Mark Bryan, 62, has built an influencer brand on his style. The straight, Texan grandfather and mechanical engineer is known for pairing traditionally masculine or unisex tops with skirts and heels — a pairing that has landed him numerous modeling campaigns, brand deals, and general admiration from the queer community.
In a new clip from his appearance on German docu-series Beyond Fashion, it would seem that that admiration is not returned.
In the series’ first episode, titled “Hat Mode ein Geschlect?” (“Does fashion have gender?”), Bryan chats with host and Queer Eye: Germany star Avi Jakobs about his style journey over thrifting and a manicure. Their report was easy enough at first, but things take a turn as Jakobs gets her nails done.
She expresses that she was excited to meet Bryan, as she assumed he was fighting for the queer community in some way.
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“I don’t really think that I’m fighting with you, but I’m not fighting against you, either,” he says.
When she asks whether he understands why some queer folks might be upset by him using his “gender-fluid” style solely as a fashion statement, it’s clear that he doesn’t.
As we see in the now-viral clip, the conversation sours quickly:
I always knew them ugly skirts hid something demonic😭 pic.twitter.com/UnSC25ubL0
— TEVIN (@diornowhere) November 4, 2022
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“It’s not about the clothes, it’s about who they are and how they represent themselves,” he says.
“I think they’ve made it made difficult for themselves just being more flamboyant. I think they’re too outrageous and too flamboyant.”
In a bit not included in the Twitter edit, Jakobs responds, “I just wish you would fight on our side. I’m so disappointed.”
“I try to separate myself from the LGB community because of the gay community that wore skirts and high heels before I did,” Bryan says. “I feel like actually they made it worse for me, being straight, because now I’m assumed to be gay.”
All Jakobs can do is gasp in disillusionment before dryly responding, “I’m very sorry that we made it worse for you.”
As the clip makes the rounds, folks are sharing in Jakobs’ disillusionment and anger:
My face when he started saying that crazy shit Omg? pic.twitter.com/uu4uwjkqsX
— Eve 6000 🦋 (@alsoabouteve) November 4, 2022
sassy lex luthor is homophobic???? pic.twitter.com/xhrt5MqXcp
— Bunny🐰🌸 (@blueswvrld) November 4, 2022
The irony/hypocrisy that he can’t separate identity/gender expression/sexuality/equality DESPITE the fact he wears 6 inch (late) louboutins and has zero issue dressing “flamboyantly” for magazine spreads tells me he has a LOT to still work through..
— Ettiene (@leao25) November 4, 2022
One day our community will be ready to talk about how yall give these straight men platforms, magazine covers, accolads and make them the faces of the non-gender conforming fashion movement for wearing tacky skirts and nail polish when they’re actually horrible and greedy people pic.twitter.com/SU3GtocUwc
— TEVIN (@diornowhere) November 4, 2022
I had drinks with this man and his manager during fashion week and promptly excused myself when he started saying lowkey homophobic/transphobic shit. His energy when he kept bringing up homosexuality reminded me of my homophobic dad. https://t.co/Cu1wrY3ezj
— LOUIS (@louis__pisano) November 4, 2022
And today is the day that I decided not to praise Mark Bryan since the flamboyant gays wearing heels made his life difficult because people perceive him as gay (his words). Gurl bye! I mean… straight, cis gentleman… bye pic.twitter.com/M1huJ7qDjF
— ideservecouture (@ideservecouture) November 4, 2022
See I was waiting for this to come out. Because there was an inkling of just how he presented outside of the skirts and heels that told me he was not here for the queer community at all.
Next time I say cishets cosplay in queer aesthetics to profit off of it, don’t come for me! https://t.co/4c9F9eBjuo
— Taylor (He/They) (@sonic79894) November 4, 2022
Another glaring example of why no straight man will ever truly push us forward in anyway. Imagine biting the hand that feeds you like this and his raggedy pencil skirt wearing ass then BLAMED QUEER PPL FOR THE VIOLENCE THAT HAPPENS TO US…don’t piss me off https://t.co/2kIMqnicRi
— President of the Ashawo Association (@uniekue) November 4, 2022
What gets me is that he walks at fashion week, got photographed by vogue etc like he’s fucking flamboyant when there’s money to be made💀 https://t.co/L6vEiBYMSl
— Marie (@HakyeonWife) November 4, 2022
He’s as flamboyant as it gets with those heels and dresses. This decrepit old man is a mess.
— renaissance rogue (@soleanddta) November 4, 2022
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Earlier in the episode, while thrifting, Jakobs got teary-eyed hearing that Bryan was able to wear what he does virtually unchallenged.
“I’m really happy for you that you didn’t have to experience that,” she says. “Deciding to wear that, for me, is a big statement because we are only allowed to do that because of the past and brave people. That privilege that you have… it would be amazing to use it to speak to straight males.
“Usually, I get attacked by straight males — it’s happened to me so many times– and usually the people that don’t have to experience that are the ones that’ll get listened to.”
Even after her emotional pleas, it’s clear that Bryan isn’t interested.
Vince
Oh that’s just too precious. Honey looking at those hideous pics I would’ve never just assumed you were gay or care.
At least he’s honest about it so there’s that.
Joshua333
People think he’s gay with that dress sense? Gurl please.
abfab
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kangol2
This homophobic troll should go sit on a traffic cone–a giant one! It’s gross even to be associated with him!
CNY1983
i dont believe hes never had dicks in his mouth.
abfab
While dressed…..he charges extra for those johns who crave nylon and Chanel #5.
Bosch
Clearly using homophobia as an alibi for his own sexuality.
“I try to separate myself from the LGB community”
It’s not some club where you apply for membership, it’s a demographic. And if you’re not part of the demographic, you don’t have to “try” to separate yourself from it.
Diplomat
Gag!
Godabed
internalized homophobia is a dangerous thing, we already knew this. But this article is needed, too bad there couldn’t be a panel discussion with heterosexual men, and queer men to help shed light on this issue.
abfab
Another twisted SOB from the twisted and deplorable state of Texas. Ugly MF.
KissBananaPeels
Yet another “straight” white male doing harm to the community
James
NARCISSISTIC IDIOT.
SDR94103
she hysterical.
abfab
Someone keep track of this thing, what ever it is. I don’t see things ending well for this poor creature. The end has already begun.
abfab
Creepy cult leader Marshall Applegate has returned to Earth on the comet Hall-Bopp in his ”human container”.
thisisnotreal
he feels like queens wearing skirts before him made it harder for him to be a hetero dude wearing skirts? umm…spoiler alert dude, even if there wasnt a single gay person in history who wore a skirt or heels before you, people would STILL assume you were gay for doing it yourself. that label being thrown on you has nothing to do with us personally making it harder on you, and has everything to do with societies idea of what is “masculine” vs “feminine” and what it means any time someone steps out of those narrowly defined boxes. he could have been the first dude in history to wear a skirt and people would have still called him out for being gay. if anything, drag and gays who dress however they want has HELPED create an environment where he can be a hetero dude wearing a skirt and get modelling offers instead of stones thrown at him.
abfab
I enjoy your free-form writing, you know, all lower case, etc, But to create a paragraph or two would make it easier for those of us who did way too much X a few years ago to figure it out.
I take umbridge with a few of your lines but it’s taking me forever to tease them out. Either way, I think I get your point overall. Partly.
Either way, this Texan leaves me with a very bad taste in my mouth…as they all do.
woodroad34
So, let me get this straight (if you know what I mean)….he mentions that because gays were flamboyant before him and wearing dresses (which actually would make it easier for him to do so), he’s now lamenting the ease with which he can now dress up because gay society made it easier for him? We’re the villains? How 2022 Trumpian logic is that?
LumpyPillows
You wanted fluid…well, he’s on the spectrum somewhere. Not my cup of tea, but many of you seem to be a bit hypocritical in your comments…not that people take the time to think about what they say and why they say it.
Bosch
He’s the one who has a problem with being on the spectrum.
LumpyPillows
Agreed, he is problematic. We just don’t always get what we want when we throw the rules out. Caitlyn Jenner is another example of a problematic person twerking down the alternative paths we love to embrace when they follow our new rules…the rules we said did not exist.
Joshooeerr
You can wear a dress and still be an arsehole. Big surprise.
cory
His whole heel, dress wearing is about gender freedom, as it is in our community, is it not? If not, why is he doing what he’s doing?? I’m sooo confused.
AmblinGuy
As a consideration, is it possible this situation actually started to go sideways because a big assumption was made?
It seems the host (and clearly viewers and readers here) conflated the appearance of gender fluidity with overall support for our community, as a whole. Approaching it from that angle, the host opened the door for some things to be said that definitely did not align with what was expected to be heard. This can happen sometimes when the initial premise is based on assumption.
Is the reaction to this less-than-great interview exchange (from annoyance to, of course, the ubiquitous “OMG – OUTRAGE!!!11!”) rooted, at least somewhat, in assumptions/expectations that were made because of his…appearance?
Additionally, do we champion fluid expression in all forms or do we only champion fluid expression when it fits the narrative we want it to?
Side thought – “I don’t really think that I’m fighting with you, but I’m not fighting against you, either” – in spite of everything else he said, this is noteworthy. Just because someone is not a staunch, die-in-the-trenches ally does not mean they are the enemy. There are shades of neutrality – and in all of our fighting to get rid of binary systems of one kind or another, we do seem to hold onto the binary of “either staunch ally or bitter enemy.”
Bosch
People aren’t taking issue with his gender expression. People are taking issue with his homophobia in the context of his gender expression.
Brian-E
@AmblinGuy My thoughts exactly. This car-crash interview should function as a reminder to journalists that a bit of research should be done into their interviewees beforehand rather than putting them into convenient boxes based on prior assumptions and adopting a line of questioning which has no relevance.
@Bosch Yes, I agree that’s the bugbear, but from what is quoted in this article I am not at all sure that any serious homophobia was expressed by the interviewee. He could have worded some of it better, but the worst I really detect is irritation on his part that the interviewer was bringing up tired old tropes which didn’t apply to him and which he had no particular affinity with.
LegionKeign
When I was younger he would be called a “panty sniffer”, a straight man who gets off dressing in women’s clothing. Then the term “cross-dresser” was also used.
Most of the men I met who fell into this category had a deep seated resentment of Gay men. It didn’t stop them from going to our bars to congregate in safety, but they would absolutely blow a gasket if someone should suggest they were anything but hetero.
I don’t understand why we as a community seem to always just assume that if a man wears what is considered traditional women’s clothing, then they must be Gay(ish) and an ally.
still_onthemark
I’d like to see an interview with anyone he is actually “influencing”!
Harvey Pooka
Oh, get over yourself Ethyl.
itsmeJordan
Hummmm. I think perhaps we saw his story (person breaking gender norms who no doubt faces criticism) and must have seen our story/our struggle.
And while it’s cool for him to be him, I think it’s hypocritical of him to accept the invites, the publicity, the fame under an assumption that it was because he was part of a movement he wasn’t actually part of.
Or perhaps he wants his cake and eat it too? Who knows. Not everyone has their ‘sh*t’ together.
Not everyone who does something brave is a hero, sometimes they’re just crazy.