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.

@CocoBellaSparkle what eye shadow makes blue eyes 'pop' please? Asking for a mysogynistically oppressed friend. 😊

But if you don't like makeup, how can you presume to know the mindset of those who wear it?

A lot of makeup use is about self expression, creativity and experimentation. When it was lockdown I wore the most outlandish makeup looks because no one would see me.

I actually feel I can never wear the level of makeup I'd like to day-to-day because I'd get so judged by it - men by and large say they prefer 'natural' women, I've only ever seen pressure from men telling women to wear LESS makeup, not more. And women are horrible about women who wear lots of makeup.

It's a form of expression just like wearing certain clothes, wearing your hair a certain way, etc etc. yet unlike those other things there's a huge judgement around makeup because it's predominantly done by women. If men did it too there absolutely wouldn't be as much judgement - but women are judged more harshly for anything they do because of the patriarchy.

I actually think male TikTok stars starting to do makeup has lessened the judgement of women who wear heavy makeup somewhat, but you still see the judgement of women's looks everywhere (natural = great, heavy makeup = whore). The OPs mindset is just internalised mysogyny.

Also OP you must realise how deeply misogynistic this line is "[women who don't wear makeup] look like they can think for themselves".

A women's looks - natural or caked in make up - bears no relation to her competence or intelligence. If you're making those judgements you're just parroting old sexist tropes

I choose to wear make up when I want to and some days I go make up free.

it’s actually good for your skin if you buy good quality make up and and remove it properly at the end of the day.

jsur because you don’t want wear it does it mean it’s bad and women shouldn’t. Wear it,

This!
I follow some wonderful men on tiktok that wear make up and paint their nails and encourage both their kids (male and female) to play around with it if they want to
Also, mind your own business. You don't like it and don't wear any, please yourself.
There are far more oppressive acts to get your knickers in a twist over!
Kids are experimenting and finding their feet

I like wearing make up but I’m also happy to go out without it. I have an uneven skin tone so a little bit of foundation (I do not cake it on) makes me feel better about my blotchy face. So I guess I use it as a mask most of the time. Thats my every day make up anyway.

I love the ritual of putting on my going out make up with my friends, it’s just all part of getting ready for a night out for me. And I love trying out new lipstick colours and eyeshadows to compliment my outfits. I love the smouldering smokey eyeliner look. I was a goth in my teens and I love this on both men and women!

To be honest I think you sound a bit brain washed by some kind of hippy bullshit. Afraid of the scary chemicals. Or are you just one of those “feminists” that like to tell other women what to do? I can understand relying on make up to the point of feeling self conscious, but devastating lives, really?

For the record I don’t know any guys who give a shit about women wearing make up. I know a lot will say they prefer us without it, personally I think that’s because they know they’re supposed to say that. But I don’t think they actually care if we wear it or not.

Both women and men are free to wear makeup as they wish. I like wearing makeup to go out but rarely for work. I've had jobs where makeup feels appropriate. I think you are being highly judgemental.

Browns, Golds, Bronze, Burgundy 😊

You found very arrogant if you think women can't make up their own minds about what looks good etc.

I couldn’t agree more OP.

People prevaricate about “oh men wear make up on tv” and “artistic self expression” and “i do it for ME not for men” but the bottom line is that women and girls are taught that their natural faces and skin are not acceptable.
it is part of the oppression of mandatory femininity.

Ooh burgundy! That's sounds gorg.... particularly oppressive. Thank you.😉

100% agree with you op.

I hate these types of posts that tell me because I wear make up or let a man hold a door open for me, or offer me his seat on a bus that I am accepting and allowing myself to become cowed by misogynistic programming and conditioning.
I'm not even going to attempt to say why I wear make up and try to justify it. Ultimately as a woman I have a choice and make my own decisions about what I put on my face and how I live my life. As we all do. As the OP does. Obviously there are people in the world who live oppressed lives that can't make their own decisions but I'm not talking about them in this instance. But please DON'T assume or tell me that me wearing make up is bloody misogynistic programming as this is your opinion. Not mine.

I love wearing makeup. It's fun and creative.. a form of art. I don't care what you think OP or whether you consider me brainwashed.

I wear make up to 'look better'. Yet, I'm not offended or outraged or losing my absolute mind in response to OPs post. I can't fathom the rage at her very insightful points. It isn't even angry. The responses fervently opposing the suggestion this isn't as much about free will as we think is more in question to me.

No man would ever feel the way we do about the use of make up as pointed out by other posters.

Agree with this! Some of us inc my teen, wear make up to cover up spots, as otherwise people would stare at us, making us feel horribly self conscious. Nothing misogynistic about it. You sound patronising. Think yourself lucky you probably have clear skin and are able to feel confident without Make up.

I like to make the best of myself and in my personal opinion, I look and feel better groomed/polished when I wear a little make up. It isn't for someone else to decide whether I choose to apply make up or not, no matter how strongly worded their feelings may be on the matter.

i think it’s very personal - I’m gay nobody has ever pressured me but I think skin benefits from being able to breathe now & then

I love makeup! I don’t wear it every day, mostly because I’d rather snooze my alarm for an extra ten minutes, but when I have the time, I love experimenting with makeup. I have colourful artwork on my walls and I love wearing colourful clothes, so why wouldn’t I want to put colours on my face, too?

I also can’t think of any time in my entire life when a man has commented on whether I’m wearing makeup or not.

I wear makeup but I do think the pp is right. Also I often envy my bald husband, especially on holiday - no hair, no makeup, a slap of suncream and he’s ready.

You do you @sixtyandsomething and I'll do me.

I don't mind you not wearing make-up and disliking it on others. However, I like make-up and a little makes me feel better. I find it a real treat to buy it and wear it and love having a skin care regime. What I'm not going to do is impose my views on others.

I also shave my armpits, dye my hair, love the colour pink, and enjoy clothes, shoes and handbags.

I'm also a feminist who has a dd and neither she nor her friends are like the girls you describe and yet they wear make-up and have their hair done. DD is also a teacher in a secondary school .

The feminine parts of being a woman are very special in my opinion.

This is an excellent response. Live and let live OP.

Loving the way everyone except @MsCactus has said they wear "a little makeup" 😂 I'm too tired to compose a thoughtful comment on it, so I'll leave it here for brighter minds!

make up makes women and men who wear it look like clowns

I do actually think that the majority of faces male or female look better without makeup but I prefer a fresh faced look. Barring mascara and concealer, all of it makes your skin look weirdly dried out and cracky, no matter your age. Some people look good in lipstick but not everyone, depends on the colour though.