There are a number of highly educated, attractive, financially secure women who choose good-looking men for themselves. They care about the way their men look and demand no less. Traditionally, beautiful women have used their looks to attract a rich and powerful mate. But with greater financial independence, these women can choose men who are not powerful and rich, but who are beautiful..

In addition, there seems to be a new icon for masculinity. It is a blend of male and female characteristics. The masculine ideal has switched from the hairy bulk of a man to the smooth bulk of a man.

More than 1500 people responded to a questionnaire regarding how men and women feel about the male body. Even though there is a group of women who place a very high priority on male looks, the majority of women answering the questionnaire, were much more accepting of flaws in the male body than males perceived them to be.

Status symbols will vary depending on the area in which one lives. One area may go on to a newer, flashier brand-name, while another area remains loyal to his "original identity".

According to Gilmore, height and hair have traditionally be symbols of "raw maleness". It seems that tall men are more successful, more powerful and have higher paying jobs than short men. Hair has been used by men to set themselves apart from an existing culture. If men in the previous generation had long hair and facial hair, the next generation had short hair and no beards.

There has been a shift in the way gender roles are perceived in our culture. There has been a blending a male and female roles resulting in a more level playing field for everyone. In many instances there has been a reversal of roles.

As women are contributing to the family income, men are contributing to running the home. They assist in household duties as well as participate more actively in child rearing than ever before. All of this has ignited the move of blending the sexes. As our mentality toward sexual roles changes, so do our ideas of the outward appearance of the sexes. Where previously, the male was the breadwinner, usually provided by a muscle-building job, he was expected to look rugged, hairy and muscluar. But with the blending of roles and household positions, he now is expected to look smooth and beautiful, while still maintaining a muscular physique.

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The gangs in South Africa idealize "America" in their neighborhoods. They feel that gangs control neighborhoods and American is the biggest gang of all, controlling the whole world. They have adopted American brand-names as identity builders for themselves, without realizing that American brand-names are part of the mainstream, not a sub-culture.

The fact that men like to be sex objects has not been acknowledged in the past because it is not considered masculine, and above all, they want

Some common words found in the essay are:
Personal Opinion, Jill Neimark, Megan Miller, According Gilmore, South Africa, brown paper bag, paper bag, brown paper, gender roles, lunch school brown, carries lunch school, person carries lunch, carries lunch, school brown paper, male body, person carries, inner-city youth, school brown, lunch school, SUMMARY Megan, women choose,
Approximate Word count = 1354
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)