When Jamie Lambert from Collabro posted a jokey pic of himself on Instagram wearing make up via a Snapchat filter, little did he know the reaction it would cause.
But while most of his fans were in on the joke, one posted a comment that led Jamie to respond rather sternly.
Collabro fan Kathleen commented: ‘Jamie, you may be gay and proud but please never resort to this, you are much too handsome as you are.’ While it would seemed Kathleen’s intentions were wholly complementary, Jamie felt he needed to clarify with her that even if he were wearing women’s make up, there would be nothing wrong in doing so.
He a considered reponse, Jamie eloquently wrote: ‘Thank you for your response Kathleen – I just want to clear some things up. I’m not actually wearing makeup here, this is a Snapchat filter. However, whilst I appreciate your compliment about being handsome, if I were to choose to wear make-up like this, and if I felt comfortable doing it, that wouldn’t be something I “resorted” to – but rather something that I was proud of.
‘As it happens, I don’t wear female makeup, but if I did it wouldn’t necessarily be anything to do with my sexuality. Many straight men identify with themselves better by wearing female make-up, but also many people who were born male but were meant to be female often feel trapped inside their own bodies and make-up is a way to express that in a very gender conforming, difficult world; a world were patriarchal stereotypes and structures have been set in place so that people don’t have the freedom to do what they want.
‘It’s so important to realise that personal identity is something to encourage whether it’s non-gender conforming or outside of what we are used to. Absolutely none of the above is meant to be confrontational at all, I just like to have open discussions because I believe it’s the way forward and I’m pleased you voiced your opinion so that I could respond in kind. Thank you for your support and your kind words. My love always x.’