Althouse: "What’s up with all these dudes painting their nails nowadays"/"That’s like someone asking what’s up with all these dudes getting tattoos. Self expression."

February 1, 2024

"What’s up with all these dudes painting their nails nowadays"/"That’s like someone asking what’s up with all these dudes getting tattoos. Self expression."

From "'Gotta keep your hands fresh': why male athletes are wearing nail polish/Men’s sport can be a hard place. But a rising number of stars are choosing to express themselves even if it annoys those with more old-fashioned views" (The Guardian).

48 comments:

RideSpaceMountain said...: Doing what you saw others do is not self expression.; 2/1/24, 9:59 AM
Old and slow said...: They must think it looks cool. I don't care one way or the other. Unlike tattoos, it is easily removed.; 2/1/24, 10:03 AM
Balfegor said...: The photo (with "Fuck Utah" on the nails) made me think, "Oh, it's like tattoos -- kind of deliberately trashy, but a popular fad these days," and the very next paragraph compared it to tattoos.; 2/1/24, 10:23 AM
Kate said...: If you've got the time and inclination for the maintenance nail polish requires, go for it.; 2/1/24, 10:25 AM
Mike Petrik said...: The key word in self-expression is self. Yes, in addition to guns and religion some of us still cling to the idea that we should subordinate ourselves to our family, community and nation, which is why we prefer stoic male virtues such as duty and loyalty over contemporary society's obsessions with self-expression and self-actualization. There are plenty of us still around.; 2/1/24, 10:28 AM
Dave Begley said...: The feminization of men.

When I heard that a lawyer I know had gotten a manicure, I lost all respect for him. Wimp.; 2/1/24, 10:29 AM
n.n said...: Old-fashioned trends are trendy again. Next question.; 2/1/24, 10:34 AM
Unclebiffy said...: Men are women. Women are men.; 2/1/24, 10:35 AM
BUMBLE BEE said...: What George Carlin said about the old woman's "Buffy" tatoo in hospice?; 2/1/24, 10:36 AM
Ampersand said...: The thing that is being expressed by these selves is a hunger for status.; 2/1/24, 10:40 AM
Ann Althouse said...: Fingernail painting is for those who aren't planning to do much with their hands. It chips and peels off. If you do things with your hands it doesn't last.

But if you don't care that it only lasts a day and you know there will be cameras looking for your hands, then it's tempting to paint a little message there (like "Fuck Utah").

And it's always fun to shock the squares.

Stop being shocked. That's the best you can do.; 2/1/24, 10:41 AM
Ann Althouse said...: Of stop expressing shock.

You'll only encourage them.; 2/1/24, 10:41 AM
Enigma said...: There is nothing new under the sun. Baroque artists. Bohemians. Nudists. Hippies. Androgyny. Transgenderism. All are fashion-oriented trendy cosplay.

Here's the 1971 edition:

And the sign said "Long-haired freaky people need not apply"
So I tucked my hair up under my hat and I went in to ask him why
He said "You look like a fine upstanding young man, I think you'll do"
So I took off my hat, I said "Imagine that. Huh! Me workin' for you!"
Whoa-oh-oh

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?,

https://www.songfacts.com/lyrics/five-man-electrical-band/signs; 2/1/24, 10:51 AM
Yancey Ward said...: Beats getting a tattoo- is isn't quasi-permanent.; 2/1/24, 10:55 AM
Joe Smith said...: The people who got tattoos back in the day were actual outsiders in society; prisoners, biker gang members, etc. The only exceptions were crazy people and service members.

Now every granny has one. If your mom has a butterfly target on the small of her back, tattoos are no longer 'cool' or rebellious. Congratulations, you are part of the herd.

As for nails, whatever. I know an idiot who paints his toenails black. He is the most annoying person on the planet.; 2/1/24, 10:58 AM
Joe Smith said...: If I painted my manly nails, I'd have no regerts...; 2/1/24, 10:58 AM
mccullough said...: Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio, boys paint their nails and girls reveal tattoos; 2/1/24, 11:14 AM
Randomizer said...: “I love making my uncles uncomfortable.”

Or, as Ann tells it, "And it's always fun to shock the squares."

A guy painting his nails is a way to say, "I'm creative and don't adhere to conventions!" without any creativity or much effort.; 2/1/24, 11:15 AM
CJinPA said...: But a rising number of stars are choosing to express themselves even if it annoys those with more old-fashioned views"

LOL, once again, those who join the herd and break from tradition have their expression unlabeled and endorsed.

Those who oppose the break have their views labeled "old-fashioned" and held by those who are easily annoyed. They are ridiculed.

As always, it's not about "expression," but about expressing The Right Opinion.; 2/1/24, 11:18 AM
Virgil Hilts said...: My son-in-law (father of a new grandson) paints his toenails (at least he paints them black and not say pink). Althouse mafia - is this something that should or should not concern me.; 2/1/24, 11:19 AM
Narr said...: About twenty-five years ago I was in a committee meeting on campus when the new IT honcho came in late. That was bad enough, but the guy had obviously had a manicure.

Maybe it's unfair, but I simply couldn't take anything he said seriously after that (not even the little that I understood). Of course he was gone in a couple of years.

What I felt was not shock. FTR I despise tattoos as well, and question the judgement and intelligence of those who sport them.; 2/1/24, 11:27 AM
Robert Cook said...: I don't like or find nail polish attractive even on women.; 2/1/24, 11:27 AM
Robert Cook said...: "The feminization of men.

"When I heard that a lawyer I know had gotten a manicure, I lost all respect for him. Wimp."

According to whom or what code of masculinity? Men have taken great care to appear fashionable for centuries, including the wearing of jewelry and make up and long hair and elaborate attire.

Even back in the early 60s, when I was a school kid, I saw men with manicured nails. They were typically prominent businessmen.; 2/1/24, 11:31 AM
n.n said...: Males in indigenous tribes would paint themselves in order to bolster pride. express rebellion, stoke confusion, and, ironically, mask expression...

Nazis would tatoo their stock of "burdens"...

The democratic Greeks would groom boys and girls to take a knee...

The liberal English would wear dresses and mimic feminine mystique in contempt of women...

The progressive Americans relieve "burdens" in sanctuaries with religious rites...

Everything old is new again.; 2/1/24, 11:32 AM
Rocco said...: Are they bringing back Glam Metal and midnight showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show too?; 2/1/24, 11:36 AM
wendybar said...: Girly men. Same with wearing eye liner.; 2/1/24, 11:38 AM
Tacitus said...: Baseball catchers put nail polish on the hand they use to signal pitches. Or at least they used to before these new radio systems. Nothin' weird about painting your nails and waggling your hand around in the general region below your crotch. Nope...; 2/1/24, 11:57 AM
John Holland said...: Not shocking: boring. Old news.

As Rocco points out, this is at least as old as Glam. The other night I was watching a documentary on the Canadian band Rush. There was some footage of the band playing a concert in the mid-1970s and sure enough, they had black nail varnish. Call the cops!

Next thing, those darn kids will be wearing long hair and tight bell bottom pants!

Also: the Grauniad, LOL. Still trying to epater les bourgeoisie with gender-bending, to distract their readership from Muslim Brits fire-bombing an MP's office for supporting Israel. Now that's actual shocking news, but we can't have any of that here.; 2/1/24, 12:12 PM
n.n said...: Women wear dresses, men don't wear shorts, in a bid to normalize a favorable juxtaposition of the sexes.; 2/1/24, 12:21 PM
chuck said...: I once worked at a job in a cheese factory that was hard on my nails. I used clear nail polish and carried a nail clipper in my pocket, it was the sensible thing to do, not a fashion statement. Can't speak for the current trend, if there is such a trend.; 2/1/24, 12:23 PM
Interested Bystander said...: Yep girly men. I noticed my gay hairstylist had very dark polish on his nails last time. Whatever. Dude’s an out gay man and he doesn’t care who knows. Good for him.; 2/1/24, 12:24 PM
CJinPA said...: My son-in-law (father of a new grandson) paints his toenails (at least he paints them black and not say pink). Althouse mafia - is this something that should or should not concern me.

Well, he provided the grandson. So he got that part right.; 2/1/24, 12:42 PM
CJinPA said...: My son-in-law (father of a new grandson) paints his toenails (at least he paints them black and not say pink). Althouse mafia - is this something that should or should not concern me.

Well, he provided the grandson. So he got that part right.; 2/1/24, 12:42 PM
CJinPA said...: My son-in-law (father of a new grandson) paints his toenails (at least he paints them black and not say pink). Althouse mafia - is this something that should or should not concern me.

Well, he provided the grandson. So he got that part right.; 2/1/24, 12:42 PM
Tofu King said...: Put me down as not annoyed. Don't care.; 2/1/24, 12:43 PM
CJinPA said...: My son-in-law (father of a new grandson) paints his toenails (at least he paints them black and not say pink). Althouse mafia - is this something that should or should not concern me.

Well, he provided the grandson. So he got that part right.; 2/1/24, 12:48 PM
Iman said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/1/24, 1:08 PM
Iman said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/1/24, 1:10 PM
Rocco said...: Narr said...
“FTR I despise tattoos as well, and question the judgement and intelligence of those who sport them.”

So you’re not fan of the Navy guys, then?

You’re right about the judgement point. I was on vacation with some friends and had the hots for a friend of a friend who came along. She and I agreed to each get a small discreet tattoo, but she chickened out when we were in the parlor looking at designs. I never got the girl, but I did get a small tattoo on a shoulder blade.

I’m not a fan of getting inked up, especially in a prominent visible location. Since she was the subject of a recent thread, Kat Von D is hot despite her tattoos, not because of them.; 2/1/24, 1:25 PM
Jamie said...: I enjoy the YouTube cooking show Bingeing (which they misspell as "Binging") With Babish. A few months ago, I was watching an episode, and the fingernails of the dude who hosts it were painted (black, as it happens). My immediate response was disgust, and because I think of myself as a pretty live-and-let-live person, I examined that feeling more closely.

What I realized was that it wasn't the fact that he was a dude that was bothering me; it was that he was a cook. His nails weren't long, they ended at his fingertips, but nail polish can hide dirt. I didn't recall ever seeing a cook or chef with painted nails, and certainly not on camera.

I think maybe I wasn't the only person who has that reaction, as I haven't noticed painted nails on him since that one episode.; 2/1/24, 1:38 PM
PM said...: Well, if you're getting a lady-friend to do it, it could be a sharp move.; 2/1/24, 2:04 PM
Narr said...: "So you're not a fan of the Navy guys, then?"

Not for their tats, no. One of the art history profs sported a small flower tattoo on his forearm--and sure enough it was a souvenir of his days as a sailor. This was in the early '70s, and now you can hardly find a young prof or grad student without them--sometimes enough to make a whole crowd of savages jealous.

It's your skin of course, so do what you want with it.

I've never found tattoos enhancing on females, and on pretty ones they're a detriment.

And don't get me started on studs and piercings . . .; 2/1/24, 2:26 PM
rehajm said...: Here in the south when you pull up to the nail salon there can be four lift kit pickups out front. I've got a fun pick of me and three bubbas rocking the pedi chairs. Nobody gets color though. Dad goes because he can't reach his toes anymore...

...It's not all high maintenance Ann. Get the stuff they cure with UV. Gel? That stuff will pull your nail off before it chips or cracks.; 2/1/24, 2:40 PM
KellyM said...: This is not a recent development. Eddie Izzard was doing it 25 years ago as part of his stand-up schtick. On Eddie it was funny (then). Now, not so much.

Pro tip: polish jobs last longer if your nails are shaped square. For some reason it makes a difference. I can have a French last almost three weeks and that's every day spent tapping a keyboard.; 2/1/24, 4:14 PM
Howard said...: Personally, non of that stuff is my thing. However, I believe that people are free to do what they like. That includes all you judgmental Karen's hung up on superficial craptrap. You be you by focusing on others.; 2/1/24, 5:18 PM
wild chicken said...: A manicure is one thing and it doesn't mean painted nails or extensions.

A good manicure will keep the nail from splitting and shredding in weird ways.

Men with money have been getting them for a century at least. A cute manicurist doesn't hurt wither.; 2/1/24, 7:22 PM
Rocco said...: Virgil Hilts said...
"My son-in-law (father of a new grandson) paints his toenails (at least he paints them black and not say pink). Althouse mafia - is this something that should or should not concern me?"

The Rolling Stones sang...
I see a toe nail
And I want it painted black,
No colors anymore
I want them to turn black.

I see the girls walk by
Nails in their pastel shades,
I have to turn my head
Until my darkness fades.

I see a line of cars
Interiors are all black,
With flowers and my love
Both never to come back.

I've seen people turn their heads
And quickly look away,
Like a new grand-baby
It just happens everyday.

I look inside myself
My keratin identifies as black,
I see my toe nail
I must have it painted black.

Maybe then, I'll fade away
And not have to face the facts,
It's not easy facing up
When your keratin is black.

I wanna see it painted,
Painted black
Black as night
Black as coal
I wanna see the sun
Blotted out from the sky
I wanna see it painted, painted, painted
Painted black, yeah; 2/1/24, 9:12 PM
mikee said...: I love pedicures. They keep my little piggies happy, all the way home. No paint needed, but I wouldn't object to a nice matte clearcoat for protection of the nails. Same for my hands.; 2/2/24, 1:37 AM