CoverGirl debuted their first male brand ambassador. In the tweeted announcement CoverGirl wrote, “Makeup artist, boundary breaker, and the newest COVERGIRL! #COVERGIRLJames.”
The model’s name is James Charles, a 17-year-old YouTube star living with his family in upstate New York. With over 100,000 YouTube subscribers and 725,000 Instagram followers, Charles is quickly becoming an iconic makeup guru. He is the first male to represent any makeup company and represents the LGBTQ+ community, as a gay man.
In an interview with “Marie Claire” magazine, Charles addressed the question of his gender identity. He told the magazine, “My parents started questioning me about whether or not I was transgender, [and] it took a lot of thorough conversations to explain that it’s an art form for me. I’m still confident as a boy and I will always be a boy. I can be confident with bare skin and with a full face.”
Charles is a perfect example of what the world needs. There is so much social pressure to fit into a certain mold these days, but Charles exemplifies that stepping out doesn’t have to be as scary as it seems. And in doing so, it also open up a lot of doors in the long run.
A brand like CoverGirl signing a “CoverBoy” is such a progressive step in the right direction for our society. Their actions will help blur the harsh, defined line we currently regard.
