I have a story on Religion Dispatches today that tells the story of how an up and coming Alabama Religious Right pol-- won the Old Spice-sponsored Art of Manliness Man of the Year competition. I don't want to spoil the story or the fun, or RD's right to the traffic -- so I will offer you just the first opening paragraphs, and you will just have to trust me that it will be worth the click through.
Gimme That Old Spice Religionstarts out like this:
A small start-up Web zine, The Art of Manliness wanted readers to know that they were not looking for girly men.
Sponsored by Old Spice, the venerable line of men's shaving and hygiene products, the zine solicited nominations from readers for its first annual Man of the Year, to honor men who "epitomize the manliness that used to exist before the arrival of metrosexual pretty boys."
They were looking for "men like Theodore Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. Men like your grandpa," who "understood things like hard work, responsibility, and looking out for others. They lived by a code of honor and respect for others."
Winner Matthew Chancey, a marketing and communications consultant from Ashville, Alabama--an up-and-coming Republican politician--topped a field of ten finalists with thirty percent of the vote (3038 votes). He is now honored as one who knows "what it means to be a man," which includes a $2,000 prize "and a manly stash of Old Spice products."
Much, much more