CoverGirl's Beauty Boy Controversy

I recently saw a CoverGirl commercial that featured a male wearing their makeup. On top of viewing this commercial, I also read an article explaining the impact this male, James Charles, exposes to the public. Before I move on, I want to warn you that I will be examining the two sides of this controversy. As everyone knows, we all have our own opinions and that is how the World functions! If we did not have these personal opinions, the World would be a dull and boring place. Anyways, back on track with this CoverGirl ad. When I was first exposed to this ad, the one of many thoughts that I had was, "Oh boy, there is going to be a mix of emotions when people first see this ad." I feel that this advertisement, in general, is one that can be extremely touchy where people tend to have strong opinions because it cane easily be related to the transgender situation. I personally believe that this ad has nothing to do with supporting the transgender community. Instead, I feel that this ad's purpose is trying to show everyone that you can be whoever you want. And if you want to wear makeup as a male, go for it! There should be nothing holding you back, and this male does a fantastic job at expressing his unique characteristics with CoverGirl's makeup.

Here is a picture of James Charles, CoverGirl's "Beauty Boy":

The article I read told a story about two specific words: "hate" and "courage". With these two words in mind, the article went on to state how hate is the most dangerous four letter word the World has ever known, which is why they wanted to focus more on the word "courage" while explaining a story. The story went on to state how you should put yourself in the shoes of a young man that realized he was gay and told his parents. And after a few years, you start playing with makeup and realize that these cosmetics make you feel better about yourself. You then develop a Youtube channel by the age of 17, and CoverGirl has decided to name you the first ever cover boy. This story then goes on by saying how there will be haters of this new movement, but Charles does not let any hateful comments affect his character. This story can be an inspiration to anyone in some way, no matter what your views may hold. There was one specific phrase in the Allure article that truly caught my eye. Here it is, "There was a wall. He tore it down. There was a trail. He blazed one. There was a group of people. And he just gave them a role model." I believe that this statement is powerful, uplifting, and most importantly, impactful. This trail to success can be used in any situation you find yourself coming across, whether it is in work or school. You tear the wall down that is blocking you from succeeding and you allow yourself to develop a trail that will lead you to the goal you are hoping to achieve and because of this, many people will look up to you. This is just another impactful story that people seem to be critical about, but do not understand they have probably accomplished a similar story in different terms obviously. 

Another key statement brought up in this article explained, "If you judge someone for the powders and creams they put on their face, if you are governed by bigotry, if you are driven by intolerance, if you are threatened by differences, if you are scared by anyone who doesn't look like you, we will not give you a microphone." This is a statement that gets to the point by using the powerful words to explain how being different should not be judged in any way. Differences are actually encouraged and promote self expression. So, if a man wants to wear eyeliner or foundation, there should be not be any sort of hate expressed to him directly or indirectly. We should all focus on building each other up instead of pulling each other down with the different forms of hate that can be easily expressed. 

Overall, I believe CoverGirl's "beauty boy" is an eye opening movement that people can look up to in different ways, and not jump to conclusions so quickly.