By: Shannon Dyett
The Brooklyn College LGBTQ+ Resource Center and the LGBT Alliance (LBGTA) hosted a gender euphoria makeup workshop, entitled “Black Girl Magic,” on Feb. 11 in the Student Center in celebration of Black History Month. This event was held so that students of all gender expressions and sexualities could learn tips from beauty experts on how to apply makeup regardless of their identity.
This event was one of many makeup workshops that the LGBTQ+ Center has hosted over the years. “Makeup workshops are something that’s very important to the center and the work we do,” Akachukwu Chinweze, senior assistant to Kelly Spivey, director of the Center, stated. “It has been something that we’ve been doing for a very long time and involving a lot of students taking part in exploring what gender means and how gender looks.
The LGBTA and the LGBTA+ Center have put on this makeup event for the past three years. This year, they invited two makeup artists, Yamani Oakley, also known as Starr, and Fianna Ri, to lead the workshop.
“We have a pretty good turnout every year, so I’m happy about that. When I first started doing makeup, it was on a non-binary person, so this event was just to highlight that anybody can do makeup,” Starr told The Vanguard. “[…] So, whatever you identify with, you can get your makeup done, you can do your own makeup. It’s just about having fun and expressing creativity at the end of the day.”
This semester, Fia Sanchez, a junior sociology major and president of the LGBTA, decided to take the initiative for the event in collaboration with the Resource Center and two makeup artists. The artists were able to give makeup tutorials to all the members who attended this event so that they could all see how to apply makeup. The looks ranged from feminine to masculine, all embracing the utmost creativity.
The goal of the event was to, “[Include] a focus on darker skin complexions and achieving different gender expressions through makeup. Our goal is to celebrate and uplift the Black and Brown trans members of our community!” according to their Instagram announcement.
Ri and Starr aimed to show everyone how to apply all varieties of makeup utilizing the makeup brand Juvia, a Black-owned cosmetics company founded by Chichi Eburu in 2016.
“So we had this event in celebration of Black History Month, and a lot of people don’t have access to makeup or they don’t know how to choose makeup or buy makeup,” Massi told The Vanguard. “So, naturally, having someone who’s an expert and passionate about makeup teaching you is really helpful, and then we all need a mentor to teach you how to do it without shame, so we create a safe space as well.”
Massi, the vice president of the LGBTA club, echoed this sentiment. “We also want to teach people who are trans […] how to do makeup because a lot of them are transitioning and they don’t know how to feminize themselves, or they want to learn how to feminize themselves so we do this.”
The club leaders understood the significance of organizing the event, especially in celebration of Black History Month.
“I think this is really important to highlight trans people and celebrate trans people, [including] Black and Brown trans women today because they’re so under attack from the government and from people,” Sanchez told The Vanguard. “We have to lift them up and celebrate them, so I think it was a really good idea for us to continue doing this, especially as a Black History Month event.”
Chinweze expanded on the ideals of this event, focusing on how today’s environment has transformed even the smallest things, such as makeup, into powerful modes of expression.
“Given the times we’re in, it is very important to show that we can present ourselves the way we best feel comfortable and not the way society dictates the way we should or should not,” Chinweze stated. “So it’s a very powerful thing, this workshop and seeing students just embrace whatever look, whatever creative ability they possess is just an immensely powerful thing in the times we’re in. So we’re all about the queer joy here and we look forward to seeing more of it as the year goes by.”
Students interested in more information about the LGBTQ+ Resource Center can check their Instagram: @lgbtqcenter_bc