There seems to be this huge wave resurfacing in which men are claiming that makeup is “false advertisement”, going so far as to declare that they will take women swimming for first dates to “discover the truth” (which is flawed in itself. I mean there’s this thing called setting spray that can totally thwart that plan in a second). Some guys claim that the basis for their annoyance is that women can “pretend to be attractive” with makeup, while men can’t.
Firstly: hey, everyone is attractive to someone, so take those judgemental opinions elsewhere.
Secondly: who on Earth is saying that men can’t wear makeup?
Let me take you, dear readers, on a journey back to early 10,000 BC. Yep, over 12 thousand years ago, eyeliner was born in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Eyeliner, which today is so widely perceived as a feminine product, was originally a status symbol used by women AND men. Not only did it better define the eyes of its wearers, but also it protected them from wrinkles. Cool, right?
The Roman Empire caused the fall of Egypt, after which eyeliner fell out of fashion for a while, so let’s fast-forward to the 1920s, when King Tut’s tomb was discovered and eyeliner was, subsequently, rediscovered. Victorian fashion was on its way out, and showbiz was on the rise. Eyeliner was used to make eyes “pop”, on and off camera. It was mostly used by female-identifying people at this time, but actors also utilized eyeliner (though stage makeup is vastly different from everyday makeup). Cosmetics companies went wild over the stuff, and it’s sold pretty well over the years, though styles have changed:
Late ‘70s, early ‘80s, Punk and Gothic became a new reason to wear eyeliner – and it was gender-neutral! I’m not saying it was a pretty sight, but hey, it was all the rage. The music industry capitalized on cosmetics, and soon the general populous followed suit, wanting to emulate their idols. Then in the late 20th century, Emo culture made an appearance, and BAM, eyeliner was popular on guys again! Especially in the pop-punk scene. Remember these guys?
(Upper left: Pete Wentz, Upper right: Ryan Ross, Lower left: Gerard Way, Lower right: Brendon Urie)
These gentlemen brought eyeliner back in the early 2000s. That’s where I lose track of the history of eyeliner, because soon after they briefly normalized male usage of it, something happened. Although female-identifying people kept eyeliner going, male-identifying people stopped, rather suddenly in fact.
So, where is this history lesson headed?
Look, eyeliner is just one cosmetic out of many that originally had a gender-neutral basis. I’m not sure who originally put it in people’s heads that makeup is inherently “girly”, but what I do know is that getting jealous about other people wearing it simply will not fly. Think about it: what makes makeup “feminine”? The fact that girls wear it? (I’m not even going to get into why viewing “feminine” as a negative quality is a problem. Expect another article for that.)
Ladies, you may be familiar with the makeup it takes to pull off a natural look. Maybe some foundation, perhaps a bit of blush, light mascara if you’re feeling in the mood? Imagine a world where it’s normal for guys to put as much effort into their appearance as you do. Imagine, if you will, how much cuter guys could hypothetically be. And imagine how much cheaper makeup would be if it became normalized enough that men wanted access to it! If women as a whole encourage guys to wear cosmetics, the stigma could fade. Not only would guys stop ragging on each other for wanting to look good, they’d stop ragging on girls for the same thing.
I’m not the first to say this, but I’ll definitely say it outright. Guys: if you want to hide your acne, make those eyes stand out a little brighter, join the “eyebrows on point” crew, do literally ANYTHING with cosmetics, just go ahead and do it. What’s stopping you? You’ve got support already, and the more you go with the flow, the more people will get it.