Joe Jonas has recently been promoting an anti-ageing skin treatment and has apparently "found a new level of confidence". Photo / AP
OPINION:
Women are judged on their looks far more than men. We all know that. And it is, of course, dreadfully unfair. I wouldn't dream of denying it. So I hope no one will think I'm being insensitive when I ask the following question.
How do peacocks feel?
In the peacock world, after all, it's the other way round. It's the males, with their big snazzy tail feathers, who get constantly judged on their looks – while the females (dull, drab, dowdy little things) get away with making absolutely no effort with their appearance at all.
I wonder whether the males ever get sick of this outrageous injustice. Do they complain about being objectified for their looks? Do they wish peahens would simply love them for their minds, rather than their plumage? Do they find that parts in peacock films dry up as soon as they turn 40? When they walk past a group of lairy peahens, do they find themselves getting cat-called – or at least, bird-called?
I don't know whether Sir David Attenborough is reading. But I do hope he'll write in.
At any rate, we men suffer from no such neuroses. Or so I always used to think. But times, it seems, are changing. Because modern men – especially younger ones – seem to have become alarmingly insecure about their looks.
According to a recent study, almost 80 per cent of millennial men say they feel "self-conscious about their physical appearance". Meanwhile, sales of men's skincare products are soaring. Shops now sell make-up aimed specifically at heterosexual men, including bronzer and concealer. And last year, British cosmetic surgeons reported a remarkable 70 per cent rise in men requesting video consultations.
In light of all this, then, I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised to read the interview given this week by Joe Jonas. For those unfamiliar with his work, Jonas is an American pop singer. The reason he gave this interview, however, was not to promote his music, or even his showbiz marriage to Sophie Turner, an actress from Game of Thrones. It was to promote his new "brand partnership" with Xeomin, an anti-ageing skin treatment. According to People magazine, Jonas has "found a new level of confidence in using these injections to smooth out some of those frown lines and wrinkles that come with age".
An intriguing claim. I'd love to know exactly how many frown lines and wrinkles Jonas had before he started using Xeomin. Because on Monday this week, he turned 33 years old.
I mean, for pity's sake. Thirty-three. He's a child. The only product he should be using on his skin is nappy cream. And yet here he is, telling the world that "we're all getting older" and that men shouldn't "shy away" from discussing their skincare regimes.
Personally, I find this kind of talk baffling. I'm only 41 myself. But reading about boy band singers having anti-wrinkle injections makes me feel an awful lot older, because the idea is so new and alien. If anything, young men should welcome signs of ageing. Flawless skin makes you look boyish and immature. Lines and wrinkles, by contrast, give you an air of worldly-wise manliness. Or so I'm telling myself, now that I'm looking in the mirror.
Where has it come from, this modern male insecurity? The obvious culprits are Instagram and Love Island. But Covid played its part, too. Experts believe the surge in male demand for Botox was driven by a year of Zoom calls. Day in, day out, millions of men were confronted by the sight of their own faces. And they didn't like what they saw.
The founder of War Paint, a brand of make-up for men, says his company is "very driven in our mission of mental health. Just letting guys feel comfortable and to do whatever you need to do to be the real you".
It's a lovely thought. But I'm not sure it's strictly true. The real you, after all, has spots and crow's feet. Surely the whole point of make-up is to help you be the fake you.
Still, at least one good thing should come out of this unexpected trend. It'll end the ugly protests against drag queens reading stories to children in libraries.
These days, after all, men wear so much make-up, no one will be able to tell the difference between the drag queens and the ordinary borrowers.