Think back to the time when you first started to play with makeup – maybe it was the first time you were allowed to wear mascara. Or even before that, when you bought Claire's eyeshadow palettes, filled with a fusion of bright colours in heart-shaped pockets. These were my first memories of makeup. The memories of a girl who felt comfortable and grown up wearing makeup outside the house – and more significantly, accepted.
But this wouldn't have been the same if I'd have grown up as a boy. If I wanted to use it, I would have been shamed or bullied. I would have been labelled, called 'gay' and even isolated from 'masculine' hobbies.
Why was makeup given to us as a gendered product, and can the stigma around male makeup ever change?
The idea that men wearing makeup is 'embarrassing' has been fed to us from a young age, even simply by observing our parents' behaviour. Mum would put on makeup and dad would just get out of bed and head for the door. It has always been a woman’s product.
The first bit of subliminal messaging from my early years which springs to mind is an episode of Victorious, where there was a running 'joke' that character Robbie was wearing makeup, as though this would be something to be embarrassed about.
Looking back, the entire premise of this joke is homophobic and sexist. The show suggests that Robbie could not possibly be straight or a 'real man' if he was wearing makeup – not to mention the show's lack of diversity in terms of sexuality. These seemingly innocent jokes can influence a whole generation.
Generally in the media, makeup is represented as a product for gay men, the ultra-feminine or 'camp' men who want to wear extravagant looks.
Luckily, social media and shows like RuPaul's drag race glamourise and encourage people who enjoy expressing themselves in this way to do so. They show the mass audience that dressing to the nines, even as a man, is something to be proud of. In this sense, society may have changed its tune when it comes to the taboo of men in makeup and 'alternative' self-expression, which was frowned upon only 10 years previously.
YouTubers like Manny MUA, James Charles and Jeffree Star have definitely helped to change the stigma around men wearing makeup. Despite being controversial figures in the beauty community, male makeup artists modelling their skills on themselves has normalised this idea for young boys around the world.
However, has the stereotype of males who wear makeup changed? The mannerisms and sexuality of the main advocates would be described by many as 'camp' or gay – so does this perpetuate the same view of makeup as a solely feminine product adopted by the male gay community?
This may not be the case, despite what the media narrative is telling us.
Edited by Tia Xiourouppas