"Metrosexual" chic.

Previously in THE NEW AMERICAN (see "TV or Not TV? Not!" in our November 17 issue), we described the newly minted category "metrosexual," a term describing normal men who are polished, well groomed, sophisticated, tasteful--but for some reason aren't homosexual. This term assumes the innate superiority of homosexuals, of course--a trope becoming increasingly common in TV shows such as Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

Efforts to embed this notion abound in the entertainment media. Witness the case of Playmakers, an original drama series produced by ESPN chronicling the adventures of a fictional professional football team. Toward the end of the series' first season, a player named Thad Guerwitcz, played by Daniel Petronijevic, is "outed" as a homosexual.

"Thad was originally written as a devout Christian with no hint of a gay back story," reported the October 14 issue of The Advocate. Pertronijevic was approached to play the part on that basis. "As the series evolved, we slowly felt that this was the right direction, given the character," states the series' producer, Orly Adelson. "I came to [Petronijevic] and told him, 'You're going to be changing a bit ... and how do you feel about it?' He said, 'Great! I'm an actor.'" "to my father's time, this would be groundbreaking stuff," Petronijevic told the magazine. "Nowadays, it's about time we started dealing with this."

Australian actor Hugh Jackman, famous for his portrayal of uber-macho superhero Wolverine in the X-Men films, assumed a different thespian challenge by essaying the role of homosexual songwriter (and AIDS casualty) Peter Allen in Broadway's The Boy from Oz. Praising "Jackman's clean bonhomie and dishy metrosexuality" as a needed "antidote to such beefy Australian fare as Russell Crowe and Mel Gibson," Newsweek reported: "Jackman was delighted to hear rumors that he himself, despite being married with a son, was gay."

Today's new man? Hugh Jackman stars in the Broadway production of The Boy from Oz. Jackman is one of many high-profile heterosexual men who are personifying an effeminate male style more commonly referred to as "metrosexuality."