Oh, Jenkin

Ok, so when you just KNOW that somebody is interesting, there’s really no turning back. You just need to know more about them. In my case, my first instinct is to go and talk to them. Like, right away. I'm a sucker for people who do not conform. You see, I've never been too concerned about what 'other people' might think, so it would be a good assessment to say that IDGAF about the opinions other people may have about me or about the people I hang out with. I think it was the well-known pop culture scholar RuPaul (always ready with some bon mots) who said:

And no bitch is paying my bills. So when Jenkin popped up in my feed I was like: I need to know more about him. Also, if you hear somebody's look is 'Wrestler Cowboy' you just have to stop and pay attention. Right? His 'everyday look' is soooo fantastic that I can barely breath. Seriously. Also, his use of prosthetics is almost cinematic. Who knew that someone would use prosthetics to go to let's say, Trader Joe's? Guuurl...

I always get the 'oh, they only want attention' line when I talk about someone (or I'm with someone) who is so effortlessly cool but so obviously sui generis. And I don't think it's that they're thirsty or need the attention. THAT is their way to express themselves. Just like some people swear by their Polo shirts and their Khakis and relish on being nondescript, some other people just dress up (from our point of view, of course) to go around minding their own business. Also, remember that everything is relative. What's outlandish to you may be common to someone else. Some guy once called my bondage pants, 'fuck me pants' while eyeing me up and down. I took it as a compliment.

 I think we all start not thinking about what other people may think and we just do what we think is fun or cool. I remember my sister and I would get into my mom and dad's wardrobe (they had this old-fashioned armoire in their room where they kept all kinds of goodies: accessories, ties, shoes, dance and cocktail dresses and full-on tuxes that had belonged to them and to our grandparents). I still remember that some of those clothes were so absolutely fantastic that we could not imagine anybody wearing them to go anywhere. From the point of view of a child, sequins or a cummerbund are incredibly exotic. Everything is out of proportion and alien. Now I wish I would have kept some of those clothes, though. Some were fab.

I still remember that some of my dad's suits (skinny lapel and very structured trousers, very Mad Men) were some of my favorite pieces to wear. Curiously, I never wore any of my mom's dresses. I thought they were awesome, but never tried them on. When I went to college, I actually took one of my dad's suits with me and I used to wear it with creepers and Sex Pistols t-shirts to parties and my friends were always trying to get me to tell them where I had bought it. I guess my dad was cool when younger (he worked at a casino up until I finished high school, so that may have explained the fancy clothes) even if I did not consider him to be. Who thinks their parents are cool, after all? Besides, I literally lived in thrifted clothes, so the difference for me was not huge.

So Jenkin's style is so fantastic (it's not just the attire but the whole makeup/special FX and concept combo) that I would just love to sit down with him and talk about his inspiration. His references are wild. He also breaks havoc in many of the masculine tropes that clothes seem to be embedded into (which is a plus and if we are to be blunt, everybody does a form of drag). But he's right. Beauty should be joyful. Some people would say that he's handsome enough without makeup, but he's not aiming for handsome. He's aiming for awesome. There's a difference. 

Jenkinvanzyl 

I think we have all somehow lost that dress-up curiosity we had as children. When clothes were just pieces that helped make our games more fun and our fantasy world more complete. They did not have a gender or a specific place and time. Who didn't run around pretending he was a firefighter or a space invader? Or Wonder Woman? She kicked some Nazi ass.  I had a costume I loved so much when I was little it was washed periodically with all my other clothes. I'm not advising you go to the office and run up and down the stairs with a sheet tied around your neck pretending to be Thor. There's only one Captain Underpants, dear. But hey.

I would have a blast going through his collection of theater costumes and mixing several historical periods just to go out with him looking like nobody else. No, I would probably would not do the makeup (you do need balls of steel and TALENT for that) but I would love to sample the costumes. Just for the hell of it. I really enjoy the mix of breaking gender norms and heightened sexuality that seems to permeate his aesthetic, too. Now, don't tell me that watching him lick that frosting from his latex gloves didn't give you the tingle to mingle, makeup notwithstanding. 

XOXO