David Yi on Masculinity, Makeup, and Why “Pretty Boys” Do It Better

Photos by Eliane Awada.

David Yi.

Harry Styles could have despatched the web spiraling in recent times along with his good manicure and delicate pearls, however David Yi is right here to remind us that Babylonian military officers carried private manicure kits with them centuries earlier than he ever graced the stage. In Pretty Boys, Yi’s new ebook, the skincare expert-turned-beauty journalist traces the legacy of cultural figures who’ve defied the boundaries of gender expression by way of make-up throughout cultures and over centuries. In honor of the ebook’s launch, the Korean-American author hit pause on his Pride festivities to reply a couple of questions for us, and to indicate off a few magnificence appears (created in collaboration with make-up artist Cristina Montemayor) in celebration of fairly boys in all places. — MEGAN HULLANDER
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ERNESTO MACIAS: How did this ebook come about?
DAIVD YI: Pretty Boys is the historical past of males, masc-identifying folks, and make-up. The ebook is actually the primary about males who’ve beautified and amplified their energy by way of their aesthetics. I wished to indicate people who magnificence and cosmetics have amplified all types of folx all through historical past.
MACIAS: Why is it vital for the historical past of masc-identifying folx to be advised, with reference to make-up and magnificence?
YI: It’s vital to indicate that magnificence has all the time been political. I hope that folks perceive that gender roles had been created to divide folks, and that in actuality make-up has been utilized by all types of individuals for hundreds of years. 
MACIAS: What do you hope readers take away out of your ebook?
YI: I hope they’ll take inspiration and perceive that if magnificence is within the eye of the beholder–*they* are that beholder. They actually have the ability to remodel themselves.
MACIAS: The idea of mens’ magnificence and cosmetics has come a great distance prior to now few years, to the purpose of being nearly mainstream—what do you attribute this to? Who has led this revolution?
YI: I feel it’s Gen Z that, by and massive, has modified this dialog. They’re main the revolution by way of TikTok, by way of stars like Harry Styles, or youthful stars who don’t adhere to the binary.

MACIAS: Who deserves the actual credit score for this revolution?
YI: I feel the actual credit score goes to all of the folx–particularly LGBTQIA++–who had been those on the market preventing for change. From Black trans activists to queer indigenous folx, the Asian American voices which were so fierce all through historical past, and so many extra. 
MACIAS: What do you hope the ebook’s lasting impression can be?
YI: I hope the lasting impression can be that historical past is seen in a extra sturdy method. I hope that this ebook provides us a extra well-rounded understanding of our heroes. 
MACIAS: What had been the inspirations behind the appears you created for us?
YI: I collaborated with my colleague Cristina Montemayor, a terrific editor and make-up artist. We wished to have enjoyable for Pride, to indicate off some colour, and actually showcase my mono-lidded eyes.
MACIAS: Your motto is “magnificence past the binary”—are you able to inform me extra about this and why it’s so vital so that you can push this out to the world?
YI: It’s important that we perceive our personal societal conditioning and how and why we’ve fallen sufferer to this method of division. Beauty past the binary is about understanding that all of us have a spot on this world. 
We’re celebrating Asians all day on daily basis. I wore Bobblehaus, an Asian American-owned model by two ladies. We used a blue eyeliner from Freck to intensify the monolids of my eyes. We wished to have enjoyable with blue, a colour that I don’t use so typically.