You can put lipstick (or breasts) on a man, but he’s still a man

CoverGirl’s newest pretty face is… a boy.

Ladies know that makeup is famous for helping us blur reality a little when it comes to our skin. Hiding minor blemishes and accentuating the positive is one thing, but with the announcement of their newest spokesmodel, 17 year-old James Charles, as the company’s first “male ambassador,” CoverGirl is officially endorsing the emasculation of boys and obscuring the inherent gift of true femininity, which belongs exclusively to women.

Another traditionally female domain now being ceded to the men.

Who’s the Woman of the Year? A man, of course.

Who’s the star of the girls’ track team? A boy, of course.

{mosads}And now who’s the newest makeup model, showing off such girly staples as glittering eyeshadows, eyelashes drenched in mascara, nail polish, and luscious lip colors? A boy. Who better to sell totally feminine wares than a boy?

That’s not to say that makeup is required for womanhood by any means. It’s not the defining characteristic of femininity, but it is a perk of being a girl for us girls who enjoy using it. We can rightly establish that it’s demeaning to imply that putting makeup on a man suddenly makes him a woman while acknowledging the fact that makeup is part of the fun of being a girl.

Boys aren’t pretty, and they’re not supposed to be.

The lines of feminine and masculine are being blurred all over, threatening to be wiped away completely.

“Men” can have menstrual periods now, and “men” can become pregnant and give birth now, so why not makeup?

CoverGirl takes the “transgender” sexual revolution being forced upon the whole of society and aims it squarely at our daughters. They will be persuaded through slick marketing and the pressure not to be a “backwards, judgmental bigot” to accept that it’s perfectly normal for boys to look and act like girls. The only logical end to that line of thinking is that there’s nothing inherently, uniquely special about being a girl, because a boy can do it just as well.

We’ve witnessed the constant fawning over Bruce Jenner as he has “transitioned” into Caitlyn and been celebrated far and wide as a victory for… who, exactly? 

In the clash of feminism and “transgender” ideology, women will always lose. When society decides a man can legitimately be a woman just because he “feels” like a woman, grows his hair long, gets breast implants, and wears makeup, then society has officially denigrated womanhood. After decades of liberal feminism telling women to abhor their feminine nature and break their healthy reproductive systems with carcinogenic chemicals and injurious devices, the next logical step is that any man can be a woman. So much for feminism. 

We’re certainly not doing any honor to manhood, either. Think of our sons. Do we really want a generation of young men learning to eschew masculinity and become like girls? That seems to be the goal here: the obliteration of the binary sexes and the manufacture of the totally androgynous human.

And so, the first resistors who must be taken out are the girls. They must be made to feel terrible for even wanting privacy in the bathrooms and locker rooms. They must surrender their own rights to privacy, modesty, and safety in order to appease the new mandate. Even the president says so. The girls just have to get over their discomfort and let the boys in. 

Is it supposed to be a consolation that now the boys might be borrowing their nail polish and eyeshadow?

I recall a conversation I had with my husband years ago in which the question came up: Would a woman rather her husband see her as incredibly beautiful or incredibly smart? Both, obviously! But I had to admit, nothing lifts my heart more than when my husband tells me I’m beautiful. Beauty, I said, belongs to women, and I think most women want to know their man finds them lovely. Women are obviously smart and capable, but we also have the gift of being beautiful. Men are to be handsome, charming, strong, protective, and noble. We just don’t go around calling men beautiful.

The contrast between masculine and feminine is what makes the human dance exciting and healthy. It’s this very contrast that is being purposely smudged. The fact that it’s being done with black eyeliner and sparkly powders doesn’t make it a good thing.

CoverGirl thinks itself modern, edgy, enlightened, and tolerant for “opening up” the cosmetics market to boys. James is happy to show that “anyone and everyone can wear makeup.” Is that really what we want as a society?

Hartline is a Senior Contributing Editor for The Stream.