Makeup and feminism have always had a sticky relationship. Currently, the argument seems torn between viewing the practice of putting on makeup either as perpetuating men’s sexual objectification of women or as a tool for reclaiming femininity. On the one hand, some feminists are afraid that wearing makeup further emphasizes the problematic idea that women are valuable merely for their beauty and that makeup is used to please men. On the other hand, some feminists feel that by making the choice to put a little extra effort into pampering and personalizing their appearances, women are empowering themselves. And, of course, plenty of opinions hover somewhere in between.
Personally, I spent most of my teenage years in the dark about how to use makeup, so I never wore much of it. To be honest, I wasn’t very interested. I was shy, wore glasses, and perpetually suffered from bouts of severe acne. I didn’t think makeup was for me. I knew that putting on makeup would make my skin worse, and I thought that putting on any eye makeup would go unnoticed behind my glasses. Aside from this reasonable rationale, I was unreasonably afraid. I didn’t want to poorly (and unknowingly) put on concealer and foundation only to have people silently look at my blemished, gloopy face and know that I was ashamed of the way I looked.
But as I grew older, I became more curious. I started noticing that there seemed to be two kinds of makeup-wearers: those who always wore makeup, and those who never did (maybe save a special event, or the occasional a swipe of mascara). At first, this made sense to me. People expect consistency in the appearances of those around them. When someone gets a haircut, people tend to notice. The same with wearing contacts or glasses for the first time. But then I wondered, if makeup is supposed to be used to personalize and accentuate your appearance, much like clothing does, why is it so uncommon for women to wear makeup some days and not others?
When someone who usually wears makeup goes without for a day, that person is often faced with the embarrassing comment, “You look tired.” This feels like hearing “I want to (or feel obligated to) talk to you, so let me talk about a negative aspect of your appearance.” Such a comment is a blow to anyone’s self-esteem, because it draws attention to one person’s opinion of your less-than-ideal appearance, as if this is a valid and interesting topic of conversation. For good reason, plenty of women are worried about how people would react if they exposed their dark circles or blemishes for just one day.
Women shouldn’t have to feel that going makeup-free is some sort of courageous, humbling act. Conversely, women who don’t usually wear makeup shouldn’t be made to feel as if they look better for having put it on. It’s just different. People have different beauty preferences.
Ideally, I think wearing makeup should be a tool for empowerment, not something to hide behind. Yet the scary thing is that makeup has the capacity to do both. One important reason that so many women wear makeup is because they feel more confident having put the extra effort into perfecting their look. Just like picking out an outfit, there’s a certain enjoyment in being able to make your appearances to suit the way you wish to present yourself. So maybe it would be dishonest to say that makeup isn’t deceptive. Makeup allows women to hide blemishes and accentuate and enlarge their eyes. Effectively applying makeup requires knowledge and skill. It truly is an art form, and to create art, one must conjure something that wasn’t there before. Shakespeare describes the act of wearing makeup as “painting one’s face,” linking the act of putting on makeup directly to art. His comment also highlights the early and persistent anxiety about women’s capability to deceive. But this deception, though present, should not feel like a threat. Possibly men’s greatest concern about makeup is that they will be attracted to a woman only to find out later that what they were attracted to is somehow not “real.” The initial problem in this scenario is that men are judging the quality and satisfaction of their relationships from their perception of a partner’s beauty. But I think another issue at hand is that women feel compelled to put on makeup so that they can hide the parts of their appearances they feel ashamed of. First, women are made to feel embarrassed for trivial aspects like baggy eyes and acne scars that are more often overlooked in men. Then, they are convinced that they need to hide these “flaws” to be liked. It is in this mindset, women become dependent on makeup to feel comfortable leaving the safety of their bedrooms. And this mindset is really the only problem I see with makeup.
You might spend half an hour prepping in front of the mirror in the morning, or you might roll out of bed and rush out the door, but no matter what, you deserve to feel comfortable, authentic, powerful, and beautiful in your own skin.
Image: premiermodelstyle.com