Do you love polychrome eyeshadows, angelic wings, gorgeously arched brows, and watching makeup artists turn their beautiful imaginations into breathtaking looks? If you said yes, there’s something you should know: these men of color can do it too. Their social media followers love them for multiple reasons: their stunning looks, their undying confidence, and how they inspire young LGBTQ youth to be comfortable expressing themselves through makeup.
However, according to these men of color, they are ceaselessly combating numerous stigmas which hinders them from becoming represented in the mainstream beauty industry. They say these stigmas originate from several places: cyberbullying on social media, their strict cultural upbringings, societal gender biases, homophobia, and the beauty industry itself.
Admit it: when most people hear “makeup artist” they don’t automatically think about men. Many men in the beauty industry have associated this with society’s overbearing gender norms, which has conditioned people to believe that makeup should only be worn by women. Many of them believe that a lot of people are programmed to effeminate makeup and any person that wears it, and this completely undermines the great history and cultural significance of makeup.
Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics—dating back to 4,000 B.C—exhibits powerful men and women wearing makeup; it was typically worn by those of royalty and wealth. The Egyptians fashioned eye makeup and other cosmetics by crushing ores like malachite and galena into an ingredient called kohl, which is a black powder that is typically antimony sulfide or lead sulfide. It is also noted that Ancient Egyptians believed their physical beauty brought them tangible blessings from their Gods, and this is the reason they wore makeup.
Also, many men of color and those with darker skin tones have criticized the lack of representation in makeup products itself. They asserted that finding the right shade was not an easy feat before the launch of Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty, where the brand quickly became successful after showing off its 40 different tones.
I carefully searched through social media for four talented men of color that happen to be makeup artists. There I met 19-year-old Billy Huynh, 21-year-old Malek Masaratti, 20-year-old DeAndre Clark, and 19-year-old Antonio Bermudez. These four makeup artists were asked the same three questions about the stigma they face in their own communities and others, the underrepresentation of men of color in the beauty industry, and their plans to break free of stigmas and lack of representation and create names for themselves.
Arkee E.: What’s your ethnicity? And what stigmas do you face being a man of color in the makeup industry?
Billy Huynh: I’m Vietnamese. My goodness, there’s a plethora of stigmas coming from every which way—if we’re being brutally honest. They come from everywhere: my cultural background, society’s gender biases, homophobic people, the beauty industry, and the list goes on and on. When my parents first found out about my interest in makeup, they were afraid of what other people might think or do to me. They thought that a person might attack me if I was walking down the street, and that’s always a possibility, even just being a gay man. My parents are Asian immigrants, and our culture isn’t very fond of men in makeup. Also, people always accuse me of trying to be a girl or a drag queen, which is certainly not true. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve purchased makeup items and the cashiers just stare at me like I’m a tri-headed dragon. However, these stigmas are why I do what I do. I hope that I inspire another Asian man to publicly express his interests in makeup.
Malek Masaratti: I’m Lebanese. My Middle Eastern upbringing is not kind to gay people or men in makeup. Many people in my culture view beauty as femininity and my culture is not too wild for feminine men. On top of that, the beauty industry makes it even harder because we still aren’t widely accepted amongst the larger makeup brands. A lot of the times, companies will overlook a man of color’s artistry specifically because they don’t want to cater to us—maybe they don’t believe that it’s a wise business move—maybe they’re not comfortable with us, who really knows? I know one thing, though: people are all about their money in the beauty industry, therefore they’re going to cater more to those that are giving them most of their money, women.
DeAndre Clark: I’m African American. Being a black male in the beauty community I face a lot of stigmas. I deal with racism homophobia and hatred for breaking societal gender norms—that’s three times the negativity! Black men in makeup are not welcomed into the beauty world with open arms. It’s almost like black men aren’t allowed to be feminine or beautiful. I can’t tell you how many toxic comments I’ve gotten about me wearing makeup. If black men have facial hair and wear makeup, people say, “why don’t you just be a man. Take it off!” If you don’t have facial hair, they say you want to be a woman. They never wanted us in this realm—the beauty industry. It’s always like why are you here? Go rap or throw a football. It’s tragic that people won’t see us as multifaceted. Instead, they try to keep us in a box. On top of that, we are constantly overlooked because we don’t fit the Eurocentric standard of beauty.
Antonio Bermudez: I’m Black, Spaniard, and Mexican. As a man of color, the stigmas I face are due to the lack of support from my own community. The stigmas originate from heteronormativity and strict gender roles. Also, the makeup industry isn’t very accepting of colored men, unless they’re White-passing. Growing up makeup was never an option; I never saw a man wear makeup. I would sneak and play with my mother’s white eyeliner and then wipe it off before I came out the bathroom. I knew my family would think that I wanted to be a girl, and I knew that was never true—makeup just fascinated me. Before senior prom, my barber accidentally cut some of my eyebrows off, so I purchased an eyebrow pencil and started filling it in. My family would ask why I wear makeup, sometimes even the girl relatives which surprised me because I thought they would care less than the guys, but I moved across the country alone shortly after starting and haven’t really been able to know what my family would think. Most of them didn’t understand, but I explained it to them and broke it down to a point where they could. My family understands now, but the stigma I received from them was always what bothered me most.
Arkee E.: As a man of color, how do you feel underrepresented in the makeup industry?
Billy Huynh: I don’t know many men of color in the beauty industry, especially Vietnamese men. I think it’s because the beauty industry has its reservations about men and people without European features. I don’t see many men in makeup, and this goes back to what I was saying about the stigmas of Asian men in makeup. Also, I believe that institutionalized homophobia and racism plays a major role in why many Asian men don’t come forward with their talents. My culture is not very accepting of homosexuality or things that ‘seem’ gay. Our culture views homosexuality as a phase, therefore many of us are taken as a joke in general—we are conditioned to view ourselves as jokes. How can we be represented in an industry with prejudices against us if we view ourselves as jokes?
Malek Masaratti: I believe that there is a lot of internalized racism and homophobia today. I believe that this is the reason that brands choose to go the safe route rather than challenge the norm. From movies to the job force, to the makeup industry, people with European features are favored and picked for jobs over men of color without European features. I think that brands are afraid to start appealing to a specific group of people – because, as previously stated, they’re all about their money.
DeAndre Clark: I think men of color are underrepresented in the beauty industry because we are always overlooked. They tend to go for fair skin & bright eye colors, and that seems to be the standard of beauty in the makeup industry, and when it comes to men in makeup they never raise that bar. We never get the same opportunities as people who aren’t black and often have to work twice as hard just to get acknowledged.
Antonio Bermudez: I believe that men of color are underrepresented in the beauty industry because we don’t receive enough credit for our hard work and because we are not supported by our own communities; even in the gay community, where I should feel the most accepted, we’re looked down upon for being too “feminine” because we wear makeup. People have a preconceived notion of what beauty should be, and unfortunately, that is not always men. Furthermore, I feel as though being gay and enjoying makeup translates to wanting to identify as a woman, and this scares a lot of cisgender men for some reason.
Arkee E.: How do you plan to fight the stigmas and fight through the lack of representation of men of color to solidify your spot as a mainstream member of the beauty industry?
Billy Huynh: To fight these stigmas, I must embed in my mind that they don’t define me. I am going to continue being myself unapologetically. Also, I’m going to become the representation that the makeup industry lacks for Asian men. I’m going to become the bold representation of my community—one that I never had for myself.
Malek Masaratti: I’m going to continue to post looks and be myself no matter what anyone says or think about me. If big brands don’t represent me, I’ll continue to represent myself and hopefully inspire other men of color, and I refuse to give up doing so.
DeAndre Clark: My plan to fight the stigmas and lack of representation in the makeup community is to collaborate with big brands and make a name for myself. Once my name is out there, I will open my own inclusive cosmetic line featuring queer men of color and black women of all tones and body sizes. Beauty is too big to have a single standard, and everyone deserves to feel beautiful.
Antonio Bermudez: To fight these stigmas and obtain the recognition that I deserve, I have to continue combatting societal gender norms and not caring what people think about me.
