# men with painted fingernails **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 25, 1999, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-painted-fingernails/5001 "1999-11-25T03:54:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![starfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@starfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starfish)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 1999, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-painted-fingernails/5001/1 "1999-11-25T03:54:00Z")
At a bar in Houston the bartender commented on a guy who had painted fingernails. [I knew this guy, he was the drummer in a local band.] She said it was the second guy she had seen that week with painted fingernails and wants to know if it is a new trend. Is it? ---
**Author:** ![LemonGrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@LemonGrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LemonGrl)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 1999, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-painted-fingernails/5001/2 "1999-11-25T04:00:00Z")
new? i’d hardly say new. in fact they have some nail polish called “male polish” which has been out for quite some time. quite a few acquaintances of mine paint their nails, and let me remind you of a fellow (?) called marilyn manson. but aside from him, other men paint their nails. it’s not as big a trend as it was some time ago. how long? i don’t know. a year? who knows! ok now someone answer my question? ---
**Author:** ![funneefarmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@funneefarmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/funneefarmer)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 1999, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-painted-fingernails/5001/3 "1999-11-25T10:54:00Z")
Huh, maybe they’re doing a study on irregular nail growth. **Ducking** ---
**Author:** ![metroshane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@metroshane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/metroshane)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 1999, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-painted-fingernails/5001/4 "1999-11-25T16:41:00Z")
I painted my fingernails with that clear stuff with sparklies in it about 2 years ago. even then i considered myself on the tails of the trend. * * * We live in an age that reads to much to be wise, and thinks too much to be beautiful–Oscar Wilde ---
**Author:** ![Squee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@Squee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squee)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 1999, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-painted-fingernails/5001/5 "1999-11-27T04:29:00Z")
Yeah, used to paint… my thumbs black, and my pinkey ‘pink’… but I was a ‘punk’ so, who cares?! I stopped 2 years ago… it was funny, though… ladies used to ask me what was up…a nice pick-up line!!.. and the guys?.. a few gave me shit, but I always took care of myself, even at 150 lbs… Nobody ever fucks with me… ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 1999, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-painted-fingernails/5001/6 "1999-11-28T06:21:00Z")
I knew a classical guitar player who painted his nails to keep them strong enough to play…he usually used clear, but every once in a while he’d borrow mine…maybe her town has been invaded by mad flamincos ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Sheepshead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@Mr.Sheepshead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Sheepshead)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 1999, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-painted-fingernails/5001/7 "1999-11-30T02:19:00Z")
Hmmm… I’m going to go out on a limb here and say it’s a musician thing. One of the guitar players for my band wears it but I think he does it to draw more attention to his hand/playing or something. I dunno, I never asked him. I can think of maybe 10 other guys who I’ve seen in the last month with it on, but none of them were in the audience - they were up on stage. I’m a drummer and my hands are usually flying around quite quickly so it’d be pretty hard to see any nail polish. Plus, it would taste awful when I gnaw on my nails.