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.

YANBU in principle, though I think you've gone a bit far. I get that it's a pet subject of yours, about which you evidently feel strongly.

I like makeup. I rarely wear it. I know that many women, especially young ones, feel their real faces are somehow unacceptable - and that's very sad. At the same time, it is FAR more acceptable now to go to work, shopping, even to a swanky dinner without makeup.

Back in my yoof (I'm 70), the wearing of makeup was more or less mandatory for women. That did imply that women's own faces were shameful ("she's let herself go"). Grossly misogynistic. This is no longer the case. Celebrate!

What I like about it:
Makeup's designed to focus attention on the eyes and mouth, the parts of the face which play critical roles in communication.
The application's a kind of art form. I find it relaxing. Some women create faces with incredible skill, and I genuinely admire their work.

What I dislike:
The Drag Barbie look. It's just a fashion that's already on its way out, but I have felt some unease about a generation of young women making themselves look like cartoon sex dolls.
Genderisation. I really enjoyed the much-maligned Metrosexual era, and the New Romantic before him, when men were free to draw attention to their eyes with liner and even to create full cosmetic artworks on their faces.

What I think you've missed:
That, for most face-painters, it's fun. It's a hobby, if you like.
That humans have worn makeup since they discovered ochre, woad and soot. We don't know what it meant to Early Modern Humans: probably some combination of group bonding/identification and spiritual realisation; but we do know they set a lot of store by it - for both sexes.

So I suspect that self-decoration, including face paint, is an atavistic drive to at least some extent. That may be why we enjoy it. The manner, style and social bounds attached to it vary by location and era - but there's more to it than cultural misogyny!

[edited for weird formatting]

I love makeup and the difference it mskes to how I look. I have white eyelashes and without mascara I look like I have none. I wait eagerly for the new series of glow up every year, those contestants are seriously skilled and I pick up tips all the way through. To each his own

This! 👏👏

You're massively overthinking this.

I feel better about myself when I wear makeup, and that's likely the case with the majority of women who use it.

We all make our own decisions regarding this, so it's hardly oppression.

OK, I'll take up OP's baton here. Why do you feel better about yourself with makeup on?

More to the point, why do you feel worse about your own real face? If you find your natural features inadequate, what makes you feel that way? Inadequate by whose standards?

If anyone - or any media, corporation or society - wants you to dislike your own face, they haven't got your best interests at heart, have they?

When you dig down into this, you do find cultural misogyny: giant industries undermining people's self-esteem in order to sell products, and directing that effort at women.

I won't go on about this; I don't feel as strongly as OP, and quite like a bit of slap myself. But it's no bad thing to be aware of it.

Fucking oppression???? Go and ask girls in Afghanistan about what oppression is, ask those in Africa getting their genitals mutilated about it, don't try and include MAKE UP in the same sentence as oppression! Most women are wearing it because THEY feel better when they do. I don't and never have worn any and I'm not some liberal, free thinking rebel, there is literally no one telling me I HAVE to wear it. You really need to find something actually real to get so irate about!

I don’t understand the almost universal desire for women to wear makeup, or why feminism hasn’t championed the freedom NOT to much more strongly. But I’d still see shares in an enterprising makeup manufacturer as a pretty good investment! People are odd.

Totally agree with you, yet I still won’t leave the house without make up. It’s a sad world.

I ended up with melasma after my
Pregnancies - at one point it looked like I had a tattoo on my face. Never used to be bothered about makeup before then but was grateful for it!

Now it makes me feel more confident when dealing with customers in my high pressured role.

Personally, I like wearing make-up - just tinted moisturiser, eye shadow, eye liner and mascara - as without it, I feel that I look tired without it. I wear it for me, no one else and will continue to wear it as long as I can apply it. (DH says he can't tell difference if I'm wearing it or not.😝) But I have never made a 'big thing' of it to my DD. She is an adult now and doesn't wear make-up. She appeared on TV recently and was confident enough not to change her usual habit and wear any. However, I do agree that some of these young girls/women look awful caked in make-up (primer, concealer, foundation, contour 'stuff', blusher. bronzer, fixing spray to name just a few) as to the lips and eye brows😬
During 1980s, I had a number of boyfriends who also wore make-up. I don't think make-up is misogynistic I think its just a choice, like choosing to wear dresses and skirts as opposed to trousers. I think being made to wear a burkha or face-covering is misogynistic.

To each their own!

I don’t wear make up unless I am going out/have an event and then it’s only very basic just so I don’t look washed out and tired in photos/videos.

I am not a fan at all of the current trend peddled by SM of RuPaulesque make up, but, I do respect that some people are hugely talented in that field and, actually, it is something they see as an art. When they do it well I will admit to being in awe of their skill!

As such, no, I don’t like the current trends or it being peddled to young girls by SM, but, I don’t see the need to ban make up or see it as men’s influence over women at all TBH. Many men now wear make up too and I believe, personally, that SM is peddling this more than men.

I also respect body autonomy and that each person has the right to make their own decisions and I suspect many of these girls will grow out of this over time.

What makes you think you have the right to lecture anyone about wearing make up? Why can’t women just be allowed to make their own decision about using it or not without you insulting their intelligence with your overly dogmatic and oppressive views? Please bore off!

op - but women DO look better with some make up on imo. Not tonnes of it like you’re saying but less is more!

If anything it ENHANCES the beauty women already have .. so some mascara highlights their pretty eyes , a rose gold eyeshadow makes green eyes ‘POP’ and make them stand out .. some good bronzing balm gives women a lovely ‘glow’ like their healthy, happy, relaxed .. like a summer holiday glow and enhance their cheekbones
if a woman has a break out of spots then (and we can’t help it) but others focus on the spots as almost like a ‘distraction’ and not the actual person themselves and some light natural vegan concealer can do wonders to conceal horrible blemishis big spots etc!
The well known Touche Eclat doesn’t sell in its hundreds of thousands every minute or two ( or whatever the stats are!) for no reason .. it’s like a three second application and a magic wand! No one wants to look shattered or under the weather or ill and if certain products can make you look at rite best and your healthiest then there’s no problem in that all (imo)!

Rather than you trying to find out or educate the girls you teach about why make up is ‘misogynistic, oppressive’ etc you maybe should find out who they are wearing it for!

i’m a former trained make up artist and now i’m off work as i have a serious case of incurable cancer and im still late thirties and have two boys (no H and no family near) i put on light make up for ME.
I’ve met the least vain women who don’t even like cosmetics who invest a lots of funds into high grade quality wigs (eye watering expensive and way out of my budget !) because having a full head of hair gives them confidence to be themselves, to shine! they also say it gives them back their femininity while facing uncertain times.

i wear a very expensive gradual tanner and it’s way above what id ever spend but its the best i’ve used in decades (ive used them all!) and it looks like ive been to the caribbean islands for a month and not hospital! and people say ‘wow you look so healthy , radiant, glowing!’

i’ve even in my career learnt to do camouflage make up for both men and women. and even children .. if they have birth defects like bright red birth marks covering half their faces .. they sometimes cry and say ‘wow you’ve given/taught me a new lease of life!’

So make up is such a complex and personal thing imo .. it’s not just following the kardashians and changing the way one looks to look like filtered images (and in this aspect i fully agree with you and i think we need to show and teach our youngsters the boys aswell as the girls! that behind the lighting , photo shop, editing , filters that 99 percent of these celebs actually look like this - and i for one know this as i’ve seen them close up !) but make up can be a positive , beautiful and healthy thing.

I completely agree with you, OP. I do wear make up, not a lot, and not every day, but I do wear it to make my skin less red, and my eyes stand out a bit more, and generally look a bit more socially acceptable. My husband would just never have to worry about this, he just looks how he looks, tired or not, and no one bats an eyelid. It's one of those things where we are SO socially conditioned into it, that it feels like it's our choice, but it really isn't. I always think, imagine I got transported to another planet, and there were strange looking aliens everywhere. Would I bother with make up, amongst these green, 3 eyed, wrinkly skinned creatures? No, I wouldn't! I do it to fit in to what is expected of a woman in the culture I live in. It's misogynistic, and packaged up in a way that, many decades later, feels like it's all empowering and our choice. It really isn't.

Kind of mildly agree, don't know about it being misogynistic though. I can't imagine a man even thinking (let alone saying) "aw she's gorgeous but there's one thing I'd change I wish she'd shave 'er eyebrows off and colour in some massive ones a bit higher up".

Mad eyebrows & blindingly white fake teeth I don't get it.

But saying women sometimes DO look better with make up- to me this is missing the point. We are conditioned to believe this, surely? Most women do NOT think that men look better with make up, even if they have bad skin, or dark lines under their eyes, or short stubby eyelashes. We just accept men look like they look, and manage to find them attractive regardless. I think the same should be true for women. Why do we need to make our eye colour pop, or lengthen our lashes, or smooth over blemishes? It may make us feel better and more confident, but isn't that a false confidence, based on other people's perceptions on our outer beauty- isn't it all just a load of rubbish, really? Rubbish that men don't have to endure?

I worry about the children you say you have in your care.

Your anger is misdirected and a bit sad.

I look much better with makeup than without. Saying all women look beautiful without makeup is bullshit plain and simple, acne, dark circles etc are not beautiful, no mater how brainwashed you are. Sadly some people are born more attractive than others, and makeup used well enhances the good parts and hides the not so good parts.

RoseGoldEagle · Today 20:03
But saying women sometimes DO look better with make up- to me this is missing the point. We are conditioned to believe this, surely? Most women do NOT think that men look better with make up, even if they have bad skin, or dark lines under their eyes, or short stubby eyelashes. We just accept men look like they look, and manage to find them attractive regardless. I think the same should be true for women. Why do we need to make our eye colour pop, or lengthen our lashes, or smooth over blemishes? It may make us feel better and more confident, but isn't that a false confidence, based on other people's perceptions on our outer beauty- isn't it all just a load of rubbish, really? Rubbish that men don't have to endure?

.^^
to answer this and i still have friends like myself who work or have worked on film sets and ‘behind the scenes’ on shoots with actors etc
and mens skin is nearly TWICE the thickness of women’s skin .. its like comparing apples with oranges both beautiful but in their own ways and very different ways!
Sun damaged skin on a mature lady looks very different to sun damage on a man .. one looks like a handbag and the other looks rugged and you can say that’s an ‘appalling ‘ thing to say but make up is like moving art with science and the truth is simply the truth! now if a woman wants to feel liberated in wearing zero make up then that’s wonderful! it’s nice to give our faces a break , to spend less or no time in front of a mirror and just be us and breathe and enjoy the important things like making memories with our children and loved ones and climbing hills and swimming and nature (trust me this rings so true to me as i have a time ticking away on my life ) but we can enjoy both
nothing gives/gave me the most satisfying rewarding feeling of making a woman feel healthier and ready to take on the day .. especially women who’ve been through abuse and very serious illnesses .. even my ‘non make up type of lady’ late grandmother would put on her could ponds lotion and then some blush /rouge and some pink/red max factor lipstick om
and some perfume if guests were coming around .. just like she’d get the’soecialchina tea set’ cups and saucers and posh biscuits out.. she wasn’t doing it to show off or because we live in a ‘misogynistic’ world or anything of the kind! it’s just presenting yourself with respect
just how men should wear an ironed crisp white shirt and smart suit to a funeral, or how we get our boys hair cuts smartly and iron their uniforms all pristine when it’s ’back to school day’
in all the department stores where i worked years ago we’d be looked over before we went to the shop floor /countsrs .. perfectly washed hair in ballerinas bun, perfect red lip and coverage on face so blemishes and dark circles concealed

we spend money on having our cars MOT’d and if the paintwork is damaged we’re d small fortunes getting cars re spray painted and glossed over .. just how a lick of neutral or white paint does wonders to make your house or apartment look cleaner, spruced up and fresher.

What’s wrong with doing the same to ourselves?

I love wearing make up and believe it enhances my good points.

This!! With bells on!!

I wear makeup often ! I’m not oppressed 🤪
My skin is marked / blemished on one cheek because I have a skin condition 😕so I apply a little foundation which has a high spf so in addition to the spf I’ve already applied gives more coverage and protection.
a tiny bit of blush and mascara and I am ready to go takes a few minutes.
i am not so keen on a heavier makeup look

I bow down to your absolutely fucking fantastic comment 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Well, when I was in my teens and had severe cystic acne I genuinely wouldn't have stepped outside the door without foundation, so I credit makeup with giving me a modicum of confidence where otherwise I'd have had next to none, and probably not have gone out or socialised or basically enjoyed being a teen. I don't particularly care if that's anti-feminist.

Good for you. Being adult means you have a right to make your own choices. However, you don't have a right to make choices for other people. You sound preachy.

I hope this isn't your teaching style.