Women and makeup are always on the social discussion board whether it’s women praising the makeup industry for stepping up (looking at you here, Queen Rhi), or the much annoying crucifying of women using makeup. We’ve all heard the complaints from both men and women: “It’s false advertising”, “It’s immoral”, or “It hurts self-confidence”. This conversation needs to end once and for all.
I didn’t start wearing makeup until high school, and barely during the first two years of it. Now I wear makeup regularly, but I’ll also go days without it. But that is my choice. I was raised in the time when “I’m not like the other girls” was a good thing, when being girly and enjoying it meant you were weak or something negative. Looking back now, I realize that was the most stupid thing ever, and it made no sense.
Now it’s November, and trends like “No Shave November” and “No Makeup November” are popping up. The thing is though, these hashtags are two very different ideas. No Shave November is meant to raise money and awareness about prostate cancer, a life-threatening disease. No Makeup November… what is that supposed to be advocating for?
Some people say it’s meant to help women’s self-confidence and show they don’t need to wear makeup to be beautiful. And this is true, but it’s also true that some women feel the most confident when they’re wearing their makeup, and we have no right to pressure someone to give up what makes them feel confident.
The worst part about this trend is that when women do participate and share their images promoting self-confidence and believing in yourself, their photos are shared online with headlines like “shocking images of (insert celebrity) without makeup”. Suddenly this campaign of self-confidence is used against us.
What I’m trying to say is that we don’t need a hashtag to support each other and show our self-confidence. Women are tough. We always have been. We do what we have to to survive the flip flopping world we live in and we try our best to support each other. When it comes down to it, the world just needs to stop telling us what to do.
Wear makeup or don’t wear makeup. Either way, be your best self and go own the world.