Social Question

NerdyKeith's avatar

What do you think of men wearing nail polish?

Asked by NerdyKeith (5489points) June 13th, 2017 from iPhone

Is it going to far? Or is it simply a great way to break gender stereotypes and roles?

I personally have no issue with it. If that’s what a guy is into, by all means he can go for it!

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39 Answers

chyna's avatar

Back in the 70’s I saw David Bowie in concert. He was wearing black polish. It never bothered me after seeing such a cool guy as David Bowie wearing it.

NerdyKeith's avatar

@chyna Great answer, yeah you can’t help admire David Bowie’s cool factor. He was a legend.

I was inspired to ask this question after seeing Joey Graceffa’s latest YouTube video

Mariah's avatar

Good for them if they enjoy it. It’s not as though it affects anyone else in the slightest so I don’t see why one would be against it.

chyna's avatar

@NerdyKeith I love his colors! Also, that guy had the prettiest teeth!

NerdyKeith's avatar

@chyna Omg yes Joey does have amazing teeth

Espiritus_Corvus's avatar

What Mariah said.

dappled_leaves's avatar

I like it. Also makeup and skirts. Not sure what “going too far” means. Too far where?

Earthbound_Misfit's avatar

I don’t care about it. If it makes them feel happy, who am I to judge them. I like wearing nail polish on occasion too.

kritiper's avatar

Probably gay. I see a guy every so often who has black hair, dark skin, like a native American indian. One day I noticed his nails were bright red, so I gave him a indian name: Paints His Nails Red.

elbanditoroso's avatar

A non-issue. Its nothing I have ever wanted to do, but I wouldn’t stand in someone else’s way. I already don’t like tattoos and piercings, so by comparison nail polish is pretty minor.

Jeruba's avatar

They can if they want to. Why not?

Brian1946's avatar

For me, it’s mostly about the aesthetics of the cuticle decor, and not at all about the gender of the bearer.

I was at LA Pride last Sunday, and I would have loved to have seen someone with rainbow nails.

I don’t think I’d ever wear conventional polish, because I like finger foods.

I think “going too far” would be experimenting with something such as white phosphorous, lead, mercury, or plutonium-based polishes.

Patty_Melt's avatar

I don’t see why men can’t be flambouyant, whether gay, straight, or amphibious.

Various cultures, various eras, men have been the more heavily adorned.

Native American men have adorned themselves with feathers, beads, shells, bones, hair, oh, and makeup.

Tattoos, patterned scarring, piercings.

Men adorn, just lately some forgot how.

rojo's avatar

I think that if a guy wants to do it and it makes him happy then more power to him. He is not hurting anyone else and is making himself happy so…........go for it.

NerdyKeith's avatar

@dappled_leaves I don’t believe it is going too far myself. I suppose using that phrase is my way of attempting a somewhat objective stance to alternative views. I suppose one might find anything going outside the realm of traditional gender roles as going too far. This is usually from the ultra conservative.

But I am the type of person who has no issue with breaking gender stereotypes and supports those who express gender fluidity.

JLeslie's avatar

I have no “issue” with it. If they work at some stuffy corporate job they might need to curtail it, or confine it to the weekends.

ZEPHYRA's avatar

Let anyone do what makes him/her happy. For those who don’t like it, look the other way.

ucme's avatar

I prefer multi coloured where each nail has it’s own vibrant colour.
Then I pretend to flick jellybeans about the place like the happy bastard I am.

ARE_you_kidding_me's avatar

Monday I pinched my finger between two oak logs. My nail is visually disgusting. I actually considered covering it with cuticle colored nail polish because it’s going to be that way for a while and I’d rather not cover it with a bandaid for 8 weeks or so.

gondwanalon's avatar

I wouldn’t give it a second thought.

What’s there to think about?

Anything goes nowadays.

imrainmaker's avatar

Not a good idea.

tinyfaery's avatar

It doesn’t even faze me.

Dutchess_III's avatar

If they like going through all the hassle of it, go for it. I wouldn’t go out with a guy who wore nail polish or make up though.

Patty_Melt's avatar

My daughter and her boyfriend take theater together at the high school. He lets her use him to experiment with makeup effects. He’s a bit hammy, and has fun with it. Their teacher is open to casting gender switches. I think it is terrific. There are men who are hetero, but have a bit of the peacock in them. I see nothing wrong with strutting some glam. This class gives the kids a chance to explore various personalities; their own, and others. They can zombie it up, femme it up, laugh it up. My daughter did a one act portraying a suicidal man.
I have never seen a high school theater line up (they can take it every year) so fully involved. The kids handle lighting, sound, wardrobe, props, write their own one acts and cast them. It is much like the old show fame. I see the unique chance they have to explore themselves, in a forum where there is no shaming. I am just happy for them.

I wish when I was in school such opportunities existed. I think it gives the kids a great chance to explore who they are.

I think men should be able to express themselves with color, accessories, style. Of course, that doesn’t mean I would find it attractive. Some men can pull off glam, and some should just stick to jeans and a tshirt with smokes rolled up in the sleeve, like Rapid Roy.

Dutchess_III's avatar

LOL! One time, when my son was still in high school, he came down stairs after getting ready for school. He had on a skin tight, long, grey skirt of mine, a shirt of mine, a bra of mine stuffed with toilet paper, full make up, and combat boots. I looked at him oddly.
He says, “I forgot to tell you it’s ‘dress like the opposite sex day’ at school.”
I must say, he rocked it!
After school he said, “Man, I can’t wait to GET OUT OF THESE CLOTHES AND GET THIS CRAP OFF MY FACE!!”

I love my son!

Patty_Melt's avatar

Hey, he’s a hunk!

rojo's avatar

In the interest of full disclosure, I had my toenails done last time we were rafting in the grand canyon; half metallic blue and half hot pink. Some members of the trip seemed to have this notion that it had to be done in order to get through Lava Falls Rapid safely. Probably someone did it once and had no difficulties.

So most of us painted up. Silly superstition I know.

Incidentally, if you watch the whole video (not us btw) the spot where the last raft flips is the exact spot where the one boat on our trip through flipped and coincidentally, probably, the two men in that boat were the only ones who refused to paint their toenails

I will be painting up again if I get the opportunity to run it again.

canidmajor's avatar

it only bothers me if we’re wearing the same color and his nails look better than mine. But that’s not really a gender thing, I’m jealous when a color looks better on anybody else.
I’m just kind of shallow that way.

imrainmaker's avatar

@Dutchess_III – I thought you have given link of the pic of your son the way you just described above..) Yeah he looks cool!!

Dutchess_III's avatar

He’s an awesome, awesome young man. I’ve gotten so many compliments on his demeanor. A couple of older people give me the credit! I have to confess…he’s always been awesome. I just had to keep him alive. No easy task.

Patty_Melt's avatar

@imrainmaker, each word is a seperate link. She posted three pics in that post, and one pic in the other.
The camera really likes him.

Dutchess_III's avatar

Lol! It’s that calm confidence.

imrainmaker's avatar

@Patty_Melt – I was referring to first link shared (text – I love my Son) Thought it was of the event she was describing as it followed the event immediately.

Pachy's avatar

To each his own, I say.

Darth_Algar's avatar

It’s funny, we, as a society, tend to think of men who decorate themselves as effeminate, probably gay. And the Vikings seem to occupy this place in our collective cultural mindset as sorta the ultimate manly men. Yet in their day Vikings were considered by others to be almost frilly because they were so obsessed with their apperance and often decorated themselves.

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LexiAnn84's avatar

It does nothing for me. When I see a nice mani/pedi on a lady my eyes zoom right in and I usually compliment them and we chit chat nails. But it does not work that way with men, it doesn’t feel like a feminine thing to notice, oddly enough. It seems strange to me for a lady to compliment a man on his nails , its just a counterintuitive mode of thinking.

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