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.

I completely agree with this. I am a person of colour who hates wearing makeup. But it's so hard to deal with racism and the public backlash of not wearing makeup at the same time. I literally only wear it because I hate the way I get treated in society if I don't wear it.

It's a waste of my time and is incredibly time consuming. Yes it was fun and artistic when I was younger but now it's a waste of my life.

@LondonFox your post is really disproportionately aggressive. Yet, the OP is being piled on when you and others are displaying far greater rage. You're kind of proving the point I have made in prior threads. No one wants to believe they're doing something they've been conditioned to and will react very strongly to any challenge. A bit like the pro monarchy peeps on the other thread I'm on 😬😆.
Yes men have worn make up throughout history. I imagine there are periods in history where women were the more dominant sex and this wasn't even an issue. For us, in modern society, make up can very much be seen as something we are conditioned to wear by the patriarchy. I'd still wear it 🤷‍♀️ It doesn't negate OPs point.

I'll just tell myself, as I still do, it makes me feel better and I'm doing it all for me

I hate waxing my intimate regions (and often forget to shave my legs and armpits though I do cover them up), wearing jewellery, dressing up (usually just wear a floral dress and mismatched coat), fussing with hair or nails but I do wear makeup. It takes me 5 to 7 minutes and probably many women spend more time on other aspects of their appearance..

I think every woman has a grooming bandwidth and picks parts of her appearance she focuses on. For some women it's hair and for others it's their threaded brows and face, for others it's nails and for me it's makeup

I don't understand why you believe makeup damages the skin. I have worn makeup all my adult life and at 51 my skin is good. I have worn an SPF from being a teen and foundation. I think makeup actually protects the skin- lipstick often contains titanium dioxide which provides sun protection.

I work within an entirely female environment and many of the women wear makeup for work so little to do with conforming for men. It gives me confidence. Not everyone is born with equal levels of natural beauty (or at least what is considered beautiful) and makeup levels that playing field for a lot of women.

You are right. There is so strong combination of social conditioning and marketing, that it isn't a free personal choice any more in many contexts, unless the woma in question is ready to be seen as "non-conforming".

Makeup or no makeup there are still desirable features that are considered beautiful- some women have these naturally and others not:

Even blemish free skin,
Large eyes,
Long eyelashes,
Full lips,
A small nose,
Prominent cheekbones,
etc.

It's not the makeup itself that women need to feel accepted by men and other women, it's the above characteristics which are considered beautiful. A woman who has these ideals naturally will be readily considered beautiful and praised and admired. For other women, makeup helps them achieve these desirable looks.

These sorts of post are ridiculously pointless. OP has a view and will not bend to anything that even slightly differs, dismissed any challenges to her opinions and assumes anyone who thinks otherwise has been indoctrinated by the patriarchy/illuminati/director general of maybelline.

FWIW I do think sometimes people view make up as a requirement but those people see few and far between, many of which tend to learn over time they can make their own choices. I’ve used it for different phases in my life, trying out different looks and styles. That’s been for me and not anybody else. I once went for a make up lesson somewhere and thought the results looked odd, DH told me he thought it didn’t suit me too 😂

I agree that makeup has become a form of oppression to women. Some women won't leave their house without makeup on. Hell, some won't even let their partners see their faces without makeup on. No way to live.

Hell, some won't even let their partners see their faces without makeup on.

I find that rather sad, as I do women who have make up tattooed on.

I do wear make up BTW, but not much and not very often.

Perhaps this generation of women can learn from those of us in the 70's and 80's.

Not only did they discard their bras, but also their heels and make-up.

Unfortunately I believe the oppression is not misogyny or patriarchal, rather it's an arms race between women.

What most worries me is many of the next generation of men seem to be adopting this kind of "feminine" behaviour with hair removal and make-up.

I find it all very narcissistic but rather concerning that more and more we choose to judge and be judged by appearance.

I should paraphrase MLK's
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

A minority of women who were into that particular scene in the 70s, and less so the 80s discarded bras, heels and make up. The vast majority continued to wear all three.
The 80s in particular had fashion characterised by extremely heavy make up, and white stiletto heels so pointed they had to be stuffed with tissue in the toes, and gave a generation bunions! Also eyeliner for men was very popular, even in my small not very progressive town. Shortly thereafter not only did we have bras, but they became outerwear (thank you Madonna) and subject to huge advertising campaigns like the 'hello boys' ad that had women rushing for wonderbras and chicken fillets.
Then, just as now, some women opted out, but the vast majority to some extent didn't stray too far from the trends. I'm fact, if you discount the Instagram extreme glam looks, I'd say there are far more young women rejecting heels (can't remember the last time I saw a pair) bras (very much a trend to be bra less) with only a minority of women going about with the very made up faces/love Island type style. If anything I think my generation has much to learn from them.

For some women, myself included, make up is a form of self expression. I'm a goth and on the odd occasion that I feel like doing a full face of makeup up I'm not playing up to traditional beauty standards, I'm going for a very specific look to match my musical and fashion tastes, I want to look spooky, trust me I am not getting wide spread male approval from it, quite the opposite in fact, the vast majority of men are distinctly put off by it .

I don't wear make up every day, I might put a bit of powder on to reduce shine (from my factor 50 sun block) darken my eyebrows to match my hair (naturally fair but I dye it black) same with my eyelashes which wouldn't exist without mascara and that's me done, I don't do that every day and am regularly seen without a scrap on purely because I couldn't be arsed that morning. I do have my nails done because I want long pointy ones that I cant grow without help and I dye and add extensions to my hair because I want it to look a very specific way that I can't achieve with my own hair. Mostly, when I'm doing a full look I want it to be like a feminine version of Robert Smith.

For the record, I do worry about young girls who feel like they need a face full of makeup up to be accepted by society and I do think work needs to be done to break that cycle, I have a daughter and I do make sure she knows that I wear makeup as a creative exercise, its fun not a necessity and I'm doing it to impress no one else but myself. I try to instil a strong sense of being who you are rather than what other people think you should be. Tarring all make up as inherently misogynistic in nature when it's demonstrably not is not helpful.

“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.”
Not all women with makeup: most women put makeup on for themselves, not others!
Are you as judgy about those who don’t wear makeup, but have an astonishingly complicated (and expensive) skincare regime going on, or those who diet and exercise in an attempt to attain the perfect body? Or those who have false nails? Wear wigs? Dress in the latest fashion? Apply false eyelashes? Have piercings?
My makeup doesn’t “damage” my life at all - if I decide to “put a face on”, that’s between me and my mirror!
I think your reaction to it is rather extreme…

oppression by who?

You don't need to imagine history hun.

Makeup has been worn for ever. We have ancient Egyptian recipes for hair dye and eyeliner.

Both men and women wore makeup for centuries in the UK, until the Victorians disapproved. (Though it could still be found).

Makeup has long been seen as something only prostitutes wore. Red lipstick and blush looking very suggestive, etc. Mum smuggled makeup in her bag to put on when she went out so Grandad wouldn't know. Susan doesn't get to go back to Narnia until she dies in a train crash (😬) because she was too interested in 'lipstick and invitations'. I wonder if there's something of the puritanical in the OPs post?

It's used for self expression, disguise, camo, actor character performance, art, fun ...

Young girls are playing, finding what they like. I did blue eyeshadow and kohl 😂... And boys did wear eyeliner because of the glam rock, punks, disco and New Romantics of my youth (sigh ...)

Makeup doesn't damage skin. Sadly decades of animal testing have seen to that. Centuries ago it did, but white lead paint isn't a thing now.

Make up can protect skin. Women are less prone to skin cancer, including lip melanomas, because of wearing makeup.

Makeup doesn't cause acne. A person with acne who uses makeup is likely to be very thorough with skin care. (Me.)

Makeup can boost confidence. Scars, vitiligo, burns, alopecia - makeup can boost our quality of life.

Red lipstick gave a great morale boost during WW2 - for those who wore it or saw it, and foundation was worn by munitions workers to protect their skin from chemicals. https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/lifestyle/a553213/british-womens-beauty-secrets-during-second-world-war/

Makeup artists are just that - artists. They can create some astonishing results with their expertise. Nikki Tutorials on Insta is worth a look.

In my 60s, I know some tricks that make me look healthier, prettier, fresher, less tired, less menopausal, more awake, less spotty, less flushed. And feel boosted.

And why shouldn't I use them?

Perhaps this generation of women can learn from those of us in the 70's and 80's.

Are you joking?! The 80s were hideous for makeup and style- huge massive permed hair with loads of hairspray, shoulder pads, blue eyeshadow, blue mascara, frosted lipstick etc. I grew up watching Dallas and Dynasty and the women on there were hardly "natural". Men wore makeup too- just look at culture club and the many male bands on top of the pops- all in heavy makeup. I really dont view the 80s as a time when women or men alike rejected fashion or makeup at all.

Oh dear.

Fashion make up is a completely different thing than making yourself presentable make up.

Why do women assume other women wear make up for men?

They've never been a rector for me...

Because they look them and think they look attractive. So assume they must be making themselves look attractive for men.

Make up is personal to the user and should be regarded as a choice.
I've made my choice thanks.

I simply think each to their own: I have always worn make up for work and my PERSONAL opinion is it makes most look more groomed and presentable. Now I’m older I don’t wear make up at the weekends whilst at home. I’m wondering if you are talking about make up across the board or the heavy “love island” look young girls today seem to be encouraged to create?

Fashion make up is a completely different thing than making yourself presentable make up

In the 80s loads of women had permed hair and wore blue eye shadow/mascara/gloss - thats my point. It wasnt just on the catwalks or on tv- it was in real life, everywhere. Literally everyone had a perm.

If it makes you look more groomed and presentable then why aren't all the men wearing it too. Why is it particularly a woman's face that needs to be highlighted concealed and exaggerated. What is wrong with our own clean face.
Some make up I see looks less groomed. Looks like they fell into work from a night out without showering.