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October 27, 2004
By Judy MacGuire
In case you were wondering, Peter Hyman and Richard Herring
are both straight. That's right--not a homosexual, ahem,
bone between them. This point must be clarified immediately
because both authors spend so many pages of their two new
books explaining how inherently not gay they are.
To be fair, Hyman (despite his female-genitalia-sound-alike
name) does come off as fairly fey in The Reluctant
Metrosexual: Dispatches From an Almost Hip Life (Villard,
$13.95), so I can see from whence his need to clarify might
spring. Then there's the fact that he's a self-billed metrosexual,
which, as every breeder broad knows, is a straight dude
who's only two cosmos and an International Male catalog
away from gay. (Kidding! Sort of.)
An ex--Vanity Fair peon
and erstwhile stand-up comic, Hyman fully cops to using
the "M" word as a marketing tool for his book.
In his overly long introduction, he defines the term as "a
dandyish heterosexual narcissist in love with not only
himself, but also his urban lifestyle; a straight man who
is in touch with his feminine side." The intro comes
off a bit disclaimerlike and takes away from what is actually
a very funny read.
A collection of autobiographical
essays, much along the line and tone of David (gay!) Sedaris' Naked , Metrosexual describes what it's like being a young man whose tastes far
exceed his income. And yes, his quest for flat-front trousers
and Herman Miller chairs on an unemployed New Yorker's salary
are all very amusing, but it's when Hyman steers away from
his raison d' etre and delves into relationships that he
hits his stride. His run of vomiting dates is something the
non-seasoned daters among us might disbelieve and suspect
Hyman of putting in for effect. Those of us who've been out
in the trenches for far too long will know that these things
happen. And while cleaning another person's puke off your
shoes isn't anyone's idea of fun, it sure is when they're
somebody else's Prada bucks. < back to main press page |
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