Change isn’t about being a SNAG or wearing make-up. This change is more significant than fiddling with an image. We need to find new ways of being men: to find a more egalitarian way to interpret the role we have played through history.
It is a change that the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission’s Pru Goward is alluding to. While she puts it in terms of men doing more housework, what she’s talking about is a greater commitment to supporting women and family.
The image of mum and dad fighting over lip-gloss and competing for mirror time in the bathroom should make us feel uncomfortable. It would only further deliver the message to our children that the way we look is most important. It would only cement the selfish lifestyles our society busily advocates.
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Men and women are different. And those differences need to continue to be defined.
On the surface, a bit of blush might seem harmless. But men wearing make-up really isn’t pretty.
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About the Author
Journalist and columist with The Age, Sushi Das says he is ‘one of today’s young rebels’. Author and ethicist Leslie Cannold has referred to him as one of her ‘gorgeous men’.
Daniel Donahoo is fellow with OzProspect, a non-partisan, public policy think tank. He writes regularly for Australia's daily papers and consults on child and family issues. A father to two boys. Daniel's first book is called Idolising Children and explores our society’s obsession with childhood and youth. Updates on Daniel's work can be found at www.danieldonahoo.com.
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