On Male Magazines and Metrosexuality in the Philippines

One thing that continues to pique my interest until now is if an Arena, GQ, or Esquire-ish type magazine will ever thrive in a lad magazine dominated country like ours. Initial reaction would be, “gusto ng Pinoy bastos”, or “hindi fashionista ang mga lalake dito”. To an extent, these opinions are all true.

However, is there still hope?

There have been quite a few attempts in the past. Manual from Mega Publishing was one of the first, which was then handled by recent Hinge Inquirer Group Editor Adel Gabot. Their cover formula consisted of Filipino males, some of which were models. More often than not, you would see a 30-something businessman, politician, or actor whose life every Filipino male would probably want. Articles were presented in a witty and sophisticated manner, attempting to challenge the male mind more than to give it a bit of “escape” from actual thought. If you’re a visual person, it probably wouldn’t have been the magazine for you.

A few years hence, and we see an all new Manual with “Mr. Royal True Orange” himself, RJ Ledesma at the helm. The biggest change of all, is that gone are the days that the cover used to be adorned by men. After all (and this goes for any male mag out there), you wouldn’t want to be caught at the office holding a magazine with Marc Nelson on the cover right? This sort of thing is just too risky, and maybe detrimental to how others perceive you. I wouldn’t call their approach FHM-ish, but it is definitely a more appealing approach into trying to capture a share of the male magazine market. If you’re looking for skin, this isn’t for you. The humor is much more appreciated though. The magazine has also become more visually appealing, with careful thought obviously being put in the cover image.

Another title that has continually tried to get attention is Metro Him (Until now, I just don’t get why every ABS-CBN mag has to have the word metro in it). Unfortunately for the quarterly title, the first few issues had to deal with a lot of gay issues. Aside from the fact that the Carlo Tadiar, the EIC is gay, they would have some guys in some er, compromising positions. Do you remember the gas station scene in Zoolander? That scene used to exude the exact feel of their fashion eds. While I remember Mr. Tadiar saying in his ed’s letter that the fashion industry cannot exist without members of the gay community (hence the vulgar-more-than -underlying tones of homosexuality), everything about the magazine just raised red flags for straight males.

Two of the more promising titles in recent years comes from the people behind C! magazine. I don’t know the complete story behind it, but apparently there was a misunderstanding between the main guys behind Manifesto magazine. Those people then moved on and put together Rogue. The bottom line is these people have come up with a monthly that can pass for a coffee table book. I think the main challenge is if they’ll be able to sustain it on a monthly basis. Main features in both magazines are also on the long side, reaching as many as 16 pages per feature (as opposed to the usual 6-8 pages). The quality of the magazine is definitely admirable. No doubt, these titles are capable of drawing in high end brands, something that majority of male magazines have had little success with because of the market they cater to.

I think maybe in the next 3-4 years, these titles are a possibility. With titles such as Men’s Health which took the brave step of featuring shirtless guys on the cover. The gay concern is still there, but people have become more receptive. I guess it all depends on how you market the magazine and how long you’re willing to weather the storm in the beginning. With marketing initiatives such as the All-Terrain Race and Urbanathlon, Filipino males are starting to get rid of the social insecurities that come with holding a magazine with someone of the same gender on the cover.

With that being said, the term metrosexual shouldn’t be used in media kits and advertising presentations just yet. It’s a term that the media industry loves to use, but let’s face it — there are still more chances that you’d come across a guy in a plain shirt, jeans, and sneakers, than a guy wearing a fashionista coat, slacks, and shiny leather shoes.

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