Ideal Qualities in a Man - Culture

Fluency and an ability to articulate one's thoughts concerning fine arts and the humanities are absolutely ideal and very impressive qualities for a man to own.

Makeup

I have always loved makeup. When I was young I used to swipe my little fingers across just about anything that I could pretend was a compact or a cake of powder. One afternoon when I was 7 years old my mother was driving a friend of mine home.When we got to his house my mother got out of the car to chat with his mother in their front yard, leaving me in the front seat with access to my full imaginary makeup vanity.

Sliding my forefinger across the radio dash, I transformed from a little boy into a movie star. The radio tuner turned into cream foundation, which is important in erasing blemishes and signs of old age. Radio preset seven was the dark shadow that went in the crease over my eyes - that helps define your lids and gives you the illusion of full luscious lashes. After that came a highlight just under the outer corner of the brow, found by pushing the eject button on the tape deck. Blush - or the air conditioning controls - was very important to define facial bone structure. This was particularly crucial, since six year old boys generally don't have defined cheekbones. Finally it was time for lipstick.

Lipstick can set a mood - it alone can change your entire "look". Naturally on this occasion I took plenty of time in the car looking for that perfect shade to complement my mood - which was "fabulous." Looking around the dashboard for my lipstick choice I pulled out the cigarette lighter. She shape was just right, and the way it lay in my hand was oh-so-similar to my mother's actual lipstick. In addition, the coils were exactly the shade of red I was looking for. It was almost the same color as Judy Garland's lips in "The Wizard of Oz." Needless to say, I was pretty sore after putting on that lipstick, and you can bet that mom drove me home as quickly as she could. There's a parable somewhere in there, about growing up gay in straight America.

My relationship with makeup did not end that day in the car. When I was in high school and dealing with the emotional chaos that is adolescence I rediscovered makeup as a quasi-goth. But it was at art school that I had my most torrid, and final affair with makeup as my drag alter ego Veronica Rockitt.