Hey I never said changed him! If I Icould have changed him he would still be alive. I just made him wash more often. We still had some very good unstinky years together.
I don’t think of James Bond as “metrosexual,” even if the character was always written (in the books) as a sybarite. (I think he was more narcisssistic in the movies.) A good example of a metrosexual would be the character Nigel Havers played in “Manchild,” a British TV comedy that showed on BBC America: a fiftysomething divorced man who’s always looking to make his next score. He’s always after the ladies, but he spends a lot of time and effort on his clothes and general appearance. I think we used to just call his kind a “peacock,” right?
I married one. A geek of a very specific type, though. For most of my life, my male friends and boyfriends have all been video game obsessed, d&d playing, Tolkien-loving guys with swords. Most of them do martial arts, and can easily revamp their computers on their own. That is (I think, through evidence) my favourite type.
I am not attracted to the very far geek/nerd end of the spectrum who are extremely overweight, never leave their bedrooms, don’t shower, and speak of everything in terms of role-playing statistics. I’ve met a fair number of them (and a couple who epitomised that personal stereotype) and I really don’t like them. Some social skills required, please.
James Bond a metrosexual? Mr. Bond does not squeal with delight at the prospect of going to the mall to look at shoes. Granted that isn’t the only criteria but we have a starting point. Five different actors have played 007 in the movies not counting the spoofs so you really need to be more specific.
[ul][li]George Lazenby - He’s a male model. I won’t even argue in his defense.[/li][li]Roger Moore - I’ll defend him but not enthusiastically. I found his portrayl to be, well, prissy. The flared pant legs, huge lapels and '70s coif made my skin crawl.[/li][li]Pierce Brosnan - An excellent combination of testosterone and sophistication. It’s manly to look good in a tux if it doesn’t look like it was an effort to do so. [/li][li]Timothy Dalton - His attitude kept him from being a metrosexual. I thought he was a very underrated Bond but it was bad timing.[/li]Sean Connery - I must kill you now. Nothing personal but we’re talking about Mr. Scotland. Yeah, I know, The Avengers had the “suck” knob turned to eleven but he defined the sophisticated manly man for an entire generation in Goldfinger.[/ul]
I wasn’t saying Bond (to keep things simple, let’s say Brosnan) was a typical metrosexual. Look, if you take the manly-man scale and put Indiana Jones at one end, as the very best possible, on the other end you’ll have to put Homer Simpson. Likewise, on the metrosexual scale, you’ll put every example you guys brought up on one end and Bond - or Cary Grant - on the other.
Does Bond squeal with delight at buying shoes? No, because he has dignity - a quality both metrosexuals and manly-men can have. The former sans dignity is a prissy wimp; the latter is a slob. I’m sure, howver, that he doesn’t buy shoes off the rack. He probably has a dedicated Italian cobbler who brings over samples of leather so that he can design the most elagent footwear possible; I’m also sure bond spends at least six hours a week on buying and fitting clothing. That’s classic metrosexual behaviour.
Yeah, word up to that. Too many nerds grew up admiring all those scantily clad chicks in Dungeons and Dragons manuals – how can we compete with that?
I love nerdy guys, but every single one I’ve known had unrealistic physical expectations of women. Not that I’m a huge prize or anything – they would put down women much more attractive than me.
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Who would want some grunting, reeking, beer-filled hulk of testosterone poisoning?
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I see you haven’t met my lovely wife.
Let me elaborate, here:
Manly men play poker; Bond plays Baccarat.
Manly men drink beer or whiskey; Bond drinks wine, sherry or cocktails.
Manly men drive pickup trucks; Bond drives itty-bitty little European sports cars.
Manly men kill people with .45 magnum revolvers; Bond kills people with a Walther PPK .32, a metrosexual firearm if there ever was one.
I rest my case.
-Let’s see… I used to play poker quite a bit, although I prefer pool.
-I like some beer but after a few I’m ready for some tequila and a good cigar. (Although I was drinkin whiskey last weekend and I’ve got a half gallon in the fridge.)
-I drive a restored '65 Ford pickup.
-I do have a .45 long colt revolver and have actually had to use it before.
-heh… 
Alessan I guess you’ve got a little insight huh?
and I do live back in the woods but I don’t chew beechnut. 
Alessan apparently has never seen a Bond movie.
He can play any game, and win.
He drinks martinis.
He drives tanks, flies helicopters, and rides motorcycles.
I can’t even list the number of weapons he’s proven to be expert at killing with, but as often as not, he kills just as handily with his bare hands.
Well, duh. Just look at that moustache! But he’s still a manly 'mo.
It’s not what he can do, it’s what he prefers to do. Can you imagine Bond between missions hanging around his flat in sweat pants, chugging beers and watching ESPN? I can’t.
Look, I’m not saying Jimmy B. isn’t tough. Nobody can argue the fact that he’s one of the top ten toughest motherfuckers in the world. I’m just saying that Bond is tough and metrosexual, that one doesn’t preclude the other.
The '50s?
Well, if we wish to define “metrosexual” as someone who is essentially Carson Kressley [or, for dopers w/o US cable TV: insert here the name of any popular flamboyantly gay fashionista] only with a preference for doing women, I’ll go along of it leads faster to the extinction of this loathsome word. You don’t suffix with “-sexual” a behavioral pattern NOT dependent on a person’s sexuality. My problem with “metrosexual” is that it somehow tends to imply that stylishness, refinement and sophistication ARE sexuality-related.
Of course, a35362 is correct that a more accurate term for a James Bond Type is a sybarite – one who appreciates and seeks out The Finer Things and insists on Only the Best in everything from his personal grooming to his flat’s furnishings. But the thing is that, like Alessan, points out, the current mass-media standards for calling someone a “metrosexual” would seem to range as far as to include this fictional character, solely on the superficial appearance of his grooming, dress and leisure habits (and for those so inclined, his choice of sidearm). So Bond ends up being a Manly Metrosexual.
I suspect all the “Manly Man” backlash started way back in '81 with Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche and got to its climax with The Man Show 20 years later, but sometimes I think people miss that these are satires. Not actual manifestos.
You are asking if I prefer snake venom or arsenic?
What I really like is a tweedy man who tells funny stories and likes jazz.
I was a mechanic and survival expert in the Air Force, can strip and rebuild a computer including custom writing small software applications, chipped my own car for better performance, play airsoft war games from time to time (usually once a month), ski, backpack, run in adventure races and triathlons, mountain bike, and wear grubby clothes on the weekend (and sometimes during the week unless I am meeting a customer).
I am big and hairy, stink from time to time (but seldom for very long), have no problem (or at least didn’t before I moved to England) in camping out and elk hunting for a week with no facilities nearby, like to fish, work out on a regular basis, drink beer and eat ice cream, and like steak and potatoes.
I also get my back, crack and sack waxed on a regular basis, shave at least every other day (although the lil’ lady likes a bit of stubble), spend over $50 on each haircut, have designer clothes and suits in my wardrobe, and drive a fancy european sportscar. I love sushi and fancy restaraunts, and often like to go shopping with my girlfriend for both clothes and home furnishings.
Where do I fit in on the spectrum between metrosexual and manly man? Just curious, really…
If I can’t have my super-genius ubergeek, I’ll take a sweaty, smelly, scratchy, stubbled, muscle-bound hunk-a hunk-a burning love. Yeah, baby!
Hmm… I’m not certain this is true. Certainly the fantasy-art stuff has skewed our perceptions, but if you can fill out a chain-mail bikini, I think you’re still going to do allright.
Perfect example right there. There are women everywhere with the Geek Preference, yet it’s so hard to get your hands on Leia’s gold bikini in anything over a size six. 
Hmmm. A little quick chain-link extension should take care of most of the problem. Or you could build-your-own. It’s the lascivious-yet-geeky thought that counts, is what I’m trying to say.