Subscribe to Desicritics
Much Ado About the Moustache
IdeaSmith
There are men who look good with facial hair. Greek gods walk in our midst after all.
Then there are those who're passably nice looking and on whom the facial fuzz can act like the proverbial Fairy Godmother (oh okay, magic potion a la Shrek) completely transforming their faces into something else altogether!
Of course every once in a while we do come up against a case of the mustache making the man (and not vice versa). These are those speciMENs that are ordinary, even laughable clean-shaven (remember Lamhe?) but add some fuzz and voila - a star is born!
And then there are all those images one has, leftovers from too many childhood stories, of Chinese gentlemen in floor-sweeping rebonded-straight mustaches. Are those supposed to be shampooed? :-)
Back in Idli-land where I come from, a mouch is considered a sign of manliness so you'll rarely spot a clean upper lip. Facial fungus rules! Oh ewww I shudder and tell my family.....
(Click on thumbnail to view comic)
Why am I so acerbic? I've lived all my life with a mustachioed man after all. But then again there's no one quite like Dad. Besides I have nasty memories of horrid punishments that involved the moochie. When I was extra naughty, dad would grab me and rub his cheek on mine. Far more effective than spanking, it was like being sandpapered. So now when it comes to gentlemen professing l'amour for me, smooth faces get brownie points...I have no intention of thinking of childhood punishments and dad in the midst of such activity.
The moustache is so much more than a line (or jungle) of hair. It's a style statement, an extremely sexual one at that! It's probably the oldest icon of male vanity (not to mention the oldest excuse men use to gain our sympathies in the 'how painful to scrape one's face everyday' school of thought).
The goatee or French beard (I can't tell the difference - is there one?) straddles the machismo of the moustache as well as the dandiness of vanity - the perfect accessory for a Metrosexual Man (which is probably the only reason I resist it). Then again, faces can look quite appealing with the mini-mouch (muhahaha..) except for the ones with too much of baby-fat (but there's very little to improve those, one supposes!)
So finally, how do you like your men? Mustachioed, in-between or not at all?
Much Ado About the Moustache
RSS:
- Subscribe to RSS 2.0 feeds for:
- » Comments on this article
- » Culture
- » Culture: Humor
- » Culture: Fashion
- » Culture: Men
- » Desicritics.org articles by IdeaSmith
- » All Satire articles
- » All Desicritics.org articles
bd
URL
May 14, 2008
04:01 PM
Mooch nahi to aadmi nahi, says I, twirling his mustache proudly!!!!, I have not had issues with any ladies complaining about my mustache, although my little munchkin knows about the mooch rub! :).
I ran this facebook application which does facial comparison to celebrities and the damn thing came back and said I looked like stalin and saddam!
some related links for you.
http://dailysalty.blogspot.com/search?q=mustache
temporal
URL
May 14, 2008
04:39 PM
IS:
heheh
temporal
URL
May 14, 2008
04:40 PM
IS:
heheh
(one of these days someone should write about women and moustaches...yes they have one too...threading? .....it gets more pronouced with age...)
;)
harini calamur
URL
May 14, 2008
11:03 PM
:)
depend on the muchchi.... if it is on of those --- i am too lazy to shave thingee... it looks like a growth of fungus gone bad :) and therefore avoidable...
However, if it is one of those well maintained appendages .. then it is ok....beards are a different matter though :)
IdeaSmith
URL
May 15, 2008
01:44 AM
@ bd: I've seen that app on Facebook and I'm afraid to run my own face on it and see what it turns out!
@ temporal: And I was afraid no one would notice that I'd steered clear of that particular topic.. ;-)
@ harini: I only keep wondering how those are cleaned? Imagine saying "Not this evening, I have to shampoo my beard!"
IdeaSmith
URL
May 15, 2008
01:46 AM
@ Everyone: For some reason, I can't see the pictures in this post and that defeats the whole point since the idea is sooo conveyed through pictures. Is anyone else facing the same problem?
Ledzius
May 15, 2008
02:33 AM
"The goatee or French beard (I can't tell the difference - is there one?)"
There is no such thing as a French beard. It is a desi term just like prepone or mocktail.
ushnishas
May 15, 2008
04:18 AM
yaaaaaaas we are noticing an increase in the amount of fuzz sprouting on male cheeks and upper lips these days.
they do need to emphasise some sign of manlihood.
well with all these pretty boys around for so many years, now they need a manly appeal
you may try all you like boys, sean connery STILL is THE MAN
oh fan me I need air OHHHHHH THAT GORGEOUS HUNK!
smallsquirrel
May 15, 2008
08:55 AM
I hate mustaches by themselves. I do not mind a goatee, but a lone mustache to me just looks kinda, well, weird.
I guess some guys look OK with them. But yeah, there seems to be this desi bent all for them. my hubby has a baby face, and when he grew a mustache all his relatives thought it made him look distinguished. I thought it looked skeevy and told him that I would pin him down and shave it off. it horrified me!
Guido
May 15, 2008
11:57 AM
I've seen some woman here in Sicily sporting some nice ones. Mustaches that is. ;)
Varun P
URL
May 16, 2008
05:43 AM
Hey IS, ever considered the fact that men could be sprouting an increasing amount of beard to take the attention away from the lessening amount of hair on their heads??
Errrr... This is just a comment that I receive from some of these lovely ladies who keep urging me to go for a shave!
Add your comment
(Or ping: http://desicritics.org/tb/7714)