No Makeup, No Problems
In a day and age where Photoshop and perfected body images have become a social norm, today’s women are faced with the struggle of finding confidence in their natural appearances. Women strive to appear as similar to the famous figures on the covers of magazines plaguing newsstands across America. They seek perfection from a false ideal, seeing changed photos and believing that that is what they should look like. These images are so harmful to young women growing up in a world surrounded by them. Often they attempt to look this way and end up harming themselves in the process. This also effects men’s perceptions of women, as they are now critiquing women based on this ideal. Media is overwhelmed by a dangerous necessity for girls to look a certain way. Luckily, empowered women are now standing up to this age-old testament.
Musical powerhouse and 15 time Grammy winner Alicia Keys has recently been in the spotlight in social media for her “No Makeup Movement.” Keys began to appear on red carpets, interviews, and television shows with no makeup on her face. In a statement, Keys discusses her issues with makeup and why she has chosen to stop wearing it. Keys began by stating, “ We all get to a point in our lives (especially girls) where we try to be perfect.” She speaks on her struggle with makeup and how she’s used it to “blend in” and live up to what society wanted her to be. Her essay concludes with her message to young girls and stating that she is tired of covering up: “Cause I don’t want to cover up anymore. Not my face, not my mind, not my soul, not my thoughts, not my dreams, not my struggles, not my emotional growth. Nothing.”
Alicia Keys’ movement is spreading across the nation, and more specifically, to other celebrities. Women such as Gabrielle Union, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mila Kunis, and even Kim Kardashian are partaking in Key’s movement to show the world their faces uncovered. The spreading of this trend is so important as young women across the world are now seeing these strong and confident celebrities in public with their natural faces. This movement has the ability to change the way young girls have to grow up in this world. That alone makes it a necessity. As the movement continues to grow, there is hope for a future with less covering up and more embracing of a natural look.