Men wearing make-up

[mattfink]

How manly of them!

Not manly, just not part of fashion. I've heard women complaining about other women with fake breasts while they are wearing 10 pounds of make-up. It's all phony.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

Not manly, just not part of fashion. I've heard women complaining about other women with fake breasts while they are wearing 10 pounds of make-up. It's all phony.

my point was...a women in no makeup is not by default manly (unless she exhibits more then one indicator)

so why is a man in makeup by default womanly or 'not a man' or whatever it keeps getting called...?

 

[Hemingway Jones]

my point was...a women in no makeup is not by default manly (unless she exhibits more then one indicator)

so why is a man in makeup by default womanly or 'not a man' or whatever it keeps getting called...?

There is a cultural dissonance. One could even go so far to call it a cultural prejudice. Certainly, if one were to list which factors determine sexual roles, outside of the obvious physical ones, one of the first to spring to anyone's lips is that women wear make-up and men do not.

If a man takes on some of the habits of a woman, it is elementary that it is considered feminine. Going beyond this, why is it so? At least in America, it is our entire cultural history that makes it so.

The Founding Fathers scoffed at the French Court. It was, and continues to be, a bit alien to us, for better or worse.

Would I judge another man for wearing make-up. Probably. Though not for being feminine, but rather for being vain and phony. Though I respect their freedom for doing so.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

Maybe the dissonance is fostered by the fact that women...over time have had to challenge -everything-....to vote, to move into the work place...etc.....so its more acceptable that we challenge norms......


As opposed to the masculine half...who is perhaps more interested in the status quo...and thus all this ruckus over 'preserving manliness'......

 

[MisterCairo]

Now why, when the roles are switched, does a man become unmanly if he prefers to wear make-up, his wife's pants and shave his legs regularly?

Two words:

Boy George.

 

[Vanessa]

Two words:

Boy George.

One picture:

 

[Feraud]

Two words:

Boy George.

As LizzieMaine noted, makeup on a man should not assume stereotypical proportions..
Read on -

I think the stumbling block for a lot of people is when you say "make up" people immediately think of *feminine* makeup -- and the image they get is of a man going around with lipstick, eye shadow, tweezed eyebrows, powder, and all the rest. As has been said, that automatically would put one, in our culture, outside the norm, no matter what the context. The image that comes to mind for me is the guy from "Cabaret," which is not an image one associates with "masculinity." One who does this should be prepared to deal with the comments that he'll get. Fact of life, like it or not.

But if a guy wants to even out his skin tone or cover a flaw or correct a defect or whatever, by using some sort of makeup, so what? Who will even notice?

In the twenties, it was quite common for a man to dab his cheeks with talcum powder after a shave -- so much so that some high-class men's restrooms came equipped with powder dispensers right next to the Boraxo dispenser over the sink. If that doesn't count as makeup, it's pretty darn close.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

If you are Ewan McGregor, YES! Carrot Top, NO!

Carrot Top is my hero.

 

[Paisley]

It's curious that among those who have stated their opinions, most of the women have approved of makeup, to one degree or another on men, while nearly all the men seem to really dislike the idea.

I don't think women have to do much, if anything, to prove we're real women. But I don't think it's that way for men.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

I don't think women have to do much, if anything, to prove we're real women. But I don't think it's that way for men.

A "real" man does not have to prove he is a "real" man. [huh] Standing by one's principles is an example of being "real". Having the courage of your convictions or being true to yourself are other examples.

I guess for the purposes of this thread wearing make-up if a man chooses to is yet another example of being a "real" man; regardless of how he may be judged by others.

 

[Odalisque]

Can it really be true that you don't understand the double standard, or is it that you don't approve of some of the implications of the double standard and say that you don't understand it as a rhetorical gambit?

Men and women are biologically different, and from my reading of history, have always been socially different, too. Yes, even today.

You may or may not like these facts, but they are facts none the less. A woman may choose to wear slacks or a skirt and in the social context of western society in the early 21st century, it is a choice that no one finds remarkable. In the same social context, men do not wear skirts. Or at least if a man does, it signifies that he falls outside the social norms.

Oh dearie, I didn't mean that I don't understand the meaning of double standard or how it's in action thought-out history.I understand that very well.
I don't understand why now in the most modern of times we still have certain people who think they can judge someone on their appearances.
Carlisle Blues made a great point.

A "real" man does not have to prove he is a "real" man. Standing by one's principles is an example of being "real". Having the courage of your convictions or being true to yourself are other examples.

I guess for the purposes of this thread wearing make-up if a man chooses to is yet another example of being a "real" man; regardless of how he may be judged by others.

And to touch on your idea of

Men and women are biologically different, and from my reading of history, have always been socially different, too. Yes, even today.

Yes, women and men are different. Both biologically and socially. The point is we can't change the biological.
We can change the social.

 

[MisterCairo]

One picture:

Are those his wife's pants?????

 

[chanteuseCarey]

Probably the ladies would think those pants make their thighs look big, so they wouldn't wear them... I suppose the style of these was based on Hollywood's idea of an eastern (Siam) ethnic variety.

I kinda think Yul looked pretty great in this film, and in The Ten Commandments- though Charleston Heston back in the 50s looked very hunky too...

One of my very favorite films was "The Greatest Show on Earth" was Charleston Heston as Boss Man, Jimmy Stewart as Buttons, and Cornel Wilde as Sebastien!

Are those his wife's pants?????

 

[BinkieBaumont]

Quintin Crisp in the 1930's wore full make up in the streets of London

And when he moved to New York City in the 1990's

 

[mattfink]

Not manly, just not part of fashion. I've heard women complaining about other women with fake breasts while they are wearing 10 pounds of make-up. It's all phony.

How did you infer that I said "men wearing makeup was womanly"? All I said was that a lot of women in the 30's/40's didn't wear makeup.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Now that everyone is caught up on the important differences between Mr. Top and Mr. Serious, I will do some serious pruning to this thread to get it back to its original point.

 

[BellyTank]

Are those his wife's pants?????

No, they're his Siamese twin's.


B
T

 

[MisterCairo]

Quintin Crisp in the 1930's wore full make up in the streets of London

And when he moved to New York City in the 1990's

To be honest, I'm not certain that Mr. Crisp's example is swaying my opinion against men wearing makeup. God bless him, but no.

Just, no.

But I'll say this, FINALLY an example of a man wearing makeup in his day to day life, NOT an actor made up and costumed for a film role! I referenced Boy George for exactly that reason - like it or loath it, he looks the way he does day in and day out, presumably even in prison as we speak.

I use good after shave products and skin moisturizers and protectors, an admission that would get me laughed out of many a locker room, but I'm a traditionalist when it comes to foundations, rouges, lipstick, eyeliner and painted nails - NEVAH!

 

[Chad Sanborn]

Just beside my nose on both sides, my skin get red and dry sometimes. So I put this green concealer on followed by a skin colored powder to hide it. I don't have to do this every day, but only on days when its bad. I don't see it as being feminine in any way.

I also have to wear makeup when I am on stage and more recently for the tv show I am in. The tv show is really bad for makeup. We have 3 full time ladies and 1 man who walk around in between takes and constantly brush stuff on our faces.

 

[JoeNiblick]

The bottom line for me is this: I'm just too lazy to add an extra step to my day!