Newsflash, Jacamo: my yoga-loving, man bag-carrying body makes me just as much of a 'real man' as some bloke with a dad bod

I am a bit of an outspoken gay secularist, and do have my fair share of man bags, but I also work in the football industry. What does that make me?

The other day, menswear store Jacamo launched their #RealManRunway campaign to “find the face for AW17” with a tweet that read: “Real men have balls, not man bags.” It was accompanied by a side-by-side comparison of a “model” with a “real man’. The “model” character has a deliciously yogic and scantily clad body, complete with artfully draped cardigan luxuriously plunging over cheesegrater abs, with one arm effortlessly thrust back over his head to grab the handle of his man-bag.

The “real man” character, on the other hand has a certain “dad” appeal we all became aware of during the “dad bod” hysteria. Clad in tasteful knitwear and chinos, he has his rather less defined and flexible arm reaching back over his head for a football.

My initial reaction was one of confusion, frankly. I am a bit of an outspoken gay secularist, and do have my fair share of man bags (although the breadth of that definition confuses me sometimes), but I also work in the football industry. What does that make me? It’s all so grossly simplistic. Panicking, I began to wonder: am I not a “real man”? If not, what on earth am I?

The whole thing is incredibly lazy, predictable, and quietly perpetuates the rather limiting parameters within which some schools of thought would have us men live. The message seems to be: “If you have a dad bod and like football then you’re a real man, and you’re OK by us. If not, you’re not.” Of course, it’s fine to choose to be fat, and to like football. Equally though, surely, one is not less of a “real man” if you choose to have a beautifully chiselled body and carry your belongings in a man bag.

I wouldn’t presume to speak for all women (or all men for that matter), but I certainly have some female friends who get pretty narked with the portrayal of the “real woman” in advertising and the mainstream media. Their outrage is widely heard and understood. It is, then, the responsibility of anyone who doesn’t identify with the “real man” as presented by Jacamo to be angry. No man should be automatically categorised as “less than” by virtue of their looks, bodies or even the accessories they buy.

Society is currently engaging in a healthy discourse on what masculinity – even gender – really means in the 21^st century. This laughable campaign will resonate with many middle-aged men who’ve had a few too many pies and are in denial about their increasing waistline. Importantly, it will also resonate with homophobes. Because the posing model with the “feminine” man bag looks very like anyone’s stereotype of a gay man, while the “real man” he’s juxtaposed with looks like your blokey, football-loving, beer-swilling pinnacle of British masculinity. God forbid a football fan might carry a “man bag” too.

Can we spare a thought for those of us who choose to look after our bodies, and from time to time have recourse to a man bag? We’re real men too – and in 2016, Jacamo really should recognise that.