Last week I saw an advertisement for a permanent make-up company in Salt Lake, and I was going to write a post about it, but I got lazy and didn't do it. This week I found a new catalyst in that the young women in my ward are having a presentation on make-up as part of their weekly activity night.
Before I get into the particulars of my catalysts, let me just explain why I have a problem with make-up. I know there's a lot of potential issues with make-up or even with fashion in general, especially when you try to reconcile it with religion, but I think the thing that sets make-up apart from other fashions is how intertwined it becomes with a woman's self-esteem. If it were treated the same way as picking a belt or a pair of shoes, then I don't think I would care. But it's not treated the same. It becomes such a part of a woman's identity that she is convinced that she is not pretty without it, and she's uncomfortable being seen in public until after she has her face painted.
Cultural traditions are complicated and I know there's probably a lot of factors that have gone into making and keeping make-up so connected to self-esteem as it is. I don't know what's to blame for that, but I do see that the make-up companies realize this connection and that they prey on women because of it, taking advantage of self-esteem issues to sell their products. You could probably make an example out of any number of advertising campaigns, but one that is particularly obvious to me is Mary Kay. When they have their little make-up parties to sell the product in women's homes, they actually vote on who is the "most improved" because of the new make-up.
I don't really know what my ward's agenda is with this activity for the young women or how they're going to present it. I think it's entirely possible that they're going to have a very tasteful presentation and try to teach the girls to be moderate in how they wear their make-up. Even that, though, I think is potentially damaging to the young women.
I've seen those reality shows where they give a woman a make-over, which usually involves teaching her how to properly use her make-up. I haven't seen a lot of these shows, but every one that I have seen tells the woman to be more moderate and more sparing in how she applies her make-up. That's fine. The problem is that even this approach (or especially this approach?) teaches the woman that this is the way that her face is meant to be painted. The make-over teaches her what clothes are in style, and maybe what is flattering to her out of that style, but with the make-up it teaches her what matches her, as though it is something permanent that her face needs and not something that changes with the seasons and her moods like other fashions. It teaches her that this is the right look for her features and complexion. Even if the end result is that she wears less make-up than before, it still emphasizes the idea that there is a correct look for this particular woman and that it is only achievable through the application of make-up.
So regardless of the intent, I'd just be afraid that by teaching the young women to use make-up, you're really just teaching them that they need make-up.
Maybe it's an extension of that idea that there is a single correct look for a woman's face and that make-up achieves it that has led our society to the idea of permanent make-up. Anything permanent and unchangeable makes me nervous and I think the fact that there are women who are willing to have their make-up permanently attached just emphasizes how much the industry has convinced them of their inadequacy without it.
There is an additional thing that bothers me about permanent make-up. I'm sure that Salt Lake has more ads for tattoo removal than for tattoo parlors, but permanent make-up has no problem fitting in with all of the other ads for permanently changing a person's body to fit some arbitrary image of beauty. The part of this that really bothers me is that some of the same people who have religious reasons for thinking that tattoos are immoral can think that permanent make-up is just fine. You do realize that they are the same thing, right? The only difference is the shape of the tattoo that you're getting, but it's still a tattoo. I think the women who find themselves in favor of permanent make-up but against traditional tattoos have forgotten why they are against tattoos in the first place. It's so easy to be swept up in a cultural stereotype, but before long we forget our values and just start thinking that the definition of our religion is the same as our niche in that culture.
I guess it makes sense that the cultural associations blur the lines between make-up and tattoos for some women. After all, it's only because of cultural associations that permanent make-up could ever have an appeal in the first place. Women have been taught that they don't look good without it, and that they should always wear it whenever they are visible to anyone else, so it seems like an inconsequential step to have it permanently attached. Societal pressures have already permanently inked the make-up to our identity, so why not to skin?
12 comments:
I've always wondered why society says women look better with make-up but guys don't. If guys don't need make-up to cover zits or accentuate their eyes, why do girls? It's not like guys are better looking in general.
But I guess I like to fit in because sometimes I wear make-up anyway.
i wear makeup. but very well-spoken. i kindof wonder when the tanning beds will give way to permanent body stains...
-jill c.
Oh boy, do I ever have a lot to say about this topic.
You said:
It [makeup] becomes such a part of a woman's identity that she is convinced that she is not pretty without it, and she's uncomfortable being seen in public until after she has her face painted.I could be wrong, but I think it's safe to say that there is a generally accepted notion of what makes a woman's face beautiful. It'd probably be something like tan, soft skin; long, thick, dark eyelashes; full, rosy lips; and high, defined cheekbones; etc... of course with some room for variations.
I don't know when or how it happened, but it seems like everyone got together and figured that all us women should feel bad if we don't look like that, and we should go to great lengths to try and accomplish that look.
This brings me back to that excerpt I pulled from your post, about not feeling pretty unless we're wearing our layer of makeup. It's true. Many of us don't feel pretty without it. I think it's largely because society just plain doesn't view us as pretty unless we fit that image. Since so many of us don't naturally fit that image, we've got to do a little something to "enhance" our faces and push them closer towards "beautiful." Add some concealer to make your skin look smooth, put on a little bronzer to "give the illusion" of tan skin, line your eyelids and apply mascara to your eyelashes to make your eyes "pop," add some lip gloss that has a chemical in it to literally make your lips swell.
It has become so normal. We don't even think of it as "painting our faces" or "trying to fit into the stereotype of beauty." It's just what we do. We've learned to like the way we look with makeup. We've learned that we're too plain when we don't put it on. In fact, NOT wearing makeup has become an oddity. Wearing makeup is like a rite of passage into womanhood.
We're never taught that the way we naturally look is beautiful; we're taught that "a natural look" is beautiful—meaning just a touch of concealer, some loose powder, and some neutral tones on our eyes, maybe with a hint of shimmer and perhaps some clear lip gloss. And thus, a woman becomes "convinced that she is not pretty without it, and she's uncomfortable being seen in public until after she has her face painted."
But so what if that great generalized entity, "SOCIETY," tells us we need makeup to look beautiful? Why do we listen? ...I don't really know. But I know it is so hard not to. We put such a high premium on beauty that it seems silly to not do something as simple as put on a little makeup to come a little closer to the ideal. But when I really sit down and think about it, it grosses me out to think about all these women, all across the nation, every morning waking up and putting on their war paint before they head out for the day, all in an effort to look beautiful. It's sad.
I know a few women who have chosen to not wear makeup, or have chosen to wear a very minimal amount. I think that's awesome. One woman I know straight up told me that she's morally opposed to wearing makeup for reasons much like we've been talking about here. I think that's commendable. I often wish I weren't so tethered to society's expectations of me.
(To end on an ironic side note: most of the women I know who don't wear makeup pretty much fit into that definition of beauty from a few paragraphs up without wearing makeup in the first place.)
Well said, B. Well said also Kelly. This has given me a lot to think about.
I actually think the term 'war paint' is even deeper than you're using it here. At least for me.
I wear a pretty minimal amount of make-up, but when I don't have it on I feel literally defenseless: open to attack. I'm not sure why, but I've become used to seeing the world as a dangerous place, and that is just one of my ways to say that I see what's happening, I'm on the alert, I am not weak or child-like or vulnerable. You see this idea a lot in fashion spreads: make-up being used to make a woman look stronger or weaker, younger or more wise, mysterious or dangerous or transparent. It becomes a costume, a way to feel like I can hide my weak places, if only a little bit.
There's also a level on which I like to look pretty in the way that the tribe defines it. Because that gives me social capital, it earns me a certain kind of respect, it says I can keep up with the rules and look good doing so. This is what many of us girls are told practically from birth: beauty is like doing magic, it will give you power, it will enchant, it will help you get your way.
And it's not a false truth: It's been my sad experience that I am often treated better by strangers when I am made-up and dressed well.
So yeah, the idea that we do this at all is kind of gross. (And make-up itself is even MORE gross, which you know if you have ever tried to apply false eyelashes for a play!) But it's a very human thing to do.
Yes! I did use the term "war paint" because of its associations—a protective shield, an intimidating mask, a ritual act before going out to war from which one gains mystical powers—and I'm glad you noticed.
Your points are excellent. And my question now is, does the observation that "it's a very human thing to do" justify us continuing to do so? Is this even something that merits our attention? Or is it just something I like to get on my soapbox about but doesn't actually matter much (I probably have a couple of those)? I don't know... I have a hard time thinking that the "humanness" of a behavior justifies our emulation of it, or especially our encouragement of it (as in the case of the YW activity).
You make a valid point...but I love makeup because I love art, drawing, painting, etc. To me my face is a canvas waiting to be played with...not because of a self esteem thing, but more because I think it's fun. That being said, I love your comments on permanent makeup vs. Tattoos. So true.
Cool. It's nice to see all of the comments. Also, Jill and Lisa, I didn't know y'all were bloggers, so it's awesome that you read and commented. Thanks, everybody.
So, first off, let me just point out that I don't mean this as a criticism of women that wear make-up. It's more of a criticism of the system that makes them feel like they need to wear it. I know it's a pretty complicated thing to escape the brainwashing of the system.
Ok, and now, to the responses. I actually wrote this as a big response to all of the points that you have brought up, but it ended up being too long and Blogger won't let me post it as a single comment. So, it's going to become a series of smaller comments. If you have the endurance to get through it, then I'd definitely appreciate any thoughts. If not, then feel free to skip the boring parts.
I definitely want to address the idea of war paint, because that whole psychology is a very interesting aspect of this for me.
Societies use masks to create an alternate identity for the wearer. This allows bridging of personal boundaries so that the wearer of the mask can do things that they wouldn't normally be able to do, whether because of fear or because of moral convictions. War paint is used because the masked persona doesn't need to have the same problems with killing or being killed that the person behind the mask would have. With the mask the person can act as the new identity and not their own. I think the example when I first learned about this is the scene in "Lord of the Flies" when the boys paint their faces before they go off on their hunt for the wild pig. Painting their faces gave them the ability to kill a living creature, something for which they previously didn't have the heart.
I think this idea definitely applies to the way that make-up is used in our society, but maybe not in the most immediately apparent way. I don't think (most) women use make-up to cross ethical boundaries that they wouldn't normally cross, but they do use it to create an alternate identity. While the woman behind the make-up might be scared and insecure, the make-up creates another woman who sees herself as strong, beautiful, and confident.
So, while war paint creates a temporary, disposable identity for the sake of performing the actions of war, our modern make-up instead disposes of the natural woman and creates a new identity that is more comfortable with the demands that society has created for her.
I hope that comparison doesn't come off as cruel, because I don't mean it that way at all. I don't think what the woman is doing is morally wrong. I think the moral injustice is that our society has taught her to be ashamed of the person behind the mask.
Next in my list of responses is the idea of power that Xarissa brings up. I think Kelly has pointed out to me before that one of the ways that women have found that they can reclaim some power in the male-dominated society is by way of being physically attractive. If that's true then it seems that a woman has some incentive to make herself up to fit society's definition of beauty, even if the woman herself hasn't been brainwashed into accepting that definition of beauty. It's a very interesting point, which I think just indicates a larger problem.
Finally, I think the point that Lisa brings up about make-up is very interesting, too. I think that some women may legitimately view make-up as an art form and not as related to their self-esteem. I think that can also be true in degrees, and probably to the degree that it is true I'd think that it stops being unhealthy. However, I think if that were true of more people then it would take on a very different shape.
For starters, there'd be no reason for it to be different between men and women. Men who appreciated that art form would also paint their faces. As things are now in our society, and as Becca points out, make-up is strictly a female practice. There are a couple of sub-cultures that embrace males wearing make-up, but in those cases it's either as a uniform of their sub-culture (such as goths and some metal fans) or it is precisely because it is a female practice, in the way a gay man might wear it to intentially challenge that gender stereotype. Make-up is not practiced by male artists unless they are also a part of one of those sub-cultures, in which case it has nothing to do with the art itself.
I think the make-up itself would also be different if we really viewed it as an art form. There might be some aspects of make-up that have legitimate artistic principles, like the black outlining "to make your eyes 'pop.'" But if that were used as an artistic principle and not just because it's considered "beautiful", then we'd see similar practices by using bright colors or dramatic shapes to match clothes, features, or even moods and statements. Instead, the make-up that we see is natural colors, applied to areas of the face that make a woman look as though she had natural features that she doesn't necessarily have. I think if make-up were practiced as an art form then it would quickly diverge from the stereotypical image of beauty. I think I have seen some pictures of models where the make-up is applied this way, but I definitely don't think it's true of the way that average women wear their make-up.
That said, I definitely give props to anyone that has the courage to embrace that philosophy and use make-up against the grains of how society prescribes it.
So much juicy stuff here!
Kelly, I left that open precisely b/c I didn't want to offer a justification: simply my personal experience of the issue. But I think that saying we shouldn't emulate it is like saying we shouldn't encourage theft: well, duh. The statement isn't wrong exactly, but I'm not sure how useful it is to keep repeating it. We steal and cheat and deceive for specific reasons, we've been doing it since we started on this planet, and we haven't figured out a way to stop ourselves or each other. What we CAN do is be aware and stop institutionalizing it, in say YW activities. And then go from there.
B, I think you're on the right track, absolutely. It is an identity: often a powerful one. And I don't know why women feel more forced into it than men, but I suppose that "manliness" is expressed in a different kind of mask: an attitude rather than a set of products. (We're neither of us free from the pressure of our culture.) The difference is that us wimminz lay out a lot more cash for it, at least on the make-up front :) Also that, rather than being purely tied to femininity and gender roles, beauty for us is connected to self-worth in a way that many men don't identify with.
And no, I don't think you're being cruel. I like what you have to say about disposing of the natural woman.
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