The rise of androgyny in popular culture has also been on the increase in the 21st century and beyond,[8] with an increasing rise in both fashion industries,[9] as well as pop culture for acceptance and even popularity of the "androgynous" look, with several trends set by current pop stars like Bill Kaulitz, being hailed as creative trendsetters.
The rise of the metrosexual in the 2000s has also been described as a related phenomena associated with this trend, and traditional gender stereotypes have been challenged as well as reset in recent years dating back to the 1960s and the hippie movement and flower power. Artists in film like Leonardo DiCaprio sported the "skinny" look in the 1990s- a departure from traditional masculinity which resulted in a fad known as "Leo Mania",[10] and this came long after musical superstars like David Bowie, Boy George, Grace Jones, Prince, Marilyn Manson (appearing as an androgynous substance-addicted alien called Omēga in his album Mechanical Animals) and Annie Lennox as well as Michael Jackson challenged the norms in the 1970s and had elaborate cross gender wardrobes by the 1980s. The astronomical rise in popularity of "pretty" boybands in the late 1980s and 1990s like New Kids on the Block, Take That, the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync "redefined masculinity"[11] and the trends flowed into other performance entertainment circles that included increasingly, sports stars in England's FA Premier League like David Beckham[12] or the Liverpool F.C Spice Boys[13] in the 1990s. These entertainers were known to have started trends of becoming increasingly conscious of their fashion and looks, and inadvertently raised trends as celebrities in the limelight that males were now increasingly interested in traditional female interests like clothing, fashion accessories, hairstyles, manicures, spa treatments and so on, which have seen the societal redefinition of traditional gender fashion norms, due to the popularity of these artistes with many people in the world today. These trends have arguably then gone on to reshape fashion, and clothing houses like Top Man, and designer labels have then seen an increase in sales in relevant "androgynous" merchandise.[14][15]
While the 1990s developed and fashion developed an affinity for unisex clothes and the rise of designers who favoured that look like Helmut Lang, Giorgio Armani and Pierre Cardin, the trends in fashion only hit the public mainstream in the 2000s, which saw men sporting longer hair, hairdyes, hair highlights, wearing jewellery, make up, visual kei, designer stubble, or the like, all of which been a significant mainstream trend of the 21st century, both in the western world, and in Asia.[16] Japanese and Korean cultures have been featuring the androgynous look as an ideal in society, as depicted in both K-pop, J-pop[17] and in Anime and Manga,[18] as well as the fashion industry[19] However, in 2010, reports state that the androgynous look in Europe and the West may be a trend on the decline



i mean, this is so true, the androgynous male look has been on somewhat of a decline lately.. it was so prominent in the 80's with bands such as Pretty Boy Floyd, Motley Crue, Danger Danger, Hanoi Rocks etc.. if someone was walking down the street now in tight trousers (probably womens) long hair, makeup and their nails painted now would you look twice?
fair enough, men don't have to wear womens clothing anymore as stated above, topman do sell quite androgynous looking clothing but if your boyfriend was putting abit of makeup on would you think there was something up?
women were so attracted to these men in the 80's and the men were very attracted to the women, they weren't in an androgynous mindset, they were still very 'boyish' but the exterior was just the norm then.
androgyny is starting to make a rise again with andrej pejic modelling for almost every major fashion house all over the world though..