First there was “Clean,” then “Sustainable,” and now “Genderless” is the buzz word for the beauty industry. At surface level, this breaking down of binaries is great – beauty has always been for everyone. People of all genders have been wearing makeup for as long as we’ve been recording our own history, from ancient Egypt to ancient Rome, King Louis XVI to David Bowie.
As Tynan Sinks reports for Highsnobiety, seeing people express themselves through beauty no matter their gender is powerful, transformative. It’s something that should be celebrated – but it’s also something that can be commodified. Beauty may not have a gender, but it does have SEO terms. Brands have begun to cash in on “genderless” by using the label as a mode to stand out from the crowd – a way to seem more forward-thinking and inclusive, and therefore morally and ethically superior. But “genderless” is just the latest in a long line of buzzwords that have never amounted to much.
It started with the “wellness” trend of the ‘80s and ‘90s which birthed “natural” beauty products, touting labels plastered with “non-toxic,” “chemical-free,” and “safe.” This ushered in “clean” beauty, a category that throws around attractive yet vague advertising jargon like “natural” and “no harmful chemicals.” According to Bloomberg, the clean beauty market is expected to reach $10 billion by 2026, but it’s difficult to determine what clean really means. The FDA does not regulate this term, nor any like it, so its definition varies depending on who – or what brand – you ask. Retailers like Sephora and Credo have their own clean standards, but companies that are trying to meet a bottom line should not have the authority to tell you what’s safe for you to use.
The same applies to so-called “sustainable” beauty, a category that’s booming amid a global climate crisis. According to Forbes, an estimated 120 billion units of beauty packaging are produced every year, giving some consumers pause when considering adding yet another product to their routine. After all, no one wants to think that their buying habits are damaging the environment. That’s where jargon like “sustainably sourced,” “carbon-neutral,” and “recyclable” come in – but similar to “clean” and “natural,” these eco-friendly buzzwords are also largely unregulated.
Armed with a wealth of knowledge sourced from dermatologists-turned-social-media-stars, consumers are beginning to question brands using these blanket terms. “Clean” and “sustainable” are beginning to lose steam, but another beauty buzzword is quickly gaining traction: “genderless.”
As a marketable concept, genderless beauty emerged around the mid 2010s. Factors such as the rise of male and non-binary beauty influencers, a left-leaning political climate, and the launch of Fenty Beauty and its 40-shade range of foundation (unheard of at the time) forced the beauty industry to reexamine inclusivity from all sides. Consumers, too, started experimenting with makeup, no matter their gender. A rep from Google told Highsnobiety that search interest in gender-neutral makeup and cosmetics has increased 400 percent over the last 10 years, with “eye makeup looks for men” and “natural makeup looks for men” being among the most-searched topics.
Beauty brands are widening their scope, expanding their marketing campaigns beyond thin, cis, white models and casting people of different genders, ages, skin tones, skin types, and body types. Beauty is beginning to look like a more welcoming place, and consumers are responding. A survey by Deloitte found in The Wall Street Journal tells us that “…young consumers (ages 18 to 25) take greater notice of representative advertising when making purchase decisions than do older ones (ages 46 and over),” and that “More than half (57 percent) of consumers surveyed say they are more loyal to brands that demonstrate commitment to addressing social inequities in all their actions.”
To stay relevant among these young buyers, both Gen Z brands and legacy brands are turning to the word “genderless” to indicate their stance on inclusivity without ever having to clearly define it.
But as Sinks points out, doesn’t labeling a brand as “genderless” further perpetuate the binary that beauty is supposedly seeking to curve? When customers have become so savvy, do products need to be defined in terms of who they’re for? “I hate to say it, but they still need to,” says Colby Smith, a celebrity makeup artist for the likes of Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, and Demi Lovato. “Consumers can be quite literal. Products have to tell you where they go and who they’re for so people don’t get confused.”
It may be happening imperfectly, but beauty embracing any sort of gender diversity does feel like a step in the right direction. Smith expands on the evolution he’s seen in the industry throughout his career: “MAC used to be the only brand that would feature a boy in ‘guyliner.’ Now, it’s refreshing to see brands use all types of faces, genders, and body types in their campaigns.”
The brands that get inclusivity right are the ones who don’t go out of their way to spotlight it – they simply live it. Since Halsey’s About-Face launched in 2020, the makeup line has let its work speak for itself. “All genders were part of the about-face community since inception,” says Jeanne Chavez, about-face’s co-founder and chief innovation officer. “Our user-generated content and branded content have reflected this since our launch, not because it is a trend, but because it is part of our brand DNA.” Indeed, about-face has continually included people of different genders, skin tones, body types, and abilities in their campaigns, showing them without prescribing their attributes as defining features.
In the age of TikTok and Instagram, the power structures of the beauty industry have radically shifted. A brand’s success no longer relies on an expensive campaign, a celebrity face, or the right influencer. Since everyone has a platform, brands are no longer deciding what’s hot, what trends, and what sells. We are. It’s no shock, then, that brands have started to reflect the diversity of their consumers.
But, in the business of beauty, profit always comes before values. For a brand to enter any space, whether it’s clean skincare or genderless makeup, it must be deemed “safe” enough to still drive income. When anything trends, it’s important to ask ourselves: Why is this happening, and who is this benefitting?
If we give brands the power to make the industry more inclusive, then we give them the power to shut us out when it no longer serves their bottom line. After all, many of the brands shouting inclusivity are owned by conglomerates and CEOs that have helped finance conservative agendas actively harming the very same people they claim to represent.
Inclusivity should be table stakes, not a talking point. Beauty has always been for everyone – we never needed a brand to tell us that. Seeing ourselves reflected in today’s beauty campaigns can be affirming, yes. But it shouldn’t be taken at face value.
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Photo Credit: Jamie Lamor Thompson / Shutterstock.com