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Jeffree Star is a beauty influencer with a large social media following. Some of Star’s newer followers are curious about his identity and his sexuality. It’s a question that Star is used to hearing, as he posted about his gender identity on Twitter back in 2013.
When it comes to gender, Star refers to himself androgynous. On Twitter, “androgyny” is listed under his bio (see below). A person who identifies as androgynous appears both male and female. In addition, gender becomes more fluid and doesn’t become the focus of a person’s identity.
Star was born a male and that he identifies as a gay male. However, he is a fan of androgynous looks and he loves changing things up by using makeup and styling his hair all different ways. Back in 2009, Star talked to OUT Magazine about his gender.
“I think everyone doesn’t know what Jeffree Star is — like are you a man, are you a girl? What are you trying to be? And at the end of the day I’m just all about pro-expression. I don’t wear fake tits or wigs, so I don’t really consider myself a drag queen, but I am really obsessed and inspired by fashion in general. I started as a makeup artist, looking through magazines and being obsessed with the idea of just changing how you look with just some makeup brushes. So I don’t really call myself anything. I am a guy, I don’t want to have a sex-change — you know, my mom blessed me — so, I’m going to stay a man and look like a girl and everyone’s gonna f*ckin’ like it,” he said.
Back in March, Star sat down for a chat with Glamour. During the interview, Star was asked about his new makeup palette which he named “Androgyny.”
“It’s being fearless and yourself. I feel like with the whole Internet era, people can be so judgmental and evil online. [So this is about] owning your own self and showing your self-worth. I think androgyny is a good example of being you, being completely fearless and really not letting anyone tell you what to do. It’s very masculine and feminine at the same time. That word means a lot to me. People see men in makeup and have so many different opinions, so I wanted to shed light on the subject. When we were doing the shoot, I really wanted different people, so we have a straight male in the ad, we have a transgender women, we have a drag queen, and we have me. I wanted an eclectic mix of beautiful individuals who celebrate the word androgyny,” Star explained.
He went on to talk about how he considers himself androgynous.
“The cool thing with me is I really can do anything, which is so fun. I wake up and I’m like, Do I want to look like this today, or do I want to be super feminine? And before the shoot I looked back at all the ad campaigns and beauty stuff that we had done to date for my brands, and I had never taken it to the boy side of myself. So the real hair, brows, and shaved head—that picture [see it further down, below] shut down my Internet with so much amazing feedback. It’s so different, and people are so used to seeing me with the pink hair, the girly, more feminine side. I wanted to turn the tables. I covered all my tattoos, and I wanted to make a statement,” he added.
If you look at his Instagram account, he refers to himself as a “mom” and a “wife,” which are both female descriptions. Indeed, this is something that he struggles with from time to time. A few years ago, Star posted the following on Facebook.
His fans were quick to come to his defense, many suggesting things he shouldn’t responded with (such as, “I’m a unicorn”).
Star is currently in a relationship with Nathan Schwandt.