What do you think of ‘Guyliner’?

Hi everyone, I would like to offer my opinion on this topic. I am a guy that doesn’t wear eyeliner but I do wear nail polish. You can read my posts the “men wearing nail polish” thread on this site. I believe and have always believed that equality between men and women is a two-way street. When I make this statement, I mean it wholeheartedly, all encompassing, and without exception. Having established this baseline, let get to the concept of men and makeup. If you look back to the 1700’s at our forefathers (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson) men had many more options regarding dress and expression. Ever since the industrial revolution of the late 1800’s men have become colorless, inexpressive clones that are supposed to “blend-in” rather than have draw attention to themselves. Unfortunately, this sad state of affairs has perpetuated all the way to the year 2000 and beyond. Now let’s change the subject slightly and look at another topic… “Women incorportating from Men’s Fashion”. This trend has been going on for years and there are many articles in Women’s Magazines that describe how to add a little “Masculine Flare” to their otherwise feminine appearance. I have read many of these articles and they include women incorporating “men’s shirts, men’s neckties, men’s shoes, baseball caps, tattoos, very short sometimes almost shaved hairstyles, masculine colors of nail polish including black, blue and brown, boyfriend jeans, boyfriend shirts” and this list goes on and on. The point here is that virtually nothing is off-limits. I believe that this is wonderful and is an evolution of fashion. A lot of the fun is experimentation in incorporating different styles and articles of fashion. There is no need to have gender-based boundaries.

The problem as I see it, is that in many instances it seems to be a one-way street. It is ok for women to borrow from men’s fashion, but when men borrow from women’s fashion, a lot of people cry foul! When I say “people” I mean both men and women cry foul, point, laugh, make incorrect generalization about sexuality, or otherwise react very negatively. Why? Is this truly equality or is it a one-way street? How many gay people do you see wearing nail polish and eyeliner? My wife and I have gay friends and gay relatives and they wear Armani Suits. They don’t wear nail polish and eyeliner! And why do we have to call it guyliner? Isn’t the name eyeliner sufficient regarding if a male or female is wearing it? There were comments made on this blog that the only place that men should be improving their appearance is in the Gym. Ok then, if this is true then there should be no women allowed in the Gym and especially no women lifting weights. I certainly don’t believe this because I believe equality and hopefully you can see how absurd the statement is! Have you ever thought that maybe some men want to improve their appearance by using makeup and have been interested in makeup but unfortunately they were told since they were children that makeup is “not for boys”. I remember back to my early childhood when I was playing with my best friend Kelly. She was allowed to play with my trucks, but when I wanted to play with her dolls, I was disciplined and told that “boys don’t play with dolls because they are for girls only”! This is the mindset that unfortunately still exists in the 21 and it certainly extends to makeup or anything that is considered to be feminine. I believe that we will know when we have reached equality between men and women when we see articles in GQ Magazine entitled “How men can add a little feminine flare to their otherwise masculine look” by using guyliner or nail polish. With the prevailing attitudes regarding regarding men being super macho, I don’t think this will happen in our lifetimes in the USA, although a lot of progress is being made in this direction in countries like Japan and it will certainly happen much sooner there. We need to drop incorrect notion that men must be macho like John Wayne because a lot of men (yes even heterosexual men don’t fit that image and would like to experiment with makeup and explore their feminine side. Even David Beckham has admitted to having a strong feminine side. Once men realize that they have a feminine side and learn to embrace it, the world will be a lot better place and I believe they will be a lot more emotionally stable and there will be a lot less violence. Think about how much time is spent by males trying to prove that they are tougher and more macho than the next guy. It is these same macho guys that beat their wives and girlfriends. This is what we as a society have created! Are we proud of these macho men?

I believe that the bottom line is that it is a two-way street and that men and women both have a feminine and a masculine side. Girls are taught to embrace both the feminine and masculine side of their personalities while men are taught that any feminine actions or thoughts must be suppressed and that they must always be super-macho. Unfortunately parents, both women and men have embraced these absurd notions about men that have been perpetuated for generations. Can we break this mold and ever have true equality between men and women in clothing, makeup, and other forms of expression? Can we really have a two-way street?

Renee, I would like to thank you for being so open-minded and mature regarding men and makeup, men and nail polish, etc and for hosting these discussions.

Respectfully,

Jamie

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