The New York Times, who we've called out before for writing ridiculous trend pieces on men's fashion, is back at it with an incredible article about men's nail polish. Because, you know, some men paint their nails. What's more startling than the ridiculous premise the entire article is predicated upon is that it doesn't really say much of anything about its subject matter. Let me boil this shit down for you: "Women have taken 'nail art' to the extreme, and now their male counterparts are painting their nails too! Isn't that interesting?" I mean, I guess it would be if the author made any sort of commentary on this phenomenon and how it relates to gender norms, the men's fashion industry or, maybe, just maybe, our idea of masculinity in general. But, like, nah. Instead it's just a couple of interviews with a guy here and there who paints his nails and the lofty assumption that we, the reader, are supposed to have some sort of emotional response to that. As with any of these totally shocking trend pieces related to men, does it really fucking matter? Some dudes dig the whole mani-pedi-massage treatment and it's not that big of a deal. In fact, illuminating the subject will probably turn more guys off to the entire idea all thanks to an article that highlights a presumed fascinating activity that requires some level of study or inquiry from outsiders to begin with.
