Beauty Boys

One of my favorite developments, as the patriarchy slowly crumbles under the weight of its own toxic masculinity, has been the mainstreaming of makeup for men. Reams have been written about the growth of the men’s cosmetics market. Think pieces abound about men’s use of products like concealer and foundation to project youthfulness in an increasingly competitive and youth-obsessed job market. That’s great — Seriously. But what I’m really here for, tbh, is beauty boys. The past few years have seen the proliferation of beautiful boys (like James Charles, Manny Gutierrez, and Bretman Rock) all over social media rocking the fuck out of some makeup. Not the utilitarian use of cosmetics to correct perceived imperfections; but, the painting of a face in such a way to project a mood, a character, an emotion. The idea that I have available to me another set of tools with which to express myself is kind of revolutionary to me.