Does “the new man” really look like Timothée Chalamet?

BOOK – Timo, Timmy, Sweat Tea or simply Timothée… Since his career exploded thanks to his role in Call Me By Your Name, Timothée Chalamet has not only inherited a panel of nicknames. The actor is on everyone’s lips and, since Wednesday, October 12, is now the subject of a new test with us in France.

This book is called Freed from masculinity: How Timothée Chalamet made me believe in the new man (JC Lattès) and was written by journalist and specialist in LGBT+ issues Aline Laurent-Mayard, to whom we owe a guide entitled Gender explained to those who are lost and the podcast Free from desire or how asexuality freed me.

Aline Laurent-Mayard, in her thirties, is obsessed with Timothée Chalamet, but really. She lives Timothée Chalamet, she sleeps Timothée Chalamet, eats Timothée Chalamet. It is at the heart of her conversations between friends. Together, they dream of going on vacation to Italy, where Luca Guadagnino’s film was shot.

To tell the truth, since the release of the feature film in 2018 (and despite a hit at the box office after all, Timothée Chalamet is everywhere. In the movies, on big blockbusters, like Dunes, Don’t Look Upor in the films of the most prominent filmmakers, such as Wes Anderson (The French Dispatch) or Greta Gerwig (lady bird, The Daughters of Doctor March).

Timothée Chalamet, the anti “bad boy”

The Franco-American actor whom the Anglo-Saxon media have long described as ” next big thing of Hollywood cinema is only 26 years old, but has already been nominated several times for the Oscars, the Golden Globes or the Bafta. With his broad smile and the daring outfits he wears on the red carpet of these ceremonies, he always arouses enthusiasm. We talk about him as a sex symbol on Instagram, on TikTok, on Twitter. ” A ventriloquist puppet bearing his likeness sold for $122,795 writes Aline Laurent-Mayard. Among millennials, it’s “Chalamania”.

The reasons for the phenomenon? Timothée Chalamet does not look like other men, at least those to whom the film, music or fashion industries have accustomed us. Timothée Chalamet is young, thin and beardless. He does not try to hide this youthful body and marks in this a break ” with the stars before », « those who parade on the red carpet, sure of themselves and of their virile sex appeal », continues Aline Laurent-Mayard.

In full post #MeToo context, he is not hiding anything bad or violent. He has not (yet) been charged with sexual assault or harassment. He seems nice, far from the stereotypes of the “bad boy”, this rebel like Chuck Bass (gossip girl) “that makes women’s heads spin “.

The “Prince” of the red carpet

Elio’s interpreter is ” clumsy, a little intimidated and does not hide itcontinues the journalist in her book. She’s not the type to hide her feelings. » « When he loves, he lets it knowinforms the essayist. When he was a teenager, he could queue for hours to see his heroes. “He is close to his family. The proof, his mother was his +1 at the Golden Globes in 2019.

Besides that, Timothée Chalamet is dusting off menswear. He’s proven men time and time again that they can explore their femininity, whether by donning an incredible bare back (like at the Venice Film Festival) or simply showing up shirtless at the Oscars. The fashion, ” long abandoned by men afraid of being seen as sissies or women », « can become a new playground for men” and “a domain where everything remains to be imagined “. That’s what Timmy does.

ABC/ABC via Getty Images

Timothée Chalamet on the Oscars red carpet in 2022.

For this reason and the previous ones, in the media, he is said to redefine masculinity. He has been given the label of “the new man”, this sensitive man who is not afraid to show ” her share of femininity “. And this, without claiming it. But what is it really? In her essay, Aline Laurent-Mayard, who did not come into contact with him, is more nuanced. First, because Timothée Chalamet is in a position of power. He can afford to arrive at the Oscars naked without being turned down or even assaulted.

Based on the work of feminist author Daisy Letourneur We are not born manshe writes : ” If you are a rich, straight, healthy white man, it will be easier for you to practice hegemonic masculinity [concept définissant ce qui caractérise les hommes quand on pense à eux, ndlr]. You may even decide that the skirt is acceptable for a real guy. »

Is it sufficient ?

Timothée Chalamet grew up in a family of artists in New York, before attending the most prestigious artistic high school in the United States, LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. He masters the codes of celebrity, he has the keys to adopt the right attitude when needed.

Doesn’t it give us what we want black? What are his motives ? Is he really the nice, gentle and benevolent man that we imagine? ” By being perpetually out of reach, but always in our line of sight, celebrities can comfortably transform into perfect pre-made partners. “, notes Aline Laurent-Mayard, citing the sociological theory known as “the parasocial relationship”.

So yes. What is certain is that Timothée Chalamet allows many men to feel less complex about their bodies, but is that enough to embody a change? Could he not, for example, donate his huge fees to associations? Leave your place on the front page of vogue to less privileged people? Aline Laurent-Mayard wonders. Shouldn’t we rather agree on a new definition of masculinity before electing its muse?

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