Over the past couple of months, the “no make-up selfie” campaign has been all over my Facebook newsfeed. At first I thought that it was a way for girls to feel confident in their own skin, minus the mask they put on to convince the rest of the world that they are beautiful. However, after more research and a copious amount of no make-up selfies, I realized that these women were actually trying to spread awareness for cancer.
What started as a cancer fundraiser in the U.K. has gotten lost in translation when it came to North America. It originally started with women posting pictures of themselves without makeup and then donating money to cancer research. In an article the Globe and Mail posted, it is noted that women in the U.K. raised eight million pounds in a matter of weeks. In Canada, however, only one in 30 women even made reference to the disease.
Not only has the message completely missed the point, it is a slap in the face to those undergoing chemotherapy. These self-indulgent pictures are saying that even when they put down the makeup, they are still healthy and attractive, while millions of women dealing with cancer struggle to look themselves in the mirror each day because they are ashamed of their own reflection. This trend is problematic for a number of reasons, but this happens to be the most offensive.
The trend sends the message that makeup is hiding our natural beauty, and we should take it off to let the world see who we truly are under the layers of product we put on, trying to make ourselves better. But what if a woman just likes to wear makeup because it makes her feel better about herself? What if she feels pretty without it and she feels as though she would not be accepted if she was to show what is under the makeup? It is a choice that women have and they should not be made to feel that they are prettier without makeup than with it. It is a personal choice and at the end of the day, it is their opinion that matters. By telling people that you are feeling brave by taking off your makeup is almost like saying that society is forcing you to wear makeup and you are rebelling. No, it is you who has to make that choice. No one is forcing you to take your makeup off or keep it on.
If you really want to help cancer research instead of posting a selfie of you without makeup and actually do something that will help. Go get an exam, donate to cancer research, tell your loved ones to get tested, participate in a fundraiser, but for crying out loud ladies, do not let society tell you that you do not need makeup to be beautiful and to donate to a deadly disease.