Jeffree Star and the LGBTQ Community

Male make-up YouTubers play a big part in the contemporary battle against gender stereotypes and the acceptance of LGBTQ and androgynous styles. In this article, I will discuss this battle in depth while zooming in on the efforts of one of the most famous YouTube male make-up stars from today: Jeffree Star. 

Jeffree Star and the LGBTQ-community

Jeffree Star is a YouTube male make-up star, with almost 6 million subscribers. He identifies himself as androgynous, feeling like both man and woman. Being part of this LGBTQ-Community, it is very important for him to fight this battle for acceptance and he does this in various ways. In expressing who he truly is, and also by starting a campaign that raises money for the community. He will fight for this justice and doesn't let anybody stop him.

The LGBTQ-community has always been a minority group and in Beckers view of the term, a 'deviant'. anda, a  (it explains how mainstream society sees and defines people who do not follow the dominant rules.) Becker lived in 1963, when Becker published his seminal work on 'Outsiders', he described how society defined homosexuals as deviants byso we have to keep that timeframe in mind while reading his descriptions. "Homosexuality is' 'illness because heterosexuality' as is the social norm" (Howard Becker, 1963).  Haccording to Becker according to Becker according to Becker extreme example for deviants. They were not only constructed as 'different', but were defined as people who,  saying that they have a mental disease. In the sixties,  "behavior of a homosexual or drug addict is regarded as the symptom of a mental disease just as the diabetic's difficulty in getting bruises to heal is regarded as a symptom of his disease" (Howard Becker, 1963).

,, He describes the common sense at the time, and that common sense was it's extreme and homophobicif we read these descriptions now, and seeing these sentences makes it look as if we have come a really far way. We did, but the community is still fighting the battle for equal rights and acceptance. Yes, they have gained more visibility and acceptance, but they are still fighting, their battle is not over yet. In many cases, even in 2019, they are still seen as 'outsiders' as people who deviate from what's defined by 'normal'.  Many people try to make a change and fight as hard as they can, including Jeffree Star.

Japanese album of BoA

The LGBTQ-community in 2017 

In comparison of the era that Becker wrote "The Outsiders" we have come a long way.  of usdon't see it as a mental illness anymore, gay-marriages are allowed in almost every western country, and the acceptance is growing every day. But we are not fully accepting yet: Trump is disallowing transgender people to serve in the army and there is still lots hate the community, e.g. the Orlando shooting in 2016 in Pulse, a gay bar in Orlando, Florida. IAnd there is still the never-ending bullying. In Canada for example, not immediately a country where you would expect to find intolerance towards LGBTQ, schools are neither safe nor respectful for sexual and gender minority students (Catherine Taylor, Tracey Peter, 2011, p.11). 

The inequality and discrimination reflect itself in the higher rate of suicide attempts among LGBTQ. It depends on how much support the person is getting: "A more supportive social environment was significantly associated with fewer suicide attempts, controlling for sociodemographic variables and multiple risk factors for suicide attempts, including depressive symptoms, binge drinking, peer victimization, and physical abuse by an adult" (Mark L. Hatzenbuehler, 2011). Even today, we see that Beckers description of deviant is still in effect. When the society defines LGTBQ as deviants, it constructs deviance: "Whether an act is deviant depends on how other people react to it". People will gossip, but that's not really the biggest problem, it starts becoming a problem when people start making a public accusation." (Howard Becker, 1963, p.11) And when they are showing signs of hate and making them feel like a deviant, then it starts becoming a problem. So, making it normal and not a deviant act, can save people their lives. 

Ergo, this is still a problem, even when you think that we have come a long way. On the one hand, you have crusaders to try to abnormalize LGBTQ people and turn back their rights like Trump, on the other hand, you have people that fight for the acceptance and equal rights.The battle for acceptance and equality is thus an ongoing battle.  

In the contrast to all the people fighting equality, there is also a lot ofsupport for the LGBTQ+-movement. After the Orlando shootings, many hashtags appeared on social media, like #PrayforOrlando, #DisarmHate, and #QueerSelfLove. You can discuss ethat these are forms of slacktivism, but it does show a certain sympathy towards the LGBTQ-community. In addition, we have all these different "tools" that can help our sympathy towards the community, we have TV shows, like "RuPaul's Drag Race" where you can dive into the world of drag and see how they deal with heavy topics like non-acceptance and bullying., Such programs helps to create when people watch the show, you can understand how they really are and why you should accept them the way they are. It is important to have these kinds of help sources  tofor more acceptance in the society. We are not all the same, and that's what makes our world colorful. But identity is a learned concept that individuals then perform in the world (Brian C. Johnson, Daniel K. Faill, 2014, p.63). And some people, like male make-up YouTubers, are breaking up the idea of ' this concept and that is difficult for some people to accept. By making this more normal, with help sources like "RuPaul's Drag Race", and seeing that more and more people are accepting, we can come really far in the process, but that will of course take some time.  

Star's passive Involvement in the LGBTQ-ommunity 

Jeffree Star has been a great influence in the LGBTQ-ommunity. Not only did he help people coming out of the closet, but he also learned people to be themselves, to go against the norms and rules of the mainstream and to question the norms and gender categories. In his behavior alone, he is questioning the norm and positioning himself as 'a deviant': he disobeys the unwritten rules by wearing make-up as a male and he is perceived as doing so (Becker, 1963, p.20)). Jeffree Star's online presence helps other people to be happy with themselves and also, for others to accept them. “You know, to be honest, the best part of this whole thing is getting e-mails from people who say I inspire them and help them in some way.” (Jeffree Star, 2007).

This is one example of many, where you can tell that Jeffree Star has made a big impact on these people more and how he is their role model. Like this example, Star is his role model for coming out and being his true self. And being your true self brings a big amount of happiness. Who does not want to be who they really are? And who would want to tell himself that feeling the things you feel is not right? Jeffree Star brings this understanding and the acceptance of yourself. It is his online presence in combination with the affordances of these social media that construct online groups . 

comments on Star's profile reflects a norm in the LGBTQ community: supporting and being open to the group. We witness here the creation of a "niched culture", where group members are most comfortable among themselves, where being gay, androgynous, and wearing make-up as a male is normal.

You will always find some haters among the people leaving comments, but I could not find many hate comments. The filter bubble plays a big role here: people who don't like this culture, will most propably not find it, and people who do, are accepting or members of this culture. But even when haters do find the group, Jeffree Star could enforce the rules within the group by technical affordances (e.g. deleting hate-comments). Becker (p.121, 1963) asks: "When are rules being made and enforced?" That question is easy to answer. The rules were made when Star made his account and people started following him and enforced when haters find this niched culture and go against its rules and norms. 

“You know, to be honest, the best part of this whole thing is getting e-mails from people who say I inspire them and help them in some way.” (Jeffree Star, 2007) 

lgorithmic codes YouTube, Facebook, and other media platforms apply are becoming more and more personalized. On the basis of data they collect about you - e.g. your likes and sexual orientation - Moreover, on the same basis, these social media create a certain algorithmic identity for you. Based on that identity, you will only get to see items in your newsfeed, search queries, and suggestions that the algorithm predicts you will prefer. It is this personalization that leads to the filter bubble (Ico Maly, 2017). Thus, when your algorithmic identity fits the identity of this group or culture you will find it and might find comfort in it.

The social group is thus as much constructed by people as by algorithms. However, these social media algorithms are not neutral, but reflect the norms of the companies. When Facebook deleted certain accounts based on the use of terms like "gay" and "dyke" (a slang noun for lesbian) (Nico Lang, 2017), it showed how vulnerable these groups are, and how much the environment that enables them is controlled by companies advocating certain ideas about what is normal and not in this context. Censorship like this makes LGBTQ sexuality seem unnatural: it constructs the LGBTQ community as 'deviant' and not normal. But it's extremely important to make these things seem normal because it is normal. Social media is, when you see it in this way, doing dangerous things, making it look like it's not normal and therefore not helping the community to go further in their process to acceptance. For this process, we need people like male make-up YouTubers, like Jeffree Star.  

Also, these are social places and as social places, they function as infrastructures of identity. People like Jeffree Star control part of the borders of the group and set the technical affordances to their hands, but in the end, the interface and the algorithms are controlled by companies. It are these companies that can determine who finds this group and who doesn't by using our algorithmic identities which nobody really understands. It can also determine which groups can have a place and which don't. But also what can be posted and what not. 

Star's Active Involvement in the LGBTQ Community 

Not only did Jeffree Star help the community by being famous and being himself, he also raised money for the LGBTQ+ community center in Los Angeles, a charity that describes itself as "an unstoppable force in the fight against bigotry and the struggle to build a better world, a world in which LGBTQ+ people can be healthy, equal, and complete members of society." (Los Angeles LGBT Center website). He mentioned on social media that it's his favorite charity. To support it, Star teamed up with brand "Jouer Cosmetics" and donated sale profits from the collaboration instead of keeping them. You can collaborate with many companies for financial gains, but you can also make the world a bit better. He commented, "To be able to spread love and help others through the love of makeup... it's something I've always dreamed of doing!" (Jeffree Star, 2017). With this active involvement, he raised $20,000 to donate to the charity, also urging others to support the community. 

Twitter

Social Media Power

With social media fame comes power and you gain a larger voice with an audience. You can use it for your own financial good, but you can also make yourself heard as a representative of a 'deviant' community, like Jeffree Star. By helping the LGBTQ community passively and actively, he can and has helped numerous fans and non-fans. He has helped them being themselves without hating themselves. He has tried to gain more acceptance and is succeeding by reaching a large audience on YouTube. Due to the numeric power he has, he was able to make a donation for the LGBTQ+ Center in Los Angeles . 

Thus, the community has come a long way in 2019, but there is always room for improvement. It is important to keep in mind that social media are powerful, and show us what is 'normal' and what is not. If social media censor the output of the LGBTQ community, it cannot fight its battle. Social media and their algorithms 'allow' people to grow into a Jeffree Star or not. The corporations behind the media platforms can make the biggest difference. Although Jeffree Star also raises money offline because of his online success, fans still buy the products online and this again adds to the corporations' power. But even a single individual can make a change: try to step out of your filter bubble and behold other colorful niched cultures!

References

Becker, H. (1963). "Outsiders, studies in the sociology of deviance". New York, New York: The Free Press. 

Hatzenbuehler. L. M. (May 2011). The Social Environment and Suicide Attempts in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youth.

Immediato, L. (May 9, 2007). Jeffree Star.

Johnson, Brian C., Faill, Daniel K. (2015). "Glee and New Directions for Social Change". Sense Publishers. 

Lang, N. (November 6, 2017). How Social Media Is Silencing LGBT Voices.

Los Angeles LGBT Center. (n.d.). About The Center.

Maly, I. (2017). Knowledge in the digital world: Class 6: Identity and social groups in the digital world. (PowerPoint Presentation).

Simmons, S. (June 5, 2017). Jeffree Star’s Affiliate Code Earnings Will Go Towards The LGBTQ Center in LA.

Taylor. C., Peter. T. (2011). We are not aliens, we're people, and we have rights." Canadian human rights discourse and high school climate for LGBTQ students. Canadian Review of Sociology/Revue canadienne de sociologie.