Are men actually allowed to wear makeup in this day and age?
At a time when the needs of the LGBTQIA+ community are becoming more and more focused and the calls for greater tolerance are growing louder, many men are choosing to wear makeup.
Often, the skills of many women are put in the shade. Meanwhile, there are, among others, quite a few YouTubers who show in regular tutorials how it works. Many love to express their personality in this way, others want to "scare" and still others underline their own attractiveness in this way. In many cases, all of the above factors simply come together as well. One thing is certain: Who deals a little with history, will quickly realize that it was already early "quite normal" for men to make up.
Men have already made up in early modern times
... and not too scarce. Even then, men tried to express their youthfulness with the help of men's make-up and co. Not only in the face, but also, for example, by "coloring" the hair.
And also in the time of the Egyptians, many men loved it, for example, with the help of color, to emphasize their eyes or to put their nails in color.
Whoever decides to put on makeup as a man in this day and age is therefore acting comparatively traditionally and is "in good company".
However, no one needs to be a historian to know that the image of the "perfect man" changed at some point.
A caesura in the 20th century
Especially from the 20th century, a large part of society was of the opinion that a man had to be "strong" and "tough". The boundaries to femininity were broken down... Or in other words: From this time on, it was good manners NOT to put on makeup to underline one's own masculinity. Make-up and Co. now belonged in the female area and were - at least for most men - taboo.
As is so often the case, however, art, especially music, ultimately ensured that more men dared to "reach for the color pot" again. It was icons such as Elton John or David Bowie who showed that it was perfectly possible for men to use eye shadow and the like.
Especially in the 1980s and 1990s, however, things had changed. Because: Now the two camps, the advocates of male makeup and their opponents, were clearly more aggressive towards each other. To this day, many queers fear violent attacks when they walk through the streets wearing makeup, for example. However, discreet male make-up is often "tolerated" by large sections of society.
Many beauty companies adjust their assortment
However, the current developments around men's makeup are not finished. And in the meantime, there are also many beauty companies that consciously focus on products for male customers. From anti-wrinkle creams to elaborate eye shadow palettes, just about everything is represented here. And again and again it becomes clear: "Just" because a product is presented by a man or a woman, this does not mean that said product should only be used by the respective gender.
Opinions about male testimonials in cosmetics advertising differ. While some have absolutely no problem with, for example, wearing a lipstick that is applied by a man in a campaign, others react more sensitively here - especially in social networks.
However, many queers welcome the fact that numerous brands are rethinking their approach and that "rainbow" campaigns are no longer limited to Pride Month.
However, many male contemporaries overlook the biological difference in skin structure and unseeingly resort to products created for female skin, which can lead to skin damage in the long term. So watch out!