Key Points
- Ken Valdejueza admits that there are biases against feminine men even in the LGBTQ community.
- People may see beauty influencers as only living happy and glamorous lives.
- Influencer burnout is real.
SBS Filipino's Buhay Influencer is a series focused on the nuances of undertaking an influencer path, as well as the challenges and rewards of having a public persona.
"I've experienced all the biases. I've heard all the comments you can hear about a male who wears makeup - that makeup is for girls, not for boys. All of it."
Influencer Ken Valdejueza turned a deaf ear to the naysayers, the homophobic and the trolls to pursue beauty in a public platform.
A nurse injector
Born and raised in Hong Kong to Filipino parents, Valdejueza moved to Australia to pursue a bridging course in nursing.
"I did nursing in the Philippines first, then came here in 2012 to continue my studies." Credit: Ken Valdejueza
The realisation led to Valdejueza moving from the wards to the cosmetic clinic.
"I'm now a nurse injector. I inject fillers and botox.
"With the work I do now, I get to combine the two things I love. I can still use my nursing degree, and still have my passion for beauty and my eye for symmetry."
'Am I too much?'
Valdejueza's passion for beauty and eye for symmetry began early, with the influencer admitting that he had always been "very different growing up".
Ken Valdejueza admits that he had always been "very different growing up". Credit: Ken Valdejueza
"Even though I loved makeup, I felt like I wanted to crawl inside myself when people would say mean things. I knew the comments were meant to embarrass me so much that I would take the makeup off."
While Valdejueza could remove the makeup, he couldn't shake off who he was - a feminine gay man.
"There's a heavy emphasis on being masculine in the Filipino community; so when I was growing up, I always thought I was lacking. Even before I knew my sexuality, I felt like I was second class and never good enough."
"When I first came out and went to gay clubs, I would actively show myself and my femininity. I found that I was treated differently, almost to the point that some wouldn't even talk to me.
"When I openly showed others that I was feminine, some would consciously avoid me. They saw me as too gay."
Valdejueza says he understands not wanting to put a target on your back for being different, so he shares that he tried to be more masculine to gain more acceptance.
"I tried. I pretended and I noticed that was the only time some would want to talk with me.
"Luckily, society is trying to move towards getting rid of toxic masculinity. Plus, I've grown thicker skin. Now, I'm a lot more confident in who I am."
Thicker skin
Confidence and thicker skin enabled Valdejueza to go public with his pursuit of beauty.
"When I started in 2011, the beauty influencers then were mostly professional makeup artists from the UK and the US. I understood what they talked about because I was really into makeup; but I realised not a lot of people would understand them."
He realised he could create content from a consumer's point of view.
"So I started a blog, then I did YouTube. From there, I started going into different social media platforms.
"It became a stress reliever and creative outlet for me. Plus it was so amazing connecting with like-minded people who wanted to learn more about makeup."
According to Dr. Earvin Cabalquinto, Lecturer in the School of Communication and Creative Arts at Deakin University, the search for like-mindedness is one of the attractive aspects of being an influencer.
He says, "Through social media, we get to learn about a particular environment or skill. You can watch a video on TikTok or YouTube and learn a skill through it.
"Curiosity turns to learning and learning leads the viewer to also copy what was learned. Curiosity is what triggers the clicks, the views and the follows."
With the clicks, views and follows come the trolls and the antagonists.
Valdejueza admits, "When I talk about makeup or I give my advice or opinion, I'll be told - 'What do you know? You're a boy, not a girl.' This is particularly true with those who are homophobic. I was once told I shouldn't have ever been born because I was an abomination.
"If someone is homophobic to their core, they won't listen to you. It's one of those things that you want to be liked by everyone, but you realise that some people will never do."
Although some people simply won't like him for who he is and what he stands for, Valdejueza tries to focus on the ones he is able to inspire.
"The nicest comment I've received was how I inspired someone to be who they are. They were happy to see someone similar to them expressing themselves freely."
The influencer burnout
Valdejueza admits though that being a beauty influencer is not all about happiness and glamour.
"There’s a lot of work involved with it, especially when you’re creative. I'm creative and I'm always free-flowing with my content; so I had to teach myself how to be organised and how to stick to a schedule.
"With beauty as well, you have to look and feel good or else it will have a negative effect on your content.
"There are the issues of relevancy and burnout as well - especially for those who do content creation full-time."
Cabalquinto agrees, saying that burnout amongst influencers is very real.
"In traditional media, you have the director, producer, writer, editor...there's a team; but in social media creation, you do everything yourself.
"Imagine doing all of that, doing all the content and working on all the partnerships, collaborations, scriptwriting, etc. The burnout is real.
"It's also very precarious because once you don't get the hits anymore, it's going to be very problematic."
Valdejueza shares that in order to pursue a challenging and competitive influencer path, you have to avoid doing it for the wrong reasons.
"I've met some who go into it for money or fame; but if that's your focus, you’re going to get burned-out right away. Remember that there are only a few who go viral. The rest of us have to slow grind to get where we are."
