Boys/men fixated on seeing girls with "no make-up" to check they're not being "cat-fished"

[CohensD]

Teen DD has told me this is "a thing" on social media. DD has some facial birthmarks which she has covered with make-up for years, and the trend is making her unusually anxious. She has a boyfriend (who otherwise seems very sweet), who has apparently recently asked for "reassurance" that she "doesn't wear much make-up".

Can someone articulate for me why I find this trend so misogynistic and disturbing? At a very general level, it feels like yet another way to police girls'/women's bodies. But I feel like I object to it in a more specific way, and can't articulate why....

I don’t like this either. And he can fuck right off!

What @boldseal said so eloquently.

Women are trapped: we're under enormous pressure to wear makeup, particularly as we age and particularly in professional settings. The "unmarked body" is rare and condemned.

Yet we're condemned for using the makeup too.

Misogyny, with all is vicious impact on women's self esteem.

I've seen these videos.

Very often the woman uses a filter to make the 'makeup' version of themselves highly polished. This is in combination with wearing makeup to make themselves look particularly haggard with different facial structure for the after/before 'ugly' makeup version.

Besides, the amount of makeup to achieve a full glam and contouring look is so glaringly obvious if you see it in real life, it looks so different in person than behind a camera. It would look like a person wearing very thick makeup.

I don't know anybody who looks completely different with makeup on vs barefaced. Even celebrities who are well-known for wearing heavy makeup like Kim Kardashian are easily recognisable without it.

Some people look unrecognisable from their heavily filtered and carefully angled selfies, yes, but that only works on social media and we are talking here about people who know each other in real life.

Anyone who asks you to remove your makeup "just in case" you look like a completely different person without it isn't worth your time.