By Tony Samson
MEN who shop are no longer a minority. Shopping as an activity, or form of investment, is too often associated just with women. A simple observation in mall movement will bear out the rise of the male shopper. Instead of waiting for the spouse or partner to finish stuffing the reusable shopping bag, the former non-shopper is no longer content to be parked at the bookstore or pastry shop sipping a cafe latte and enjoying a slice of guilt-free chocolate mousse. He too needs to cruise the corridors and lug his own items for the trunk of the car.
Still, men feel disadvantaged when shopping maybe because they end up buying the same items like shirts, shoes, an occasional blazer, maybe pants that they need to come back for to get the proper leg length prescribed to be one fold over the shoes.
Even when on a trip, women seem to get an unfairly broader menu, apart from homecoming gifts, as if travel needs to be somehow celebrated with a present to mark the occasion and assuage the guilt of being well off. Anyway, it’s what the flea market is for.
The imbalance in the shopping options between the genders is too obvious. Aside from blouses and slacks, women can get sunglasses, bracelets, anklets, pendants, purses, and a broad category listed as “something for the house” which can be anything from a wine bottle opener to bed sheets with a higher thread count and an accent piece for the dining room.
In addition, there are scarves, foundation girdles, and that vast continent simply called… cosmetics. These categories are too broad to even attempt a partial listing. Eye shadows come in different shades, the same with lipstick and blemish covers; eyelash extenders go in different lengths (up to small fans that can catch falling lizards).
The relaunch of the male handbag, designed originally for mailmen, is an attempt to redress the balance of shopping options. Here’s a male accessory to add to the shopping list as it is also sold by the brands that make ladies bags and pricey shoes. This category includes backpacks.
The male handbag is not new, though recently given greater acceptability as an object of shopping envy. It no longer looks too bizarre for a male executive to have a bag slung over the shoulder on the way to a breakfast meeting — does he plan to have a takeout meal? Three decades ago, the “man bag” was much smaller and was called a tote bag. Security men used it as a weapon case. Now, the male handbag comes in bigger sizes approximating a briefcase to accommodate at least two smartphones, keys, wallets, credit card holders, and a Swiss knife with at least 32 functions (including wine opener).
Even with the redesigned tote bag, the imbalance between male and female shopping options persists. Young working women are forced to take a “second job,” usually conducted by phone and involving short meetings with hot showers afterwards to afford her the means to buy a Birkin bag, perhaps, or the latest gadgets, and mojito nights with others of her age.
The second-job option (she can have a day job as property consultant) featured 30 years ago (yes, there was color TV already then) a female shopper cruising the mall, accompanied by an indulgent older man, pointing at shop windows, and whispering in the latter’s ear: buy me that too. This ad for beer (not on her shopping list) was forced off the air by angry feminists who considered it an unfair stereotype of a high-maintenance shopper from hell and a gross misrepresentation of womanhood. It smacked of dependency and manipulation. There was not a peep from the lobby group for indulgent old men. This was before political correctness would have shot down the ad at the copy stage. The “bilmoko” girl in the ad might not even have had a day job.
Male shoppers now have wider options even if not yet at par with women. There is a male cosmetic line too and tattoo services, which women have now also availed of. Shopping is not a function of gender but disposable income. The male is not necessarily frugal. What he buys may not even be in the malls, such as cars, art, stocks, properties, and companionship.
Shopping is not about what you need… but what you can afford to buy. Acquisitiveness has no gender.
Tony Samson is Chairman and CEO, TOUCH xda
ar.samson@yahoo.com
