Long Fingernails

[13788]

gwinea2000: OK guys and gals, just curious as to your thoughts. I have longer, manicured and polished fingernails on my right hand. Why? Because I play a lot of fingerstyle guitar. Though I'm not too concerned about the perception of others, I AM curious.

Overall, I'm a masculine guy, in both appearance and demeanor. So...do you think people put two and two together? Or is it possible/likely that I appear a bit 'metrosexual' or gay? I live in SF, so there is obviously a higher-than-usual gay-to-straight ratio. (Disclaimer: I have no problem with others being gay, so don't start with any "What's Wrong With Gays" crap. I have gay and lesbian friends. I would just prefer not to be perceived as such.)

Is it odd-looking? Nasty? Intriguing? Irrelevant? Sexy? (Hey, I can give great back scratches&#33

I'm not going to change them regardless of the responses. I'm just curious, as I know many people take note of hands as a turn-on/turn-off.

 

[Steve26]

Hey, Gwinea -- My wife and I had an English prof in college who we thought was a bit ambiguous, although more from a gender perspective (i.e., effeminate) than a sexuality perspective (i.e., gay).

Honestly, because you ask, one of the reasons was that he had very long and well-kept fingernails, although we later learned that this was because he played the harp. (Far more mysterious than his hands, btw, was his breathy and highly androgynous voice, somewhat like a cross between Julia Child and a bad porn actress. Scary but true.)

BTW, found out later that he was married with a kid ... so just goes to reinforce the fallibility of superficial "clues" like fingernail length.

Steve

 

[D_Martin van Burden]

Well, my fingernails grow rather easily and lengthy because I have a high metabolism which processes a significant amount of keratin. Keratin is the protein responsible for hair growth and nail growth. I try to keep my nails clean so they look nice. I'll let my nails grow out for a bit, and I usually end up cutting them because one of my nails has chipped. If I really sit down and take care of 'em -- I mean, buffing them and cleaning them daily and filing them into shape -- they will last longer.

Hell, I even paint 'em black on occasion... you know, just to do something different.

Is is strange for guys to have good looking nails? Perhaps. Same thing in prior generations -- men who have soft and smooth hands instead of calloused ones, because they didn't work out in the fields or fix cars or stuff like that. (I got all my callouses from writing and using machines in the gym.)

The "metrosexual" thing to do is get them manicured. I know I don't have the time or money for that level of maintenance. At the same time, I'd rather scrub my nails to make sure they're clean, out of habit, instead of letting dirt get trapped under them. If that makes me metrosexual or gay -- because I like keeping clean nails -- so be it. And obviously, hygiene doesn't have any such bearing.

Heh, well, I don't think there's anything wrong with your nails, so long as you don't cut anyone off who mentions them: "God damn it, I play guitar! They make great picks!" The only attention I really get is a bit of envy from people, mostly women, whose nails don't grow long, quickly, or strong. Or... you know... "Are you Goth?" when they're painted black. Whatever.

 

[Pecker]

I have a cousin who plays classical guitar (6- and 12-string) for his local town's symphony orchestra. He's fantastic - why he never went 'pro' I'll never know.

He has the tell-tale callouses on the tips of the fingers of his left hand and long fingernails on his right hand.

It's never been a big deal.

 

[13788]

suaige: My housemate plays classical guitar and has sculpted nails on his right hand. Though I harass him about it and treaten to break them off -he is extremely defensive. He is definately not effeminate and they really aren't that noticable. It seemed a bit weird at first mostly because of the wedge shampes but mine grow really fast and tend to get long too. It has in no way changed my opinion of him.