Any person who wears makeup has probably received some insult or backhanded compliment about it, but we don’t always think about how these comments can be racially charged when they’re directed at women of color. Known as microaggressions, it’s basically passing subtle, maybe even unintentional, discrimination against members of a marginalized group. FYI, these microagressions occur way too often in the beauty community, as seen when Reddit user eraser_dust started a thread revealing the impact that offensive makeup “advice” has on people of color.
Eraser_dust kicked off the thread by explaining, “I post my makeup on IG, and I have monolids (Asian eyes with no crease), so of course I get racist comments like these. I’m sure every person of colour has gotten racist comments at least once. I’m not talking about these sorts of comments, but rather seemingly ‘well-intentioned’ comments.”
Some of those “well-intentioned” comments she’s received include offensive rhetoric like, “but why are you trying to hide the fact that you have monolids with makeup? Monolids are beautiful on their own.”
These pseudo-supportive comments might not seem offensive to those who don’t experience these microaggressions.
However, microaggressions themselves can be a form of racism. Unfortunately, eraser_dust isn’t alone in her experience with these intolerant comments. Lemonbee joined in with her own stories of people policing her makeup. “I’m Hispanic and white and growing up was a struggle because of this. My mom would alternate between telling me my features were beautiful and exotic and telling me to stop doing my makeup certain ways because ‘that lipstick makes you look too ethnic’ or ‘your brows are already too thick, like Frida Kahlo!’”
The people who choose to make these unwarranted comments about another person’s makeup probably think they’re helpful, but there’s nothing constructive about saying your makeup looks “too ethnic.” Seriously, wtf is that even supposed to mean?
One Redditor explains how strenuous it is to continually have to explain why these comments are so problematic. “POC here, yes it is a load. To AAAALWAYS need to educate others is TIRING. I do my best on any given day but seriously, just Google it. Google your questions, your ideas,” Blergh_MaGerks writes. After all, it’s nobody’s job to do this research for you.
Nevertheless, we’re here to offer some necessary info to anyone who might be compelled to comment on someone’s “ethnic looking makeup.” First of all, derogatory comments about someone’s makeup isn’t just about the makeup. This injustice runs deeper than any foundation or eyeshadow.
Policing someone’s makeup because it doesn’t fit the current beauty standard is essentially policing their makeup because it doesn’t look “white” enough.
It’s no surprise that conventional beauty standards are biased and Eurocentric. Because the beauty industry primarily uses light-skinned models in its advertisement and product photos, that sets up the narrative that only white bodies are beautiful. Aside from destroying young beauty lovers’ self-worth with this lack of representation in the beauty community, this narrative makes others think that there’s a particular way that ~makeup~ should look too.
Such has been the case for criticalacclaim_, who commented on the thread, saying, “A few days ago I wore blush and my friend ‘complimented’ me by saying ‘Nice it makes you look less brown'”. NOPE.
Beyond advocating to destroy the extraordinarily exclusive system that the beauty industry was built on, we can stop these makeup-related microaggressions by educating ourselves about these issues. And when in doubt, just ask a POC friend what’s inappropriate to say, and they’ll help you out real fast.