Why is it seen as wrong for males to wear makeup?

I have decided to do this topic as my arts issue, because it is a big thing in the 21st Century now, it's becoming more common for males to wear makeup on a regular basis. I have friends who are male and wear makeup and I think there is nothing wrong with it, however, friends of friends find it so very wrong, and I want to see what other people think and why they think it. Everyone has the right to be themselves, why should makeup make people have an opinion? To look into this further and find out other people's opinions I have conducted primary and secondary research. My primary research that I have done consists of a questionnaire, asking people opinions regarding males wearing makeup. I have also conducted some secondary research, within this I have found a number of male beauty bloggers/vloggers as well as positive and negative responses on the topic of males wearing.

Trolls over the internet will always have something to say when it comes to something being different. In this case, it regards males wearing makeup, when doing some of my secondary research I came across a debate online with the question 'Should Men Wear Makeup?' This response had 84% yes and 16% no. I thought I would look into the 'No' section just to see what people are saying – as they had to back up their choice with an answer. The first thing that really caught my attention was this comment made. "It destroys our manhood and physical appearance" and then also goes on to say "confuses younger generations". It made me think I can agree in a sense because men have got a stereotype to be 'dominating' and 'strong'. Men are meant to bring home the money, look after the family and keep them safe. But it really shouldn't be this way because generations are changing by the minute! This is the 21st Century and over the years so much has changed, people should start to become more accepting and people coming out as homosexual is a common thing now. Everything is changing, males are wearing makeup because they want to feel comfortable in their own skin, what's the big deal? Females are allowed to wear it so why can't men! I can agree with the statement made about "confusing younger generations" because they are being brought up into a world that wasn't the same 30 years ago. They will go out and see a man wearing makeup and think it's the norm, this then might influence them to possibly try it out, and then their parents might punish them as they think it's wrong. When I was conducting my secondary research, I came across a 16 year old boy who is a worldwide hit on YouTube because he is amazing at putting makeup on his skin. He must get up in the morning and feel good about himself because there are people praising him for what he has a passion for. However, there are always the people that will go out of their way to put someone like Lewys down because they don't agree or think it's weird and that's what I don't understand, what is so bad about it?

In my primary research I was able to as the question 'Have you ever been a witness to comments being made about males wearing makeup? – positive and negative.' Majority of the response to this was I've heard people say 'it makes them look gay'. This really makes my blood boil because it's a male's own choice whether they are gay or not, to be able to feel comfortable in their own skin and live life the way they want to. It is also a male's choice to wake up in the morning and apply makeup to their skin. It shouldn't have to put a label on them to make them feel insecure even if they are straight. During my secondary research I found an article headlining 'STRAIGHT MEN WEAR MAKEUP, GET OVER IT' this made me so happy! It explains in the article how 'no one should feel pressured to present themselves in a certain way'. That statement made there is one of the most amazing ways to make someone who thinks its 'weird' or 'gay' to try and understand the concept of male's feeling better about themselves. In a way I can sympathise with the 'gay' comment as I have friends who are homosexual and one in particular does wear a lot of makeup. And it just increases his aura of being gay. I have had other gay friends come up to me and say that he in particular 'makes a joke of the gay society'.So it does make you think when gay people themselves are making comments like that, is it wrong?

The older generation today don't understand the concept of why women put so much makeup on their skin, let alone male's! This is understandable though because of the way that past centuries were brought up. Everything was so strict and you had to be perfect in everything you did. Thinking about how much has changed from then to now, regarding education, equal pay, women's rights and finally sexuality. When looking into male makeup artists during my secondary research, I came across the Manny Guiterrez – known as one of the best male makeup artists out there. Teen Vogue did an article on him and it was titled 'The brave reason Manny Guiterrez gave up medical school for a beauty career' and trust me he made the right decision! Makeup isn't just for women and though that might seem obvious to most people it bears repeating in a world where even girls are still heavily criticised for how much makeup they do or do not choose to wear. Men have been wearing makeup for centuries, but in a beauty industry dominated by women. He makes a comment saying 'I had my struggles with my family, due to misunderstanding and miscommunication; I did have pushback in the beginning of my career because my parents weren't really sure what I was going to do with my life going in the route of makeup. I was planning on medical school, so when I threw the makeup wrench at them, they were not expecting that.' Generations expect the younger generations to follow in their footsteps and I can agree with that because some families still do follow that regulation. However, this is the 21st Century and that is definitely not happening anymore, everyone is so experimental these days and so be it! There are so many more opportunities out there now, so why not go and grab them with both hands? Just like Manny did, if he didn't do what he wanted to do, he wouldn't be working on some of the most famous faces in the world. Why wouldn't you want to do that if you had an amazing talent? Sometimes you need to break the barriers to make people realise just how amazing you can be on your own terms, not following the crowd. Makeup is art.

Social media is the biggest thing to hit the 21st Century, some see it as good and some see it as the worst thing to ever occur. Both arguments are understandable as both can be explained. But for makeup it has only ever brought positive challenges, and yes you get trolls who hide behind a screen saying whatever they can, but do they do it because they are insecure? People normally write hateful comments online to make themselves feel good, but they do not consider the way that they make other people feel or the actions that can sometimes be taken.Because of social media, worldwide known brands are noticing men's skills when it comes to applying makeup. They are being hired as makeup artists or being sponsored by companies to promote their products as they have such a big fan base on social media. However, I do feel though that there are no products made for men when it comes to makeup, equality is massive nowadays and there seems to be none of that when it comes to makeup, apart from the fact that both men and women wear it. But all these products are directed towards women, that is what I see as wrong. If there was more exposure through promoting products, television adverts, big campaigns etc. Then maybe people wouldn't find it 'weird' or 'gay' and men would feel more confident to actually wear it. Everyone has the freedom to wear what they want.What is so different to a man applying hair dye when they are embarrassed that they are starting to go grey, than a man using foundation to cover up his skin because they are insecure? Tattoos and piercings are entitled to men, so why can't a bit of glittery eye shadow and mascara be as well?

In conclusion I can see both sides as to why people think it is seen as wrong for men to wear makeup, but also I can see why they wear it, and that is the statement I agree with. Men should be able to wear makeup just as much as women can. I was previously in New York and every makeup store I went in, there would be at least two or more male makeup artists in there, which was so nice to see. I'm so big on equality and I feel that seeing that in one city across the world (where there are a lot of makeup stores) is a start to society accepting males wearing makeup. To change the negative view on this outlook some people have, in my primary research, my last question was 'If you could change one thing about the makeup industry, what would it be? (Relating to the topic)'. Every single response I got, answered with either 'males need to be promoted more for it to be seen as accepted' or 'people need to accept the fact that male and females should be able to wear makeup freely without judgement'. One that really stood out to me was this; 'the message that both males and females don't wear makeup to impress others, but to boost their confidence, be creative and have fun. The power of makeup is unbelievable when it comes to changing the way we look each day'. And if that cannot sum up this whole question of why it is seen as wrong, then I don't know what can. I agree that men should wear makeup, nothing will change that because everyone deserves to be who they want to be, and do what they want to do.