Creator Oliver Toxopeus on the Rebellion of Fashion, Creativity and Identity
"I believe that if you want to grow, you need to be brave and take risks. Just by posting a picture of you being your unapologetic self, you are making a statement."
We ask five creators who have mastered the art of unconventional beauty to share their thoughts on movements that celebrate what were once considered “flaws” and the impact of social media on the progressive beauty scene.
For 19-year-old creator Oliver Toxopeus, rebellion comes in the form of fashion, creativity, and their identity. Apart from their ongoing studies in engineering, Toxopeus can be found on TikTok creating bold looks using stuck-on pieces, and a grown unibrow that they’re now recognised for.
The creator calls out the double standards in how men and women are judged by society for their looks. “When we look at any red carpet event, we see everyone putting in a lot of effort to present themselves beautifully, while men can get away with wearing the same, plain old suits.”
“The fashion world has a strong grip on me, creating looks and sewing clothes is one of my favourite things to do,” they continue to share. “My inspiration comes from a lot of places, including TikTok. I love seeing creative people in their element and I hope I can also inspire others with my creations.”
Do you see makeup, clothing, or anything creative you may use to create your looks as your form of self-expression?
Yes, I love expressing my identity through my clothes and makeup. It’s my way of communicating an important part of me without even having to open my mouth. The feeling is hard to explain, that’s why I’d rather try and capture the essence of it through my looks. I feel my best and most authentic self when I achieve this.
Would you say you’ve always geared towards the unconventional or was it a progressive journey?
I think wanting to fit in is very humanly behaviour. During the first few years of high school, I did my best to blend in with the rest. I wore the same clothes as my friends, I bought the same backpack that everyone else had, and I stuffed my bra. But as I grew in age, I also grew in height. As a very tall teenager, you’re prone to stand out, literally.
At some point, I didn’t have a lot of friends at school anymore. That may sound depressing but I’m actually grateful for it now. I wasn’t affected as much by trends and by peer pressure because I simply had no peers. I stopped dressing for others and started doing it for myself. I walked the hallways like it was my runway, with high heels and everything.
Old friends suddenly asked me where I got my clothes from. I used to feel ashamed of being different, but now it became a strength. So I wouldn’t say that rebelling against conventions just came naturally to me. It took a lot of work to love myself and to gain the confidence to show it off.
Have you ever received criticism for the way you choose to express yourself?
I’m not joking when I say every single day. I live in a relatively safe country, but I still get anxious walking down the street. This fear is not irrational though, I’ve had slurs thrown at me, people following me home, and encountered many other uncomfortable and frightening experiences. But I get the most backlash on TikTok.
Usually, my audience all live in the same bubble as me. But from time to time, my content reaches another demographic; this is immediately recognisable by the number of hate comments I then receive. It can be overwhelming at times but I have found a way to deal with it. I remind myself that happy and confident people don’t feel the need to drag others down, and therefore, I will not waste my time and energy on dealing with hateful and insecure people.
Beauty has changed progressively over the years, with the industry becoming more open to embracing “perfect imperfections”. Tell us your thoughts on movements like body positivity, body hair appreciation, and more that celebrate what was once considered “flaws”.
I have not always embraced my own “perfect imperfections”, but throughout the years I gained confidence and I learned to see the beauty in all of my features. Now that I no longer hide my unibrow, I have noticed that I’m getting recognised and appreciated for it more and more, especially on social media.
I still get a lot of backlash from it, but it’s not comparable in the slightest to what women of colour have to endure. While white people – like myself – nowadays get praised for embracing these ethnic features, women and people of colour still get bullied because of it. In order for your so-called “flaws” to be embraced, you still have to conform to western beauty standards.
Body hair is seen as empowering on white women. Plus-size models still have an hourglass figure. A tooth gap is only seen as cute when you have pearly white teeth. I do believe that we’re making progress in terms of getting more diverse representation, but there’s no denying the double standard, I’m an example of it too.
On another note, it is also important to realise that the body positivity movement often has a very white perspective. White feminism focuses on “freeing the nipple” and not shaving your armpits, but I don’t think that we should centre feminism around that. It takes away from more important issues like the shockingly low life expectancy of Black trans women or the high unemployment rate of women of colour during the pandemic.
From your own experiences observing the people around you or on social media, how do you think society’s perception of beauty has changed over the years?
We see fashion trends come and go, but our bodies also go in and out of style. In the early 2000s, everyone wanted to be skinny and as flat as possible, and we can see the effects this has had on many women to this day. Older mothers are still complaining about their bottoms being too fat, while their daughters are turning to silicone.
I think the beauty industry creates a lot of insecurities in order to profit off of ‘fixing’ them, and social media feeds into this. But social media also creates a space for people who are used to being silenced, and now finally can be heard. It will always be harder for marginalised groups to gain a big audience, but when they do breakthrough, you can see the impact that they’re making. I’m curious if we are in fact actually moving forward or if this is another beauty trend that will also pass in time.
Speaking of social media, do you think it has played a major part in the rebellion against conventional beauty?
I absolutely do. When I was around 10-years-old, I got teased by peers because of my hairy arms, moustache, and unibrow. I remember waxing my arm hair, shaving my upper lip, and making sure that my bangs were always covering my eyebrows entirely. It’s truly sad how impressionable we are to western beauty standards at such a young age.
In the last years, we have seen more and more people online rebelling against conventional beauty. It inspired me to see these people being proud of the things that we were told to hide. As my confidence kept growing – almost to an unbearable amount for the people around me, I also started embracing the features I used to be ashamed of.
I wasn’t even intentionally hiding these insecurities, it became routine to mask them as everyone else does. Individuals on social media made me more aware of a lot of racist beauty standards. Now my bangs are getting shorter, I’m letting my exposed unibrow grow, and I glue on a moustache when I feel like it.
Every day, you conform to societal norms. Some are bad, some are good. Sadly, a lot of our societal norms are inherently oppressing marginalised groups while they benefit the privileged. Whether you are excluded because of your race, gender, sexuality, physical ability, social class, or appearance, you are already leaps behind. But we all deserve to be here.
Taking your well-deserved spot in this world might sound scary, but I believe that if you want to grow, you need to be brave and take risks. Just by posting a picture of you being your unapologetic self, you are making a statement.
