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Male beauty vloggers who changed the shape of the world of beauty
Patrick Starr and James Charles are two of the main Crusaders of male beauty vloggers. They have inspired many males to be confident in expressing themselves through makeup. How did they do it?
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
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12 minutes
The Make-up industry in the offline and the online world was something that has always been dominated by women. Women wearing make-up can be dated back to hundreds of years. However, thanks to the digital evolution of technology and rise of social network platforms, many men have started to apply make-up and partake in the make-up industry.
Two of those men who started this are James Charles and Patrick Starrr, they are the crusaders of male beauty vloggers. Crusaders according to Howard Becker refer to the "creators of rules" and they are also "interested in the content of the rules" (Becker, 1963, 147). Thus, they shape and make new rules. Furthermore, the creation of new rules leads to the formation of a new social group.
The crusaders not only make new rules but seek to pave ways for others. This article aims to identify and analyze of the main crusaders who popularized the idea of men wearing make up in the 21st century, James Charles and Patrick Starrr. Additionally, these male beauty vloggers will be analyzed in respect to their influence in the online and offline world and how they achieved with the use of different social media platforms.
Back to topFirst of all, let's get a point across. These male beauty vloggers aren't the first men to wear make-up. In the past, drag bars were places where men would wear make-up, so they wouldn't come across someone who knew them. In the 20th century, make-up was something wor in privacy or by Rockstars and famous artists such as Prince, David Bowie etc. Thanks to the evolution of technology, that has led to the creation of social media platforms which has allowed many men interested in make-up nowto share and express themselves artistically on a larger scale. Platforms like Instagram and YouTube have led to a creation of a social group which includes norms and rules.
Many of these male beauty vloggers are changing gender norms. These men don't identify themselves as drag queens or performers who transform themselves with the use of make-up but as men who are interested in make-up (Hess, 2016). Many of these men embrace their masculine features such as beards etc. As Patrick Starrr says in one of his videos posted on YouTube: "I am a man, I am a man in make-up. And I love make-up so much". He also talks about how everyone should be free to express themselves as whoever they want to be.
Even though this particular social group consisting of these men ha started to become more and more popular over time, it is still not mainstream in today's society. These male beauty vloggers are seen as acting deviant, according to other people. This doesn't mean that male beauty vloggers are deviant but they are deviant in the eyes of people who are a part of the "normal" circle. "Normal" being following rules and norms of mainstream society that have been there for centuries. As Becker says "whether an act is deviant, then, depends on how other people react to it" (Becker, 1963, 11). Male beauty vloggers aren't safe from online harrassment as many of their videors are reported because it shows a man wearing make-up (Hess, 2016). Therefore, according to the perspective of people in mainstream society, male beauty vloggers are subjected as 'outsiders'. Being an outsider depends on different perspectives as the male beauty vloggers could see the people terming them as deviants as outsiders themselves.
Furthermore, as these men were crusaders and technically one of the first people to become popular as make-up vloggers, they define most of the rules of this social group. The reason being that whatever they do becomes popular, this is largely because of algorithms as well. Male beauty vloggers keep doing what they do thanks to social media platforms such as YouTube and Instagram which keep their content trending and suggests their videos to people who have similar interests. This results into these vloggers becoming more popular, thus having a much bigger following. Which gives them the power to determine the rules in this social group. However, these male beauty vloggers also need to follow rules of YouTube and Instagram to remain popular. Therefore, showing that the power in this case is in the hands of big corporations/companies such as YouTube and Instagram where these vloggers reside.
Back to topJames Charles influencing the mainstream media
James Charles is one of the youngest male beauty vloggers who has become one ofthe biggest male beauty artists now. He became tremendously popular a year ago at only 17-year-old as he gained a huge following on Instagram and YouTube. With a whopping 2.5 million YouTube subscribers as well as 2.9 million Instagram followers. He made history and headlines in 2016 when he was announced as the first ever male spokesperson for CoverGirl. He was in the front cover of CoverGirl.
Him becoming a CoverGirl spokesperson led to a lot of attention from mainstream media. Furthermore, it proved him being a crusader of male beauty vloggers as it shed light and paved the way for other men who are interested in make-up but feared being different. Charles was also then invited to the Ellen DeGeneres show where he shared on how he landed on the front cover of CoverGirl as well as his personal experience on telling his parents about his passion for make-up. He explained further on that this led to his parents speculating his identity. Speculating that he might be transgender. However, he clarified that he wasn't transgender and that this was just a form of self-expression (Jones, 2016). He further explained his struggles and said:"It has not been widely accepted in the past so it was definitely a learning process" (James Charles, 2016)
Thus, beauty vloggers like James Charles have influenced mainstream media in to questioning gender norms. Additionally, this shows how something that was just a form of self-expression for James Charles has become a great career for him which led to him being pro in this particular social group. This has also occurred as the result of YouTube and Instagram providing him a platform to express himself to the world which has led to him breaking into mainstream media. He has moved from one position in this social group to another. As the career of an outsider according to Becker "refers to the sequence from one position to another in a system" (Becker, 1963, 24).
He started as a newbie who only applied 'natural' make-up. Natural make-up in the beauty world requires only basic knowledge of how to apply make-up. It is just a starting point as to where you should apply what. For example, where one should apply concealer etc. However, the more knowledge he gained the more popularity he gained on social media. As his technique started becoming unique for example his intense focus on highlighting his cheekbones and nose bridge. Thus, the more knowledge he gained through experience and experiment the more his positions changed in his career. In turn leading him to be an ambassador of a mainstream popular magazine.
Back to topPatrick Starrr's breakthrough as a minority
"I feel like the minority of minorities- I'm gay, I'm plus-sized, I'm Filipino, I do makeup" said Patrick Simondac (Chan, 2017). Starrr started his YouTube channel in 2013 and now has 3.9 million Instagram followers and 3.2 million YouTube subscribers. He has played an integral role in the transformation of mainstream society's view on men wearing make-up. His love for make-up started in his teens and he learned quite quickly on how to apply 'good' make-up by practicing on his friends and family. He started wearing make-up in his twenties but still kept it private and took a job as a make-up artist in a local salon. In his case, his parents wanted him to stop applying make-up as they wanted to protect him from hateful people who look down upon men wearing makeup (Starrr, 2017). Thus, his parents saw what Patrick was doing as an act of deviance (different from the norms and rules of society).
He got a job offer from a make-up company which had theme days where the employees would dress up. He shares an experience where he dressed up and wore very 'bold make-up' as he terms it. However, the make-up company told him to take his make-up off, he explains the reason maybe was because "he was a man wearing make-up" (starrr, 2017). This is something that happened to Starr years ago showing that only a short period of time before, he was seen as doing something that was unacceptable and deviant for which he would've been deemed as an outsider. years later he is one of the most influential male beauty vloggers who has inspired millions of people including boys and men to be confident in themselves and wear make-up. His influence can be seen in a YouTube comment by an 11-year-old boy who has inspired him.
Eventhough, Starrr himself was discouraged to wear make-up when he was young. However, because of crusaders like him many young boys feel comfortable wearing make-up which has created a niched culture for men who want to wear make-up. This niched culture is genderless (even though it mostly consists of males) and is gradually increasing in size because of famous male beauty vloggers who are paving the way for other males.
Furthermore, Starrr's influence doesn't stop there, thanks to platforms like YouTube and Instagram his popularity increased among different audiences and it led to him collaborating with one of the biggest make-up brands M.A.C. He released his own custom collection of make-up; many of those products were sold out showing his enormous popularity among his fans. Not only did he inspire men to wear make-up, he also inspired males of color who are interested in wearing make-up. As a Filipino-American male beauty vlogger, his representation is very crucial and inspiring for all men and boys.
Negative comments in the online world
As mentioned before algorithms play a huge part in the lives of these crusaders of the beauty world. As YouTube and Instagram are their main platforms where they express themselves. Algorithms do prevent backlash from people which are not part of this group because of filter bubbles. Pariser defines the filter bubble as users getting less exposure to conflicting viewpoints and being isolated intellectualls in their own informational bubble (Pariser, 2011). Thus, people who don't like this social group or culture will not find it as only members of the group who have similar interests would find it because of algorithms.
However, as these male beauty vloggers gain more popularity and breakthrough mainstream media, the easier it is for people who dislike the culture to find them. Thus, increasing negative comments in their YouTube videos and Instagram posts. Moreover, this also exposes them completely to other social groups and mainstream society to criticize as they become micro-celebrities. Thus, controversial things that they may say especially on social media will rise as an opportunity for haters to criticize them as well as lead to them losing actual fans. For example, this happened to James Charels as he became really popular after becoming the ambassador of CoverGirl. However, he tweeted a joke about Africa which led to an immense backlash from not only haters but his fans as well.
Like, this tweet from a fan who said that she would stop supporting him because of what he said. This doesn't only impact him as an individual and a YouTube personality but also impacts the whole male beauty vloggers group. As he is a representative for that group and him doing something controversial leads to many people which aren't aware or a part of the group to generalize that everyone who is apart of this group is the same. Thus, leading to people having negative outlook on entire group.
This portrays that increased awareness of a social group doesn't always mean that mainstream society would accept them. This could also increase the hate that 'normal' people have towards them as they are much easier to find.
Back to topThe crusaders of this particular social group have helped many males who felt left out of mainstream society to find a niche culture. A place where they would be accepted and where they could express themselves however they desire. James Charles breaking into mainstream media by appearing on a popular magazine has helped in the growth of this social group. As males who weren't aware of these vloggers' YouTube channels and Instagrams now have someone representing them.
However, their uniqueness and talents have also played a huge role in making them famous and allowing them to be a part of mainstream media. Furthermore, their popularity also influences many people to question gender norms.
However, with fame comes more exposure meaning more hate. Thus, people who dislike this culture would find every reason to hate on them as they are now aware of this culture because of the popularity of male beauty vloggers such as James Charles and Partick Starrr. This is still not something entirely accepted in professional situations as it is not seen as appropriate. However, the more mainstream these vloggers become thanks to social media, the more societal expectation would shift. Therefore, leading to the redefinition of beauty.
References
Adivi, M. (2016, October 24). Makeup Boys of the Internet: Most Famous Male Makeup Vloggers to Know. Fashionisers. Last retrieved on December 11, 2017
Becker, H. (1963). Outsiders : Studies in the sociology of deviance. New York, N.Y.: Free Press of Glencoe, etc.
Chan, M. (2017, February 02). 6 Boys In Beauty You Really Need To Know. Refinery29. Last retrieved on January 01, 2018.
Hess, A. (2016, October 18). Those Lips! Those Eyes! That Stubble! The Transformative Power of Men in Makeup. The New York Times. Last retrieved on December 18, 2017.
Jones, J. M. (2016, November 14). James Charles talks historic role with CoverGirl, coming out on 'Ellen'. USA Today. Last retrieved on December 13, 2017.
Pariser, E. (2011). The filter bubble : What the internet is hiding from you. London: Viking.
Starrr, P. (2017, May 22). Patrick Starrr: "Men in Makeup Are Changing the World-One Lash at a Time". Glamour. Last retrieved on December 22, 2017.
Woodsen, E. V. (2017, February 16). Covergirl’s New Cover Boy James Charles Under Fire For Tweets. Affinity. Last retrieved on November 29, 2017, from
