If you are among those who think masculinity is being a sports maniac, beer guzzler, macho man, a shabbily dressed with big boys don't cry attitude, think again.

A revolution is taking place under your nose and you don't want to miss it. A "new" breed of masculinity has emerged. He's called metrosexual, the latest buzzword for a straight guy (non homosexual) who embraces his feminine side. I am not sure who coined the term but I suspect a girly looking straight guy tired of being hit on by fellow men did.

The first time I heard the word metrosexuality was last month on a television program exploring issues of masculinity. The one-hour program on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation had six men from different backgrounds including race, age and profession, talk about their definition of masculinity.

While watching the program, my mind raced several times to Kampala where I know people who are normally voted by Ugandan newspaper readers as some of the best dressed men, who qualify as metrosexuals.

People like Mike Mukula, Roger Mugisha, and Norbert Mao came to mind. It was amusing to watch the program because People Magazine usually votes metrosexuals such as David Beckham as hottest people of the year.

Apparently, the metrosexual is an urbanite. He spends almost an hour in the bathroom each morning whitening his teeth, polishing his nails, shaving his legs, chest, trimming his beard and looking in the mirror.
He dresses in matching colors before leaving his condo to drive to work or to university in his fuel guzzling and ozone depleting sports utility vehicle commonly known as SUV in North America.

He lives and shops in trendy neighborhoods; drinks café latte and frappucinno, a combination of coffee, milk and crushed ice at Starbucks.

David Beckham, the well-groomed soccer star, symbolizes the peak of metrosexuality. His taste and style makes him a crowd puller.

At one point, he had a Swahili hair-do that suddenly became the fashion statement of many metrosexuals. The metrosexual visits spas, saloon and the gym regularly to look chic.

Now the above descriptions make the line between a metrosexual and his homosexual counterpart blurry, but don't be fooled. They are as apart as Museveni and Besigye. Like his heterosexual buddy, the metrosexual guzzles beer, and discusses sports, women and politics. He too gets upset when his team or political party loses.

In a nutshell, metrosexuals are gay guys with eyes for only women. Like his homosexual kin, the metrosexual is anti macho (anti heterosexual) and cries too. He is soft, caring and tender.

According to the television program, metrosexuality is the trendiest thing these days. It's about real men coming out and saying no to the dominant tough-looking guy images on billboards and television wearing Calvin Klein underpants. They reject the machismo image and embrace and nurture their softer feminine sides. They don't want to conform to what society (read masculinity) dictates to them. Matt, a self-professed metrosexual on the program, was relieved that there is now an actual term to describe him instead of just the "guy who does girly things."

As the program neared its end, David Suzuki, a respected Canadian scientist and host of Nature of Things, a widely watched science program on CBC, said that the problem with former UK, and India's tough women, Margaret Thatcher and Indira Ghandi was that they embraced their masculine sides at the expense of their soft feminine side which is why they ruled with iron fists.

The campaign to bring more heterosexuals into the fold goes on. With the close similarity and solidarity between metro sexuality and homosexuality, maybe if all heterosexuals turned metrosexuals, homophobia will be eliminated from our world.

We shall then be one big gay family with everyone smiling all the way to the spa, saloons and bathrooms to keep the appearance.

Unfortunately, women will have to fight with metrosexuals for the mirrors.