9 Examples Of The New Feature That’s Made Pinterest Awesome For Men (Seriously)

With over 30 billion pins, Pinterest is an interesting, entertaining, and downright useful search engine for virtually anyone. The problem? Many guys think it’s just for women.

Although I’ve tried talking countless guys out of that perception, I secretly understood why they felt that way. As The Wall Street Journal’s Yoree Koh put it, the male experience of using Pinterest used to be “similar to visiting a women’s department store.” It’s not that guy-friendly content wasn’t there; it’s just that it was harder to find. Because Pinterest had significantly more female users from the get-go, female-skewed pins would naturally show up more often in search results than those geared towards men.

But, all that’s changed thanks to a seemingly small but incredibly powerful new tool: the ability to specify your gender.

For the first time, Pinterest is now truly a man-friendly destination. In fact, I could see many of my male friends using it as their go-to search engine for the same things all my girlfriends use it for: style inspiration, fitness tips, food and cocktail recipes, Halloween costumes, DIY projects, home decor ideas, gift suggestions…the list goes on.

Still skeptical? Take a look at the nine examples below and then tell me that even your manliest friends wouldn’t be tempted to give it a whirl. It’s that good.

1. Searching for: “DIY”

BEFORE: Men can get down with DIY as much as women, but searching for it on Pinterest used to turn up pictures of downright euphoric ladies modeling infinity scarves they supposedly knitted in just 30 minutes, or a list of 18 life hacks that every girl should know (were you aware that you can turn an old broom head into an accessories organizer?!) Yes, guys like to make stuff, but homemade Biore pore strips probably aren’t one of them.

NOW: Men can get inspired with “19 Man Cave Ideas,” find out how to turn an old Jim Beam bottle into a soap dispenser, or learn how to make a paracord bracelet (I know more than one guy who has made this).

2. Searching for: “FOOTBALL”

BEFORE: One could see how, as a guy, it might be a little disconcerting to search “football” and see Super Bowl nail art ideas or recipes for chocolate peanut butter footballs pop up.

NOW: The days of football-shaped cheese platters are behind them. Today, guys see everything from intense on-the-field action shots to a poster that reimagines real-life NFL teams as Star Wars characters (and we all know plenty of dudes who would eat that up).

3. Searching for: “TATTOOS”

BEFORE: This popular category didn’t used to turn up a whole lot of designs that most men would get excited about (I don’t know a lot of guys who are dying to see the ‘Top 10 Elephant Tattoos’ or get a giant feather inked on their hip).

NOW: When men turn to Pinterest for tattoo inspiration, the results are decidedly more masculine. Think compasses, forests, and even oil rigs.

4. Searching for: “HOME OFFICES”

BEFORE: Of the male pinners I know, finding inspiration for all things home-related seems to be one of their more common reasons for using the platform. However, even that can be discouraging if a search for home office ideas turns up shabby-chic craft rooms and lavender-painted file cabinets.

NOW: Today it’s a different story: when men search “home office” on Pinterest, the resulting pins feature beautiful photos of industrial rooms, rustic furnishings, and pins offering up “33 stylish and dramatic masculine home office designs.”

5. Searching for: “DRINKS”

BEFORE: Food is one of the most popular categories on Pinterest, but even this seemingly gender-neutral category used to have the potential to turn men away. In days past, a man looking to peruse cocktail recipes would wind up with pins like “17 Fruity Alcoholic Drink Recipes To Try.” It’s probably a safe bet that men would be even less interested in the pin proffering a hot pink cocktail actually called “Barbie Drink.”

NOW: A search for the perfect cocktail recipe brings up pins that most guys would find genuinely useful. Everything from the “10 Manliest Alcoholic Drinks” to “15 Beer Cocktails” to an infographic all about drinking whiskey, it’s easy to see how Pinterest could become the ultimate mixology destination for men.

6. Searching for: “ARM WORKOUTS”

BEFORE: Imagine a man searching for arm workouts and winding up with pins that feature women almost exclusively – you can bet he closed his Pinterest window before any of his friends could see him looking at the “Summerlicious Arms Workout.”

NOW: Even the manliest of men can feel comfortable using Pinterest for fitness tips – a search for “arm workouts” results in pictures of super-muscular guys doing some pretty intense lifting, plus “The Best Arm Excercies For Big Guns” and “The 30 Most Powerful Arm Exercises for Titantic, Toned Arms.” Titantic arms, people. You get the idea.

7. Searching for: “HAIRSTYLE”

BEFORE: While hairstyles might not be the number one topic you hear discussed during a guy’s night out, it’s a fact that many men care just as much about their hair as girls (in fact, I have more than a few male friends who care way more than most girls I know). But in the past, a man searching for his new ‘do had to scroll through pins showing step-by-step instructions on how to achieve the “Bouffant Bun,” or read about the “10 Most Popular Hairstyles for College Girls.”

NOW: Men can find everything from how to choose the perfect cut for his face shape to the “90 most popular and stylish men’s hairstyles for this season” – which is a lot more useful than flipping through random pages of a men’s magazine trying to spot the perfect cut on his own.

8. Searching for: “BUSINESS CASUAL”

BEFORE: Often, people don’t have a specific clothing item in mind when looking for style inspiration; instead, they want visual guidance on a general trend, clothing item, or season. A good example: what does “business casual” look like, exactly? For men, it used to look like pencil skirts and leopard-print flats – at least, when they searched that term on Pinterest.

AFTER: Guys can see for themselves just how awesome it is to use Pinterest for instant (and useful!) style inspiration. Among the endless pictures of on-trend business casual ensembles and piece-by-piece outfit guides, there are pins like the one offering “The Most Concise, Useful, and Informative Guide On How to Dress ‘Business Casual’ Ever.” Doesn’t get much better than that, guys.

9. Searching for: “BOWS”

BEFORE: Bows on skirts. Bows in ponytails. Bows on high heels.

NOW: Well…you get the point.