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 you insulted my intelligence on the moisturiser thread and now you are insulting the intelligence of. all female newsreaders and presenters.

I seem to remember on the moisturiser thread simply pointing out that whether or not you moisturised your skin last month would have no bearing what so ever on how your skin looks this month, as it is different skin.

Some people thought that you could moisturise their skin for years, and it would have some sort of magical accumulative effect, and they were wrong.

If you believe something scientifically wrong, it is not "insulting your intelligence" to tell you

@adriftinadenofvipers "I think female presenters should do whatever they damn well want."

So do I. The burning question of this thread is do we think that women in the public eye genuinely can?

No I don't think they have that choice, not really. Attractiveness is so tied to success for females in the media, it could potentially be a career killer.

Op I think you make an interesting point. I wear make up every day, I do look better for it but why should I have to. I wish I felt able to not wear it every day but I'm not ready yet.

For what it's worth, I think I would have liked you teaching my children

I mostly don’t wear it (99% of the time) but I’m not making a statement by not wearing it, I’m older now and just can’t be arsed with it and work from home or out in the garden. Occasionally I decide to get my make up out and quite enjoy wearing it. My eyes seem bigger and my skin looks more glowing. I don’t go mad, just a bit of mascara, lip gloss and cream blush. I’ve never once in my life felt oppressed by wearing it or worn it under duress. Back in the 80s I was a big fan of David Sylvian and he was caked in make-up and I thought he was gorgeous. I saw a make-up ad recently that had a couple of women and a man modelling make up. I really don’t understand what the big deal is with the OP, whose rage seems to be going through the roof. Meh.

Smeared with gunk..??? I’m guessing you don’t wear make up then. I don’t wear it most days but when I do I certainly don’t smear it on my face! What a strange turn of phrase.

I quite like, nay, admire your commitment to your cause. But calling makeup gunk and muck isn't going to get you any fans, given how many women do wear makeup, whatever the driver.

Let's not forget that plenty of men wear makeup these days, and I don't just mean newsreader men. Teenagers, metrosexual men and other men.

Makeup, jewellery, embellishing your appearance is not a new phenomenon driven by modern society. The ancient Egyptian were into it.

And removing choice by saying it should be banned makes you sound like a loon. No one is ever going to agree that it should be banned. So the angles you're coming at this from make you seem angry and irrational.

Both men and women on telly will have make up on it looks better on camera and I really can't see why you think it's anything to moan about. I think what people chose to wear whether clothes or make up is entirely up to them and no one elses business.

you also said:
It doesn't. It is entirely in your imagination, you are a victim of advertising

which i found insulting to my intelligence and ability to make my own mind up. And similar things to other people.
You have some reasonable points to make but I find it very surprising. that a teacher can be so inconsiderate of the people they are talking to.
I also don't believe you are factually correct in some of what you say but you seem convinced you know it all and so am not going to argue with you any further.

If my job was facing the masses I'd want to look my best not like I'd just got out of bed
You are over thinking things @orangeleavesinautumn

@orangeleavesinautumn

"It doesn't make you look "better". It makes you conform to what society thinks a woman should look like"

I disagree, as I said earlier, I haven't been influenced by tv presenters or social media so I'm not conforming with society.
I wear makeup for myself, for my own wellbeing. If I look good and feel more confident, I see it as a positive thing.

What's wrong with that?

Sky about 10 years ago was appalling. A face full of brightly-coloured slap and shiny lip gloss was obviously an organizational policy, whether written or unwritten. This does seem to lend the question of whether this was truly 'choice' on the part of these women, or whether, because everyone else was doing it, it became more of an obligation. (Especially when seeing them alongside Adam Boulton) ...

They did have some cracking female broadcast journalists at that time, which is the more important point. Better than Boulton. But I'd stake a hefty bet they were not getting paid as much. These inequalities, whether seen or unseen, subtle or 'in your face', are what's deflating about the whole picture. And I think these are separate components of the same issue.

When women are fully equal with men, when we are paid the same money for doing the same job, when we're not derided as mercenary for making that request (cf. Diana Rigg), when we're taken as seriously as men in our careers and don't have to work twice as hard to attain the same level, when we are not taken more seriously (or in a curious form of cognitive dissonance, less so at the same time) on pain of what we put on our faces: perhaps then, we'll be making more of a fully rounded and informed choice. (And yes, FWIW, I've succumbed to this pressure as much as the next woman. I look after my skin, and I sometimes wear a bit of blush stick, lip balm and mascara. We are few of us immune).

As an aside, what's behind all the comments that young women are unlikely to watch the news? Really? And of all places, on Mumsnet? We still have a steep uphill climb; no mistaking the misogyny here.

I'd far rather have a radio slot!

Are male TV academics - all those historians and field archeologists from the University of Bristol the likes of Mark Horton and Richard Holmes - ever judged on any criterion other than their actual work?

Comparing women academics who regularly face the masses - Janina Ramirez, Susannah Lipscombe, Alice Roberts - in that environment it takes real courage to be a Mary Beard.

She's a brilliant classicist scholar and trustee of the British Museum. But who cares, when SM can throw as much flack her way as it sees fit for her physical appearance.

Good on her for giving them the polite, metaphorical finger.

Are male TV academics - all those historians and field archeologists from the University of Bristol the likes of Mark Horton and Richard Holmes - ever judged on any criterion other than their actual work?

Neil Oliver gets a fair amount of stick for his hair choices and Mick from Time Team's jumpers were a character in their own right.

"I think female presenters should do whatever they damn well want."The burning question of this thread is do we think that women in the public eye genuinely can?

Yes they can. The female presenters on Time Team and The Great British Dig have very much their own style from land girl to colourful nail varnish. Dr Alice Roberts has a very individual style as have Mary Beard and Michaela Strachan. They might face criticism, but so do all celebrities (it's a national hobby) but they obviously don't care and are all hugely successful women not in the first flush of youth.

There are too many women trying to police the appearance of others.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000yf46

Michaela looking gloriously herself.

Yes, they look very pale without it.

She's wearing makeup though :)

People should be able to wear what they want.

Having recently been filmed for TV (I am female), I was allowed to put on my regular makeup, and then it was touched up for filming. Other women - and men, who didn't wear any makeup, were powdered/lipstick, so their features didn't disappear under the lights.

As someone who has chronically dry skin, if I go 2-3 days without moisturising my skin will become sore, split and bleed, it will also take a good 3-6 weeks for my skin to fully recover. People witj chronically dry skin do benefit from cumulative moisturising, but you’d know that if you were a derm.

Never been worried about make up as it is normal to look as good as possible for the camera. However, some of the weather girls amaze me with some very strange outfits. I find I am distracted from what they are saying. Also amazed at the size of heels and wonder if they are just put on while they stand there. If they actually wear them much then pain and bunions will be the result.

I know someone who was in the audience for Strictly. Apparently Tess and Claudia’s stilettos are brought out just before the show starts and their slippers are magicked away.

So, an educated, articulate woman is speaking on TV about matters of national and international interest, and your main takeaway is what she looks like? You may want to reflect on why that is, and what is leading you to put women's looks front and centre rather than their abilities and their performance of their role.
If the most important thing to you about another woman is whether she wears make up you're part of the problem.

Damnit. The footage is no longer available, and I really wanted to hear what she had to say.

Strachan has done a fantastic job of fronting the watches. Megan McCubbin is also brilliant: exceptionally knowledgeable and really relaxed and engaging in front of the camera.

And that wasn't nepotism, as will inevitably be said (because gods forbid a female achieved recognition on the back of her own talent). She got that occasional, stand-in presenting job as a result of lockdown footage taken during the pandemic lockdown.

She has a good career ahead of her. And she earned it - no one else.

Are you actually a North Korean spy? 'cause they're the only country I can immediately think of which polices every citizen's thoughts, choices, actions.

Off you trot, and have a nice game playing with traffic on the M6.

Why does anyone style their hair, dye their hair, wear fashionable clothes, shave, paint their nails etc. Unless newsreaders sported the 'just got out of bed' look, they're all beautifying themself to an extent, male and female. Such a weird thing to get yourself so worked up about. I don't wear makeup daily, but sometimes I do. Because I like it and I want to. I don't feel any kind of societal pressure whatsoever. My daughter has seen me wearing makeup and also seen me not wearing it. She doesn't wear any, so she's certainly not been influenced by me or whatever nefarious forces you think there are pressuring young girls. Have a day off and spend your time thinking about things of more importance and stop trying to police what other women chose to do or not to do.