On Male Manicures and Pedicures

One of the things I’ve always wondered about is why there are some men out there who have their nails and/or toes painted. Well, since I’m not really that familiar with parlor terminology, I equate painting of nails and toes with “manicures” and “pedicures”. Please correct me dear readers if there’s some other “parlor speak” out there that uses words other than the two I mentioned. 

Personally, I’m the barbershop kind of guy. My hairstyling and grooming needs are relatively simple. In fact, I’ve combed my hair in pretty much the same way ever since my elementary years. I guess it’s one of those things that show how I’ve always tried to stick to the basics in my life. Except for a very few occasions where there was no barbershop for miles around or I was totally new to an area where I had no choice but to go get my haircut at a hair salon, I’ve always had them at barbershops.

I was in elementary school when I first noticed some men go to a parlor or a hair salon to have their nails manicured (or toes pedicured).  It immediately struck me as odd.  My young mind immediately asked the question, “What’s wrong with these guys?  Are they gay?”  I tried asking my parents that question and the response I got was a flat “Well, they just want to make their nails look nice.  That’s all.” 

But over the years, I had developed one other personal observation and by no means do I aim to generalize when I state what that is.  I had observed in some of the barbershops I went to, that the men who had their nails done were mostly blue collar type workers. Most were involved in engineering and/or construction work and a few were cops.  Bt there were also a few white collar workers who had their nails done.  A couple of neighbors who had Finance-related jobs also had their nails done on a regular basis.

I hope I’m not coming across as either sexist or grossly narrow-minded but I don’t know what I’m missing here.  I just couldn’t imagine what compels a man to maintain polished nails especially if one’s line of work involved digging foundations; installing wires and plumbing; laying bricks or hollow blocks; or doing some manual police work on some lifeless body on the street all on a daily basis. It just doesn’t make much sense to me. Some say that well-attended hands have become an integral part of the image of a successful man. Maybe.  Could that really be the reason?

I don’t believe that the practice brings any health benefits.  I don’t even know what the social benefits are.  In fact, based on the people I personally know who had engaged in it, the practice created rather unpleasant personal consequences for them. The few men I personally know of who had their nails painted were all eventually found to have mistresses.  One can just imagine the problems they had at home. 

Does this mean then that there’s a direct correlation between nail painting and womanizing?  Or do women find it attractive that a man has polished or well manicured nails?  I honestly don’t know.  Nail painting/polishing per se is not the problem.  It’s the attitude of the men who engage in it that is the problem.  I just wish there was a survey out there to determine if there’s really such a correlation or not.  What do you folks think?