By
Miss Double ShotWe got a message this weekend from a reader who wanted to talk about guys' wearing traditionally girly accessories:
Someone told
me how guys wearing piercings disables girls from "owning"
anything. First it was the eyeliner and now piercings. I guess I want to know if people think guys are attractive like that...or if they think it's okay for them to dress that way!
Are makeup and piercings made exclusively for one gender? Follow-up: if your guy started wearing guyliner or got his lip pierced, how would you react?
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Comments (73)
I wouldn't mind. My boyfriend and I have the same amount of piercings in each ear- 3. And over the past couple of years we've been together, I think he's worn more make-up than me (he wears eyeliner when we go to Japanese rock shows). That whole piercings and eyeliner thing for guys is only a social script thing, in my opinion. Why isn't it okay for guys to do it? (And it goes both ways, too, with females doing "male" thing.) It's a psychological thing...
i love this post for using a picture of pete wentz.
ANYWAY, i think eyeliner can only be pulled off by certain guys, like pete wentz. and i can deal with a guy having an ear piercing [not gauges], but everywhere else is kind of a major turn off for me.
Because of the culture I grew up in, a pretty conservative, middle class, mainly follow traditional gender roles kind of idea...I find this completely strange. I don't find piercings really that weird in guys, but the guyliner...yes.
I personally don't have my ears or anything else pierced, so I don't really want my guy to either. I wouldn't be completely turned off if he had an ear piercing, but anything else just looks bad in my book.
Piercings and liner on a guy are not my cup of tea. If my guy were to start all that stuff I would just go into shock and try to explain to him why it does not look right. I still dont know how i would handle the whole situation though. Thank God I have never been in one like that before..But I prefer the clean look
Lip piercing? Fine. Eyeliner? Noooo.
Guy + Make-up + Piercings = A huge turn off
If my boyfriend ever reached for the eyeliner, it'd better be to hand it to me or for a costume.
I find that men wearing makeup (especially men who can wield an eyeliner pencil better than me) to be rather feminine. I like my men a bit rough around the edges.
I LOVE it when guys wear eyeliner or have a lot of piercings and or tattoos.I think it's sexy.It proves that they are comfortable with who they are and don't care what others think.I always said, it's my dream to marry a man I can share clothes and make-up with
If a guy wants to do it, then he can do it.
My boyfriend already agreed I can put eyeliner on him sometime. We'll see if it goes for him. Maybe he'll want to keep using it =D
Piercings are SO not a single sex thing. And if they were, they would be a guy thing. Ever heard of Fakir? Probably not, but he was one of the earliest forerunners of body modification. HE, not she. As a piercer, I'm offended by that statement - piercings have nothing to do with gender.
And, anyone who thinks that "piercings are a girl's thing" is completely and utterly stupid. Without guys, you wouldn't be getting piercings. Men fronted the body modification movement; without those men, piercings would be non-existent or at least hardly prevalent in today's society.
Jeez. I'm a woman, and even I know that.
i don't really care about the piercings. my boyfriend wants a hoop in his nose.
but if he started wearing makeup i would be a little confused.
it's fine with me for other guys though; if that's what they want to do then go for it!
i'm ok with piercings bc guys wearing earrings has become the norm. but i think it will be a long time before eyeliner is normal for guys.
Well personally, I like piercings. I use to have a few myself, so of course I have no qualms about males wearing them. Maybe it's a generation things, but growing up, a teenage in the early 90's, there were a variety of people who had piercings, even in fashion magazines, so it was no big deal to me. But as for the guy liner, that one still trips me out. I guess because, again, when I was younger, if a boy wore e/l he would get his ass kicked! I notice a lot of teenage guys rockin' that look, and even though it's not my cup of tea, and I think it is kind of feminine, I still think, more power to them for being confident enough to pull it off!
Considering my boyfriend works in the professional world, I would be very surprised. Having facial piercings and wearing makeup as a guy in that world is basically like saying "Oh hi! Please fire me now."
I actually wouldn't/don't mind it when guys wear eyeliner or have piercings (wherever they may be). I think it's actually really sexy for a guy to have a lip piercing, but it does get in the way sometimes. When a guy can pull it off (which is rare) eyeliner looks good too.
Johnny Depp + eyeliner = I made my point.
"GUYLINER" IS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE TO ME. PERIOD. THINK OF THE SIMPLIEST EXAMPLE: WHEN YOU SEE CARTOONS, YOU CAN USUALLY DISTINGUISH THE GUY CHARACTER FROM THE GIRL CHARACTER B/C SHE HAS LASHES, AND DANGLY EARRINGS. CARTOONS, YES, BUT IT FITS. HATE TO SAY IT, CUZ I'M ALL FOR BLURRING THE LINES, EQUALITY, AND ANDROGONY, BUT EYELINER IS TO ENHANCE FEMININE QUALITIES, TO MAKE A GIRL LOOK MORE GIRLIE; WHY WOULD GUYS WANNA DO THAT? (I GUESS EXCLUDING GOTHS) LIKEWISE, I DONT MIND MOST PIERCINGS ON GUYS BUT THERE ARE SOME THAT ARE GENDER SPECIFIC, AND I HATE DANGLY EARRINGS ON GUYS; ANYTHING THAT COMES AWAY FROM THE EAR IS TOO FEMININE.
Normally, i'll prefer guys with clean nerdy looks. But hack, RAORRRRRRRRRRRR, i think guys with lip/tongue piercing are just absolutely sooooo hot and cant wait to kiss them. of cause, he has to be able to pull the look. eyeliners a nono for me tho.
Only some men can pull that eyeliner look off i.e. the obvious Johnny Depp, Pete Wentz, and a few others I'm too lazy to name. Personally, I've always thought it was hot, but once again, not all men can pull it off. His personality and facial structure would have to support it.
Eyeliner...eh, not to much. If it's your thing and you can pull it off, great, but in my opinion, the only man who looks good in guyliner is Johnny Depp. As for piercings, my fiance had both ears pierced when I met him and I loved it. I was very sad when he let the holes close up to look more "professional" when he started his new job.:-/ So, piercings don't bother me, and some guys can even look mighty cute with them. Just...don't take it to the extreme. If you look like Pinhead, it's just a little too much for me...
-Katie
I think it's interesting that the message talked about "owning" something. I honestly think that as far as personal style/appearance goes, men are the ones who have lost ownership on something exclusively male. What look do men have that women can't adopt? Ties? As masculine as ties are, women can wear them, and all sorts of other menswear-inspired clothing. So if women "own" makeup, maybe we should share.
I'm fine with a guy wearing makeup as long as it's appropriate and attractive, which is the same way I feel about women wearing makeup. Guys who can pull it off are seriously hot with lip rings, though I can understand that there are situations where it's not really socially acceptable for either gender.
Personally as a guy, I wouldn't wear eyeliner or have piercings. I don't see it as being wrong but it's just not my thing. Also, some dudes can't pull it off, so why bother but if that's their thing, then whatever.
If he got his lip pierced or wore eyeliner, I'd jump on him and rape him :P
And since when is make up only for girls? What about KISS?
hmm...very interesting question. I have a bunch of friends who wear guyliner and piercings. It's not a huge deal though I think sometimes they don't pull it off. But who am I to say how he can wear it or not. It's their thing. Personally, I wouldn't wear either things. I feel whatever about them.
Very interesting query. I have friends who wear guyliner and piercings as well. My chick friends also find 'em hot and others don't. To the question as to who owns what, I believe society has made us feel this way about certain things. Who is to say a girl can't wear jeans just cause guys are suppose to wear 'em. Likewise, who's to say guys can't have piercings or wear eyeliner. I don't wear neither one of them except maybe halloween or sometimes concert shows. It's not a huge deal. Everyone has the right to make their own choices, whether it is to like it or not. The world has yet to accept many "No Nos" but it's revolutionizing.