A Brief Cultural History of 'Guyliner' and Its Trend in India

The eyeliner is one element of makeup that the men have readily
embraced. Men across centuries have sported various styles of eyeliner
essentially gaining its name guyliner to express themselves, assert their
authority and in deviance to societal standards.

Bollywood’s very own Ranveer Kapoor has been seen casually sporting the guyliner on a regular basis. 

He has also has been showing off kimono dresses and silk blouses, essentially breaking the conventions of traditional masculinity and normalizing men putting time, energy, and personality into their appearance.

As Dorian Electra in his 2019 pop release “Guyliner” sang - “I’m a guy/Don’t be surprised/If I take my time to glamorize/No reason why/That I can’t try/To line my eyes/It feels so right/Yeah, you know I’m wearing/(Guyliner) Yeah, and everybody’s staring/(Guyliner) This is the real me baby, and this ain’t no disguise.”

1. Ancient Egypt

The first signs of men wearing kohl can be traced back to 2200 B.C. in
Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. 

A lid thickly rimmed in kohl was a powder made out of charcoal soot and water. It was painted on in an elegant cat eye-style to give an elongated eye effect. They partly wore it for the kohl’s medicinal properties that warded of bugs and helped with inflammation.

It was also a sign of an elevated social class. While men from all classes
wore some form of eyeliner, the intricacy and elaborateness of the
eyeliner was something Egyptian pharaohs used as a visual element of
their appearance that was supposed to set them apart from the masses.

The trend was still going strong into 330 B.C. when even Alexander the
Great in 330 B.C. lined his eyes with charcoal to fend off flies.

2. The 1800s

Makeup was relegated to one end of the gender spectrum by the mid-
1800s. Queen Victoria considered the use of makeup as vulgar and
impolite. As a result, she declared that makeup was to be used by whores
alone. The only exception she made however was, the male actors. 

Artists continued to wear makeup on stage especially as they played female
roles.

3. The 1900s

Makeup had become a gendered topic by the 1900s used by only actors
and sex workers. This tradition of male actors wearing makeup continued
to be used by the biggest stars of the silent film era, like Charlie Chaplin
and Rudolph Valentino.

4. The 1950s

It was in the 1950s that Black artists like Little Richard and James Brown
brought back the look. Brown rebirthed the look in soft, subdued tones
categorized by a tight, thin line around the eyes.

Elvis Presley was quick to follow in their footsteps, picking up on the new
style and adding a touch of guyliner. By this time, the counter-culture
movement had taken shape essentially giving a lift to all things deviant,
‘other’ and unconventional. 

The Guyliner quickly became a rock-and-roll staple.

5. The 1970s

The 70s rock icons were wielding their makeup as a weapon. These men
not only wore makeup, but wore it proudly daring the masses to call them
effeminate. 

David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Steven Tyler, Prince are some who embraced and even branded themselves as deviant, often going out with not just guyliner but with face paint and gender-fluid clothing and mannerism.

6. The 2000s

This era is also known as the ‘era of the guyliner’. Green Day’s Billie Joe
Armstrong leaned into the under-eye smudge. Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz
started his own trend with clear, clean lines, and Panic! At The Disco
going all out in full eyeliner and eyeshadow.

7. India

There is a long history of men darkening their eyes using Surma in India.
Different cultures in the country use it to ward off the evil eye, to improve
eyesight. 

It’s especially used in Muslim Communities. Unfortunately, today in Bollywood the Surma now single-handedly identifies a character as Muslim, as a reductive stereotype in pop culture.

The cultural reasons for men wearing kohl underneath their eyes are
markedly different from what is portrayed on mainstream television in
India. It is different from the history of the guyliner in the rest of the
world.

In India, this trend has a buried sinister context. Be it Gully Boy’s Murad
or Padmaavat’s Alauddin Khilji, male actors who play Muslim characters
have always been marked with the Surma which comes off as lazy and
stereotypical decisions.

A different depiction of these men who adorn their eyes with kohl is when
they are shown as menacing, dangerous, primitive, poor, or as criminals.
One can say this is intertwined with the islamophobia that runs within the
Indian society. 

The central concept of guyliner is reclaiming of identity, something which has escaped filmmakers in India.

Written By - Christeena George

Edited by - Sandhya R