife, my daughter, and indeed all women with the utmost dignity and respect, never objectifying them as sex objects or demeaning myself or them by indulging in pornography.

    You are counted!

  5. Count me in.

    But do you thing it is necessary to add, or is it already implied, that in respecting women that retrosexual men should not objectify them by avoiding our modern society’s penchant for pornography?

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