I am from Southeastern Europe, and although I am white—and in fact likely lighter-skinned than the average person from my country—I sometimes feel that my more Mediterranean features are out of step with today’s beauty standards. I have dark brown hair, thick dark eyebrows (which I do trim), and a dark brown beard that, if grown out, can make me look like some taliban. Combined with my almond-shaped hazel eyes, I often feel my overall appearance comes across as more intense than attractive in a modern context. Back in the UK, when I grew my beard , I had girls crossing the street when they saw me; they probably thought I was some muslim migrant, when I was simply an educated eastern European Christian, who works hard to support this damned economy.
It sometimes seems to me that contemporary European beauty preferences lean toward more androgynous or “femboy” aesthetics, while more traditionally masculine traits—such as higher testosterone-related features—are increasingly associated with “toxic masculinity,” even when they are simply natural physical characteristics.
It sometimes seems to me that contemporary European beauty preferences lean toward more androgynous or “femboy” aesthetics, while more traditionally masculine traits—such as higher testosterone-related features—are increasingly associated with “toxic masculinity,” even when they are simply natural physical characteristics.
