"there is so much stigma around it."
Male makeup influencers are providing content that breaks the stereotypes around men and makeup, however, there are risks in terms of gender bias.
For centuries, makeup has been mainly for women and girls, but as time has gone on, the taboo of men and makeup seems to be less prevalent.
One influencer is Bengaluru-based Prateek Monga.
Better known as Sunny, his Instagram account has makeup tutorials for men.
He is one of the many male influencers in the city, who are shifting conversations to include topics about men and makeup.
Despite talking about it, Sunny knows the risk and the possible ridicule that might come his way.
He explained: “For shoots, I used to do my makeup and everyone used to ask me about it.
“But I never put it out on my social media because there is so much stigma around it.”
In September 2020, he put up his first makeup tutorial and since then, he has not looked back.
“Though my first make-up video went viral with more than 18 million views, the comments were mixed.
“There is a risk of you being trolled or you turned into a meme.”
While more men are willing to share such beauty tips, creating content to break centuries-old stereotypes is not easy.
Sometimes, Sunny finds it difficult to collaborate with men.
Instead, he gets women to work with him. This defeats the purpose of his effort.
Another makeup influencer named Naved Qureshi explained that before, there were hardly any grooming products for men.
He said: “I grew up in a time when the adjective ‘beautiful’ could not be used for men.
“And when the grooming products for men were introduced, it was mostly endorsed by big actors like Shah Rukh Khan for gaining popularity.”
He stated that people still associate makeup and skincare routines with female habits.
He added “Skin is skin, irrespective of the gender.
“The moment you accept the fact about skincare, the comments are directed at your sexuality.”
According to model Siddharth Gothwal, there is more discussion around men’s mental health.
He explained that if makeup positively affects a person’s mental health, they should continue with it and more people should accept it.
He said: “Whatever you like to do is good for your mental health, if make-up is keeping you at peace, then why not.
“Men also love grooming and it is about time people to accept it.”
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