Scarleteen

I am a parent of a 20 year old son who has recently started to wear makeup. We have talked about his sexual orientation and he says he is attracted to females, but I am wondering if he is is identifying as a female. He says he is not, but do males who are not gay or transgender or gender dysphoric wear makeup? I apologize for my ignorance, but I am trying to educate myself to support my son in the best way possible, so he knows he has a safe place to express himself. He has said he uses the pronouns he/him to identify himself.
Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated. I want him to know that he is loved for being him,however that is expressed.

Hi Brenleefisch,

It's great that you're trying to inform yourself to make sure your son has a safe space to express himself! The short answer is: yes, cis men can and do wear make-up, regardless of their sexual orientation. In fact, if we look to history, people of all genders often wore make-up; the idea that men don't or shouldn't is actually pretty new.

It sounds like your son has a pretty solid sense of who he is in terms of his sexual orientation or gender, but that experimenting with make-up is still bringing something positive into his life. He's ultimately going to be the best source on why he likes it, even if the reason is as basic as, "it's just fun." Does that all make sense?