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While all of us have different tastes and ideas about how a man should look, the only shame would be if we imposed this upon men in general. The last thing we need is men to join in with women who feel insecure about their image to the point of developing a fear of being seen in public without having beautified themselves first.

How a man chooses to look should be exactly that. A choice. As it should be for every woman too. However the media and public opinion has always affected women when it comes to image, and is all set to grab the male of the species by the short and curlies.

Some bright sparks have realised that there is money to be had from overhauling the modern male and by teaching him that he has a standard to live up to. To a certain extent this isnt entirely a bad thing. It may mean that women no-longer have to look forward to stubble rash on their faces as they kiss their men goodbye in the mornings. It may mean that men who usually wear ripped jeans and jumpers with holes in smarten up.

But there again, along with taking pride in your appearance comes the inevitable fine line that men are in danger of crossing. This isn't a line that determines gender as some of you may think, but a line which when crossed sends people into a personal battle about constantly trying to be good enough.

All of us already are good enough. Image is a made up phenomena which should be treated like fancy dress. It is a tool with which to manipulate some situations in our favor. For example for a job interview, a man may dress to impress and be more likely to get the job. But when he gets home he should feel relaxed enough to drop the dress code if he wants to.

There are some women who are so engulfed in trying to look their best that they are afraid to even go to their local corner shop for a loaf of bread before having applied vast amounts of make-up. There are also some who have taken all of their fears in general and gathered them together to rest on their image. If their image isn't up to the standard that they think it should be then they fall apart.

What society needs is to build up the self esteem of such individuals, not give them male counterparts to stay indoors with and discuss which parts of them could do with a nip and tuck or a tank load of botox.

As with all things in life the middle way which is that of balance, is always the best. If it is possible for men to remain safely behind the line, without crossing it, and still have clean fingernails and a cleansed and moisturised face then I'm all for it. However, if they pop over the line and enter the world of insecurity and develop a preoccupation with their image, then I'd rather they went back where they were to begin with, stubble and all.

Learn more about this author, Bridget Webber.
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