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July 23rd. 2004
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Personal Stories
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Former Detroiter Peter Hyman — part-time
freelance writer, part-time standup comedian
probes modern urban existence.
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Special to the Jewish News
r
ormer Detroiter Peter Hyman
ultimately will use weather
forecasts to decide what to
wear to his book reading and signing
in Birmingham. As of now, he is pret-
ty sure that the pants will be khaki,
but he's not sure whether to combine
an Izod shirt with a corduroy blazer or
a track suit jacket with a blazer of a
different material.
Ordinarily, attire is not the focus of
a newly published author, but the title
of Hyman's just-released book provides
a summary explanation as to why
clothing is an important considera-
tion. Hyman has written The Reluctant
Metrosexual (Villard; $13.95) to pres-
ent essays about his life as a single
urban male and connect some experi-
ences to the in-vogue term he defines
as "a dandyish heterosexual."
Individuals falling into the category
are very interested in clothes, Hyman
makes clear, and as one of the group,
he, too, shares that interest with an
important difference: Although caught
up with appearance, his own take on
the word leaves him less caught up
with fashion trends.
"By calling the book The Reluctant
Metrosexuah we're having fun with the
word," says Hyman, 36, who will
greet readers 7 p.m. Friday, Aug.
13, at Borders, in Birmingham.
"I'm also admitting that there
probably are some characteristics
that I have that are consistent with it.
I do think that I skew that way, but I
would never use any one word to
define myself.
"There's one essay called 'Tending
Toward Flat Fronts' that seeks to
define the whole thing but also offers
some history of the term and an expla-
nation of my own purported metro-
sexuality — influences I had growing
up that I see as giving me the ability
to both appreciate watching a Tigers
game as well as taking note of the
broad sweep of some interior design."
Similar to clothiers trying to use
metrosexual as a marketing device to
sell products to urban men, Hyman
has used it as an eye catcher to market
his biographical essays. The frequent
Michigan visitor covers very personal
territory as he recalls growing up in a
household with a Jewish father and
Protestant mother (J. Leonard and
Virginia Hyman), learning about the
gay lifestyle of his brother Roger now
at home in Florida and entering vari-
ous sexual relationships including a
threesome.
"Some level of self-absorption moti-
vated me to write this book," says
Hyman, who graduated from Country
Day School and the University of
Michigan before deciding to work
toward a master's degree in journalism
at New York University.
"The essay is my
favorite form as a
reader and now as a
writer.
I can inter-
The Reluctant
Metrosexuat
weave my personal
lift
stories with larger
elements of rhetoric.
I'm often making a
point, and I think
the essay form suits
my analytical mind
and allows me to be
personally entertain-
ing."
Hyman maintains
that 98 percent of the book is
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Peter Hyman: (21 straight man
whose tastes are just gay enough."
A metrosexual, he says, is a
straight guy in touch with his fem-
inine side, one who appreciates
"expensive home furnishings, good
grooming and heirloom tomatoes."