to think female newsreaders and presenters shouldn't wear make up

[orangeleavesinautumn]

|I am absolutely sick of seeing men on TV with normal, natural looking faces, and the women sitting next to them with their faces smeared with gunk. Why can't women show normal, natural looking faces on TV too? What a horrendous disgusting message we are passing on to young girls. "You need to waste time and money smearing gunk on your face to be allowed to be seen in public"

OP I think you are quite correct.

Yes male presenters wear make up but only to stop them looking washed out under the harsh studio lights.

It is becoming more normal to see models of all shapes and sizes in advertising, but still women presenters are expected to look like dolls.

Feminism brings many difficult challenges and I think the toughest is confronting internalized misogyny. Make up is the ultimate symbol of internalized misogyny, the idea that our natural selves are not good enough and make up gives us more worth, because we are valued on our attractiveness on our desirability to men. I think that's why you're getting a pasting, because almost all women will have used it and it's hard to say to yourself, I am complicit in my own oppression and the oppression of other women and girls, but that is what make up amounts to.

In an all female society it wouldn't exist

What is it with you and your shit stirring threads. Can’t you find a hobby…?

I think it’s surprising how angry it’s made many. It’s a truism that men are accepted looking more natural especially as they get older and women in the public eye are pushed to surgery for example. I wish women’s faces were less over made up. The current monster eyebrows will so date them in years to come. Lighting make up for stage or screen should be equally applied obviously but women and girls shouldn’t be made to feel that over made up eyes and lips are mandatory.

Almost all women will have used it and it's hard to say to yourself, I am complicit in my own oppression and the oppression of other women and girls, but that is what make up amounts to.

In an all female society it wouldn't exist.

Are men complicit in their own oppression because they wear ties or shave or wear aftershave? Is there any evidence that make up amounts to oppression of women?

I would bet that in an all female society make up would exist. In the entire history of humanity people have been decorating themselves in pretty much every society. There's no reason whatsoever to think an all female society would not seek to adorn themselves in some way.

"All women, of whatever age, rank, profession or degree whether virgins, maids, widows, that shall from and after such Act, impose upon, seduce, and betray into matrimony, any of his majesty's subjects, by scents, paint, cosmetics, washes, artificial teeth, false hair, Spanish wool, iron stays, hoops, high-heeled shoes and bolstered hips, shall incur the penalty of the law in force against witchcraft and like misdemeanours and that the marriage, upon conviction, shall stand null and void."

This is from a 1649 Act of Parliament following a Bill entitled ‘The vice of Painting and wearing Black Patches and Immodest Dresses of Women’.

There is something really perturbing about this post. I can’t put my finger on it but the words being used are quite sinister.

Who is spreading that message????? Surely women have their own views and opinions on wearing makeup

Why not ban kids watching tv rather than banning female presenters from wearing make up?

Yep

Hell! I thought I'd accidently signed into Gransnet for a moment. I shut my account there cos I was tired of the type of forum posting and responding. Two days later, I see this on here 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ No I'm not shutting my mumsnet account. Blimey, for a minute, I thought I was on another site...

Yup, I absolutely agree. I'm reminded of one of these horror movies set in another area

Era

I can’t make head nor tail of what you mean.

I knew what you meant 😇

This.

I think the female newsreaders all look impeccable. They look like they take care of themselves, strong, confident women who enjoy the clothes and makeup part of the job and why shouldn’t they? Great role models.
Sophie Raworth doesn’t look like she wears much makeup. Love her timeless style, demonstrating that you don’t need to have a new dress for each programme to look good.

Yes, perhaps internalised misogyny accounts for some of the responses on here as, after all, what the OP says in the original post isn't in any way controversial (just expressed strongly). It is shocking and disturbing that women are heavily made up and men are not. I never thought, as a child, that would still be so extreme after all these years. It's not as bad as the Pretty Polly add of the 80s or the Wonderbra of the 90s, but it's still very depressing and offensive.

it's hard to say to yourself, I am complicit in my own oppression and the oppression of other women and girls, but that is what make up amounts to.

What absolute bollocks. You might be oppressed, I’m not. How dare you tell me what to do with my own face? If anyone is labouring with internalised misogyny it’s people like you.

But joining in maintaining and promoting sexist stereotypes is very clearly being complicit in women's oppression. How could it possibly not be?

What’s sexist about my wearing make up? What’s feminist about judging other women and trying to police their choices?

Yes, this.

Because it's not oppression.

I assume you don't think expecting women not to wear make up when they wish to is oppressing them?

Why are you assuming strange things?

The point is that women are discriminated against if they don't conform to sexist stereotypes. Men who paint their eyelids and lips will probably be discriminated against also. A dress code maintaining these sexist stereotypes on serious current affairs programmes is in effect promoting and validating them, which is harmful.

I believe people should be able to wear what they like or nothing if they like. The point is that it's clearly a dress code or in-house style on news programmes, which ought to be serious, intelligent programmes rather than promoting sex inequalities.

Can you genuinely not see what's sexist about it? It's so very extremely sexist it's hard to know where to begin if you are being honest rather than disingenuous.