make up is misogynistic oppression

[sixtyandsomething]

I hate make up, because of the devastating damage it does to the lives of women and girls

Obviously I don't wear any, so it doesn't damage my life.

But I am a teacher, and see its devastating impact on the lives of literally thousands of girls

It is ridiculous to think it makes women look "beautiful". Women without make up are beautiful. Women with make up look like they have a load of chemical crap smeared on their face to cover up their natural features. Which is what they do.

Thinking this looks "better" than a face without make up is just misogynistic programming and conditioning.

Girls are literally taught and programmed and schooled and conditioned to believe they can't go out without their faces covered. I speak to girls who tell me they will kill themselves if they have to take it off. They are surrounded by media images of women smeared in the crap, and are conditioned to think this is what a normal female face looks like.

It is expensive, time consuming and bad for your skin, but worst of all it is oppressive.

Just look at this picture and compare the natural look of the men, who just have the minimum make up required for the lighting, and the massively overexaggerated, false, completely covered up look of the women, who apparently need to cover their lips with an unnatural colour, paint extra circles around their eyes, change their eyelashes and eyebrows, and cake all the skin on their face in gunk in order to be fit to be seen.

And if you look at this picture and think "what is she on about - those women just look normal" then PLEASE stop for a moment and ask yourself WHY you think gunk-smeared to the point that no natural skin can be seen is "normal" for a woman!

I am not expecting much agreement, as I think so many women are so tightly in the grip of the (mostly male run) cosmetics industry, that they can't even see how brainwashed they are

But please think twice before passing this oppression on to your daughters.

Wouldn't it be amazing if the next generation of female BBC news readers grow up in a society where they feel free to show their actual natural faces in public.

You may need to get a hobby if this is what bothers you so much you need to post a number of threads on it!

How come you got to be so much more intelligent, perceptive and above social conditioning than the rest of us lipstick wearing fools?

How can we know your secret?

I kind of agree with you OP, and I wear make-up most days!

If women want to buy into the patriarchy by wearing make up that’s fine. I am not angry with you. I do feel you’re letting the side down by pretending to be something you’re not and not just accepting yourself as you are, as do men. But I’m not angry at all.

What a ridiculous thing to say.
You think women are letting the side down because their sense of identity doesn't align with yours?

Men don't 'accept themselves as they are'. They hide their double or weak chins with beards. Younger men have their eyebrows done. They generally care about their haircuts.

All of these are modulating your experience, just as much as make-up. The default 'natural' human look is long, undyed, uncut hair, beards for men (and some women), and naked. Any changes to that are changing your 'natural' look to a greater or lesser extent. I don't get why make-up is singled out as being particularly evil.

I love abit of make up, its a self care thing for me that I only started doing in my 50s. I def do look better with it on too (several people have told me I look better or healthier but often dont realiese its make up!).
I dont care if Im seen without it though. I dont wear it at work for example as I work nights and would probably rub it all off!

However the OP seems to be talking about teenagers who TBH are mostly feral and run in gangs like Lord of the Flies (we all used to be teenagers and can remember the massive pressure to fit in).
I dont think anything has really changed over the years except social media and photoshop creating unreal beauty standards.
IMO its not the make up thats the problem its those unrealistic expectations that cause so much upset.

@AppleStruddle123

Except now we have a generation of women shaving off their pubic hair because porn told them it’s unattractive, dirty, gross, disgusting to have hair there.

Its not what you’re comfortable with, it’s what men out of sight decide every single day, to decide, what you’re are comfortable with.

The thing is you don’t know you’re being manipulated.

You imagine you’re “doing it for yourself” but you aren’t. You’re doing it because of widespread media images of what we should look like. All decided by men.

If women want to buy into the patriarchy by wearing make up that’s fine. I am not angry with you. I do feel you’re letting the side down by pretending to be something you’re not and not just accepting yourself as you are, as do men. But I’m not angry at all.

This change is going to take time. I wish you all the best.

Oh do give over. 🙄 You don't get to tell me OR anyone else why we put make up on. Mind your own business. You are so hugely invested in what other women do that it's actually weird. Oh, and I hate having pubic hair too. I have always enjoyed it being shaven, and the fact my DH enjoys it too is a bonus.

Also, I am nearly 60, so I'm not going to 'change' for anyone. Least of all someone who is claiming to be all for women, and against the patriarchy, yet seems to be demanding that women behave in a way that suits THEM!

LOL the irony! 'Letting the side down by wearing make up!' Do you know how ludicrous your posts are sounding with each passing post you submit?!

I am not responding to you any longer. Your posts are ridiculous.

.

Sarcasm?

Touched a nerve?

If you can’t mount a defence, I wouldn’t bother commenting. It suggests what you said in your post is true…

I think you need to loosen up a little

I'm not going to stop though. I live in the world I live in and life is easier when you are perceived as more attractive, thinner and so on. I know this is all culturally conditioned, but that's my world and I'm making my way within it. So are my children. We talk about it a lot.

There are some celebrities (Pamela Anderson, Alicia Keys) who have chosen to go make-up free some of the time and they do look different to the others on the red carpet- both of course are very beautiful, but I admire them.

You Just can’t see how manipulated you’ve been. Ah well. Enjoy in the ingrown hairs!

No one has a right to dictate to anyone else what they put on their face, yet there seems to be so much anger over the choices other people make.

I also dislike condescending women telling me how I should live my life.

Is this a battle? What 'defence' is required?

You seem to think you alone are above all that social conditioning which compels us idiots to browse the aisles of Superdrug. How did you get to be so clever?

For what exactly? they would look better without it, and have healthier skin and more time for themselves.

See my username, then tell me how I would look better with a face resembling a road map than I do with make-up.

This ^ in spades.

😆

In grown hairs? 😂 I mean most people who shave regularly know how to avoid that. I suppose it's fine that you don't realise that though given you don't shave.

You sound jealous. Are you one of those people who never quite got how to put on make up or have been teased for trying?

'Except now we have a generation of women shaving off their pubic hair because porn told them it’s unattractive, dirty, gross, disgusting to have hair there.'

What a load of crap. At 15/16 circa 1981 I had never seen a porn film and didn't have any sexual experience but had already started shaving under my arms and legs and started shaving my pubic hair the same as my older sister did and then also my younger sister did because we spent a lot of time wearing bikinis and swimsuits and it just felt so much more comfortable to be hair free.

Of course some women may do it because of the influence of porn but plenty so it for their own personal reasons.

I wear make up. I also do not give one flying shit about 'misogynistic oppression'.

I can mount a perfectly good defence.....I'd rather wear make-up than be stared at.

Devastating impact is a bit dramatic.
I love it. Just lipstick and mascara, can cover up a spot if need be 😉🤣great stuff!

I would’ve thought things like fillers and Botox are more damaging and look ridiculous.

I agree that it is changing what we inherently consider to be normal female faces and features, along with things like aesthetic dental work, face fillers, lip plumping. If you looked at a load of make up free, aesthetically untouched female faces, of all levels of ‘beauty’ many would think to themselves that they have small eyes, small jaws, narrow lips, dropping eyelids etc where in fact they’re completely normal faces. Looking at the same with men and you wouldn’t think that, because we see their actual face everyday.

I’m struggling to explain what I mean here but essentially I think over time we are genuinely going to change what we actually think a normal female face looks like and I don’t like the idea of that. A bit like the cartoon characters where they have those massive eyes and long lashes, huge rows of completely straight teeth, it’s physically impossible for a human to look like this from completely natural progression but more and more women have faces that aren’t actually possible without some form of intervention and that’s what we consider beauty.

I’ve worn make up for years but I’ve never ‘smeared’ it on. Am I doing it wrong? I also take really good care of my skin by cleansing and moisturising to remove my make up. I get compliments on my skin and I’m after mistaken for being in my 30’s still (I wish). At 45 I have no wrinkles etc and this is actually down to make up as much of it contains spf. I like to even my skin tone with foundation and love the way mascara enhances my lashes. I have really long lashes but without mascara you can’t really notice them.

How can I possibly take this seriously when there is so much judgement

one woman with no make up think for themselves

the other woman who wear make up have been brainwashed ie. foolish

present a less judgmental argument and you may open up the discussion more

I love wearing heavy eye makeup especially

and as for all the comments well men like natural faces so fucking what 🙄 apparently they prefer blondes too 🙄 🙄