North American society educates people that it's better to be perfect than it is to be yourself. We put a great deal of pressure on how we present ourselves to others. You don't have to look to far to find a guide on "how to be perfect," or how to achieve a flawless look.
This pressure is usually applied to women by but as gender roles continue to deteriorate, there are more "How To Be A Better Man" articles than ever before. This sort of discourse only empowers archaic ideals. It's time we stopped throwing things into categories solely designated for either men or women.
It's clear that most of these aspirational ideals are nothing more than limp marketing methods designed to put you into a box. It's time we rejected those boxes. You don't have to wear makeup if you're a woman, you don't have to look flawless if you're on camera, and you don't have to be gay to be flamboyant.
As a popular, YouTuber, Chris Oflyng is someone who has struggled with societal pressure to appear a certain way. He has previously worn makeup not because he felt he had to, but because he was concerned with the image he "had" to present on the internet.
Truth is, you can be a straight male and wear makeup. It's already becoming quite common and it's certainly nothing to be ashamed of. No one should feel pressure to present themselves in a certain way. It's time we stopped empowering fear and insecurity with archaic gender ideas or destructive hashtags. Let's focus instead on making people proud and empowered about the things that make them unique.