Quil Lemons: How "Glitterboy" Is Countering Hypermasculinity in the Black Community

Quil Lemons has six alter egos, the most famous of whom is dubbed Glitterboy. And, in case you're wondering, no, Quil Lemons isn't one of them — the young photographer was born with that name 20 years ago in South Philadelphia. After sitting down with Lemons recently, I quickly realized Glitterboy embodies the future of makeup: completely inclusive of all genders, races, and sexualities. No questions asked, no labels bestowed.

"Makeup doesn't necessarily have any energy," Lemons points out as we chat in Allure's beauty closet, completely surrounded by the stuff. "It's just products, and society gives it that gendering. It's weird. Nothing says it's for boys or for girls. We just put those labels on it." Damn. Truer words have never been spoken.

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Who exactly is Glitterboy, though? Lemons defines him as "a young black man just owning who they are and being themselves." The most obvious way he embodies this alter ego on a daily basis is wearing swaths of glitter across his cheekbones. Today, it's teal. Tomorrow, it could be holographic silver, gold, or purple. "I try to wear it wherever I go, whenever I can," he says.

Older men shouted at him, "Men aren't real men anymore." He reminded them that they wore bell bottoms back in their day.

In New York City, no one bats a lash when they see him. (Unless, he's at Allure, then everyone begs to know which glitter he used and stares at him like he's a piece of art.) When he was back home in Philly, though, he got more visceral reactions from people. Older men shouted at him, "Men aren't real men anymore." He reminded them that they wore bell bottoms back in their day.

With that in mind, there's a deeper level to Lemons's Glitterboy alter ego. He's not only fun to look at, he's also helping combat hyper-masculinity in the black community. In May, Lemons debuted his everyday look with a photo series. Over a five-month period, he photographed a handful of his friends in front of a pink backdrop on the patio of his dorm room at The New School in New York City. All have Lemon's signature glitter highlight splashed on their faces.

For some of them, like Teddy (seen below), Lemons's photo shoot documented their first time wearing makeup. "For him to have enough balls to do that was really cool, and I feel like that shows where society is going," Lemon notes. "His dad doesn't approve, but he wants to do this. He knows that it's OK. That's progression."

At just 20, Lemon has a firm grasp on the way black men wearing makeup in the past have been viewed and how today's society is changing the narrative. In the 80s, it was Prince. These days, it's Lil Uzi, Frank Ocean, and Playboi Carti. (Of course, Lemons wishes he could shoot all of them for his ongoing photo series.) "They have this energy where they're very effeminate, but still cool," he says. "There's a mix between the balance of masculinity and femininity, and they are visually showing that."

As he works on the second installation of the Glitterboy series, he's keeping this in mind because some of the models for it are rappers themselves. "I'm like, 'How is this going to affect them in their career and how they're perceived? Would they have been able to do this type of shoot 10 years ago?' Their answer would be no."

Frank Ocean, in particular, plays a major part in the birth of Glitterboy. In August 2016, the singer dropped a music video for his song "Nikes". In it, he can be seen covered in glitter and wearing colorful eye makeup. So when Lemons was invited to the launch party for Milk Makeup soon after, he asked the makeup artist at the event to do his makeup like Frank Ocean. "It was very liberating to be in a room full of people, and no one's judging each other for anything," he recounts. "We're all here just to have fun and party and wear makeup."

You just look like you, even though you have makeup on your face.

Once the party was over, Lemons says he was scared to post pictures of his made-up self on social media. He even texted his mom to let her know that he was thinking about doing so. Before seeing the photos, she warned against posting them in an act of protecting her son. "She's always fearful of what others' perception of me is going to be and how it's going to positively or negatively affect me," he adds. Lemons sent her the shots, though, and his mom quickly gave her approval. "You just look like you, even though you have makeup on your face," she told him. Lemons went ahead and posted pictures to Twitter, marking the first time any of his followers had seen him wearing makeup.

His tweet, which read, "real n***as wear makeup", ended up going viral in two different communities. "It was so polarizing," Lemons says. On one side, he had people praising him. On the other, people accused him of destroying masculinity in a negative way. "It was making people think and question all the same questions I was asking myself, 'Should I be doing this? Should men be doing this? Why can't men do this? Could I see myself in this?'"

There's a privilege that comes along with being white when it comes to self-expression, sexuality, and fluidity. Black men really don't have that.

After sitting on these questions for about a year, the answers came about when he started the Glitterboy project — and you can find them in his casting. He thoughtfully picked who he photographed with his now-signature glittery makeup.

"I personally will not shoot someone in my Glitterboy makeup unless they're a young black man or a young man of color," he explains. "There's a privilege that comes along with being white when it comes to self-expression, sexuality, and fluidity. Black men really don't have that. They really are policed with what they can and cannot do, so this project was to bring light to boys that get overlooked." He even mentions the stereotypes black men are often restricted to: basketball players, thugs, or rappers. "Those are the only ways you can shine as a black man," he adds.

When people try to combat those stereotypes in photography, though, Lemons believes that the models often look aesthetically similar: artsy. Although that may be relatable to some people, Lemons believes that's only one type of black boy. "There are so many different ways to be a young black boy," he says.

For his project, Lemons, therefore, aimed to represent a variety of skin tones, body types, and hairstyles. "Just having someone out there who visually looks like you, it's like, "Oh, I don't have to be this like Avant-Garde guy with dyed hair to be wearing glitter and to express myself," Lemons explains. "No, you can literally just be you and do whatever."

Glitter is universal.

As we wrap up our chat, I realize glitter, in itself, is an important vehicle for Lemons's revolution. It doesn't have a barrier to entry the way foundation or even lipstick has. You don't have to work hard to find a shade that fits — or shows up — your skin tone. "Glitter is universal," Lemons agrees. "You don't have to have, like, 70 different shades — like with foundation. With my darker skin tone, you still can't get the foundation to match with your skin. With glitter, [skin tone] doesn't matter."

When all is said and done, Lemons hopes that Glitterboy gives the communities he's a part of and the younger boys who now look up to him a platform to be themselves. "I'm not telling you to go wear makeup," he says. "I just want you to know that if you do, that's fine, and if you don't, whatever. I just want you just to be authentically you."

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