Beauty regime burdens

• Young women take control of their appearance and do not accept what they are born with.

Most seem happy enough, so is it a problem? If so, why?*

In my experience there is a reverse correlation between happiness / satisfaction and the effort expended/results obtained

so that the people doing it are not really happy. And the policing is as much by other women as by men, with the men being easier to ignore.

One of the few benefits for me of getting older has been my body hair thinning to non existence so that I do not notice it day by day

Not sure whether this is connected, but I now keep the hair on my head slightly and have regular blow dries. Sigh.

I'd say my 16 yo DD spends between 1-2 hours a day on beauty on average. Her hair is time consuming to manage but there's also make up, tinting eyebrows, fake tan, hair removal, face masks etc. I keep pointing out that whilst girls are doing this, boys her age have that time to be doing active things in the world, though to be fair they're probably mostly wanking and playing Fortnite.... I spend practically no time.

www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/02/22/asia-pacific/social-issues-asia-pacific/south-korean-women-ditch-makeup-escape-corset-rebellion-ideals-beauty/#.XPN5iHMo80M the most interesting analysis on this topic currently is from the 'escape the corset' movement from South Korea imo

www.angelfire.com/or/sociologyshop/hurts.html good diagram by Andrea dworkin linked from here

I hate how policed it all is.

I've heard of young women with autism with no interest in these things being forcibly shaved /plucked to conform in a world that is going to treat us dreadfully regardless.

Working in the women's sector it seems like an untouched aspect of misogyny. Like you can't criticize it because it is a 'choice'.
Talking about dieting, make up etc is constant.

www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jul/02/gender.politicsphilosophyandsociety

Sheila Jeffreys' beauty and misogyny is really good

EmpressLesbian
"Plucked her eyebrows on the way
Shaved her legs and then he was a she
Hey baby, take a walk on the wild side" - Lou Reed.

And yes yes to the long hair! My friend is a hairdresser whose younger DD, now 14, has a short style with an undercut and is relentlessly and mercilessly bullied for it. She looks great and because her mum is good at her job, her hair is well cut, but no, it's not "normal" so must be shamed. Her older sister is 18 and has hair to her waist.

The only item on that list I personally feel socially expected to do is leg hair removal. However I am in my forties. When I look at my female relatives in their late teens and early twenties, I think they are much more expected to take part in that list. They all have long hair (when did that become a thing? V rare to see teen girls with short hair at all these days), fake tan, manicures, contouring etc etc.

I don't feel pressure to do most of those things (actually, Only leg shaving and yesterday went out happily with hairy legs in shorts )

Neither do lots of my friends (40s 50s)

It's not that I don't care how I look. I just don't choose this particular artificial/tinkered look

There is something very democratic about the new beauty standards though. It is now all about effort, and how much time and money you spend, instead of natural beauty (what you are born with). Girls who look average can make themselves look amazing (by modern standards) with all the stuff you list.

Young women take control of their appearance and do not accept what they are born with.

Most seem happy enough, so is it a problem? If so, why?

Frequent dieting for women who aren't overweight
Pressure not to wear the same outfit twice in front of the same people
Teeth whitening
Eyelash extensions
Make up contouring
Does having no functional pockets count as a beauty regime burden?
Unwalkable heels

We really need to be getting rid of gender.

If we could get to the stage where none of the above list was actually linked to female sex stereotypes (thinking of blokes who cite their pink skirts / gold lame purses / tiaras / shaved legs as evidence of being women) then there would (hopefully) be much less pressure on actual women to do all this.

I’ve done three of those in the distant past. Now I don’t do any and I won’t be starting again.

Naomi Wolf wrote the Beauty Myth, I believe.
I agree with a lot of this. It’s very complex, but it is a feminist issue. Yes, people choose to do things, but no choice is truly free for any person. However, just refusing to do grooming when we do so many other things that hold up the patriarchy probably isn’t the definitive solution to the problem. That doesn’t mean it’s not a feminist issue though.

Hm. The only one I do on that list is underarm hair removal. I'm weighing up whether to stop that & it’s interesting to see how uncomfortable I am at the thought.