Hairstylist and Make-Up Artist, Christian Tufaro, is one of our favorite fiercest bitches. Gurrrrl has been servin’ up gender realness since the day he was born. Now, on the verge of turning 21, he is starting to see the impact his gender performance has on his audience. ”My friends and family have always encouraged me to present myself in whatever way makes me proud,” he explains, while sitting down in between belting out songs for Rock Band. “Everyone worth caring about understands that I am comfortable with myself within being male, along with being feminine.”
Christian, who has also been known to go by Cupcake, Chrissylicious and Glossy Bones, is a perfect example of an important rule: The way a person plays out their gender roles does not dictate their gender identity or sexuality. To put it bluntly, don’t assume. “If I wanna do drag, I’m gonna do it. It doesn’t mean I want to be a woman. I’m comfortable with it without feeling like my gender is compromised.” While Christian was in high school, he often came to class with a long, luscious, blonde weave on his scalp and bold, black, winged eyeliner.
Marilyn Monroe inspired his aesthetic immensely, and there were days you could smell the Chanel No. 5 on him. His personal style came to him so naturally that he wore his over-sized butterfly cardigans with confidence and pride. He gave no reason for anyone to question him on his style choices because it was the only thing that seemed right.
Now, two years out of the awkward days of high school, Christian has been experiencing shopping in the men’s section. Excited about his new Forever 21 Men’s combat boots he said, “I don’t think more masculine looks are necessarily different, I think it’s my own style. “”Soft Masculine”" is definitely a derivative of my previous style.” He’s still proudly draped in long cardigans and his eyebrows are always on point but he’s loving his new found confidence in mixing up his wardrobe with some hard-ass, nitty gritty pieces. I think he explained perfectly, ”Some days, I feel feminine because I just want to be pretty. My outfit is going to tell you my feelings for that day, not forever.“
There is no better person than Christian to showcase for our new series of interviews, because Christian just lives it. His life isn’t on display for a grand political gesture. He’s not part of a performance art collective, doting out his gender as a social experiment. He’s just doing what feels right for him, and breaking the gender binary feels right to him. Next time you’re itching to wear your bright red lipstick, but you’re not sure if your 5 o’clock shadow matches, he advises you to “rock it. Gender is a performance. We’re all artists, and our gender is our piece. If you are a man in a dress, or a woman with a jock strap, be stronger for it. Goddess bless the gender fucks!”
*All photos taken exclusively for Bitchtopia by Ingrid T.
