“Cover Girl” is a popular American cosmetic brand, where you immediately think of female celebrities, models and influential women being on the front cover of the magazines. The advertisement that I have chosen is an image of a young boy, who is the first ever to have been on the front cover of “Cover Girl”. However, this advertisement seemed to have brought up a few problems. Since the word “equality” is a big topic when it comes to Gender, Race, and Power, many different perspectives from many different people have been criticizing this advertisement. Seeing a picture of a boy, who is fully dolled-up with makeup, makes most people think him to be a transgender, or just makes many feel uncomfortable seeing a young boy being in full make-up. Nevertheless, the times have changed, and nowadays, many more males, of all ages, are using make-up in their own ways. In Asia especially, where many of the population follow the ‘pop-trends’, many famous young male idol groups wear make-up, be it on or off stage. For the older generations, they may find this new trend very different from what they have grown up with. This advertisement does not fully give information on how the majority should change their perspectives to males with make-up. Although the title of the brand is called, “Cover Girl”, having a picture of a boy underneath may raise some eyebrows. So, how could this advertisement be changed, as to reduce such criticisms?

The definition of “equality” means “the state of being equal, especially in status, rights, and opportunities”. For example, if men can vote, women should also have the right to vote. If there is violence towards women, there is violence towards men, and so forth. Despite this, many people have gender stereotypes about how a woman should act, and how a man should act. The acts of gender stereotypes have simply altered over time, but the generalization is still there. Are boys not allowed to wear make-up? Should they not be allowed to change their appearance? As the generations get older, and new generations are exposed to more modern media, many males get more interested in altering their physical appearances, and ultimately, make-up. Some may use it as a cover for daily life, or find it as an interesting hobby. However, the original advertisement that I have posted does not really rid of these gender stereotypes that are present in modern society. As seen on the attached photos, all the men in the images are wearing make-up. I wanted to show that, just because their photo is not under a large title implicating a make-up brand, such as “Cover Girl”, doesn’t mean that males aren’t wearing make-up in daily, normal life. I want to get rid of this stereotype, and see that many males are also interested in beauty regimes and products. Criticizing and changing the gender of the boy, labelling him as transgender or homosexual, simply because of what is on his face, is the epitome of gender stereotyping. I had also changed the title of “Cover Girl” to “Cover Boy” so that the model can feel prouder. As women like to wear make-up, men have all right to enjoy it as well. Getting rid of the gender stereotypes and give equal gender standards is what society must aim for.