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[–] [Deleted] 38 points Edited

This. I am so irritated with "makeup is actually totally feminist guyz " culture right now. Makeup brands can put as many ugly men in lipstick and eyeshadow as they want in their adds. They can name their lipsticks "empowering" names and hire Hollywood approved feminists (who aren't actually feminists in any sense of the word) like Emma Watson and Zendaya to make coquettish faces at the camera and talk about how the $32 foundation you're thinking of buying changed their life while in reality they wouldn't let something so cheap touch their pure, born with a golden spoon stuck directly up their asses, selves.

But nothing can hide the fact that makeup is there simply to tell women that their natural state is just not good enough. At the end of the day, that's what makeup is. You're ugly. Pay us $100 and maybe we can help you look presentable and worthy of being viewed by the world.

It will never be a feminist industry. No matter how much delusional libfems tie themselves in knots to defend it.
[–] MissBehaved 16 points

Exactly. I wear makeup but I don't try to convince myself that it is a feminist choice. Sometimes I like the creativity of makeup, but I know that if there was no expectation of women to wear it, that I also probably would never wear it outside of Halloween. And to spend hundreds on it every year, as some women do, I just can't fathom how they don't view that as the oppression it is.

[–] danaseilhan 10 points

Especially when we earn less than men do!

I get so angry when I see people (mostly, but not all, men) denying that. I have seen the Bureau of Labor Statistics tables. Even kindergarten teachers -- there were so few men in the profession when I looked over the stats that their total number was represented with an asterisk. They STILL get paid more than female K teachers do.

And based on that lower pay we're supposed to spend more money on looks? Uh. NO.
[–] Stealthygal 14 points

Yup. Makeup is fun and humans have enjoyed adorning themselves for a very long time but it's not necessarily feminist.

I do think that if we loved our bodies we would still indulge in things that make our bodies feel nice, like oils and moisturising creams and balms.
[–] Positronic_waves 1 points

I don't. Makeup works as image, I would prefer people go wild like that 1 sec movement where people distorted their faces rather than slather unnecessary oils. They don't make you feel good, it's merchandising making you believe that. If you need to slather anything aloe works for most uses.
[–] Stealthygal 7 points

Aloe is not available in a lot of places - not without the industrial complex anyway.

It's also poisonous to cats.

I think I'll stick with using whatever I happen to like as an emollient on my desert-dry skin, should the need arise which it sometimes does.
[–] Burn_that 1 points

The more I focus on keeping my skin healthy and moisturized ( including drinking lots of water), the less makeup I use. I haven't used foundation since before the pandemic. Most days it's just a little mascara and lip balm and I'm good to go.

[–] intervention butTERFly 22 points

And that's why healthy self love is an excellent form of rebellion against the system.
[–] otterstrom 7 points

yes! we so often look for big, spectacular acts. us. we are the forefront. we matter greatly.
[–] disappointed disappointed 21 points

it's just not fair how men are not expected to wear makeup or dress in tight, uncomfortable clothing or wear shoes that damage their posture.
[–] IronicWolf 7 points

Just think how patriarchy in general would dwindle. So much of it is built on men making women insecure about themselves, competing against other women, and making women strive to look as men would like them to look. If women collectively just went ‘don’t like my saggy boobs and hairy legs? Fine’ men collectively would have a breakdown. One of their major powers is making women think their approval matters. Also they’d still thirst after women just as much even without silicon breasts, extensions, and fake nails.

[–] ProxyMusic 10 points

Great quote. Gail Dines is brilliant and spot on.

Still, I think she's setting the bar unnecessarily high by suggesting that a lot of industries would go out of business if women "really liked their bodies."

Girls and women's lives would be greatly improved, and the world would change massively, if girls and women "merely" stopped disliking and hating our bodies and and girls and women en masse decided to stop spending so much time and energy focusing on, and worrying about, all the perceived flaws in our physical appearance and trying to improve how our physical selves look.

Girls and women really liking our bodies is not necessary for a revolution to occur. Simply becoming accepting of and non-judgmental about our bodies would do the trick - along with shifting girls' and women's focus away from how our female bodies look to how our female bodies feel, how our female bodies work, what our female bodies can do and achieve, and how physically healthy we are.

[–] Positronic_waves 4 points Edited

Now I'm getting plenty of ads in FB of positive gyms, sport classes bc you love your body! This people are not going out of business. they just will change focus.

[–] otterstrom 4 points Edited

right the acceptance/neutrality v. positivity vibe, I get it. most people haven't thought that deeply about it, they only think on/off, yes/no, like/hate, & so I think this language is useful as an intro
[–] ProxyMusic 3 points Edited

But isn't the "body positivity" ethos still all/mostly about being positive about how your body looks? And what bodies weight? isn't "body positivity" usually focused on people with relatively young and youthful bodies?

[–] otterstrom 1 points Edited

So body positivity was a, let’s call it a movement that was about learning to love your body no matter what shape it’s in, not just if you meet beauty standards. But what people found, and especially mental health professionals found is that it’s a really difficult task. How do you love or feel positively toward your body when you don’t really have control over how you feel? So as a counter the concept by neutrality was introduced. So the shift happened that we went from saying you need to look at your thighs and think that they’re beautiful and feel good about your body, too instead more of what you’re talking about, which is to maybe not give so much of a fuck about your body to have a truce with your body to focus on function not form to let yourself feel whatever you feel but deemphasize the evaluation/judgement (pos or neg) as a meaningful part of your existence.
[–] hmimperialtortie 1 points

Or simply stopped disliking our bodies to the level where we feel the urge buy stuff to disguise them.
[–] f_by_nature 5 points

Our bodies, our appearance generally, our whole selves, our skills - if women as a class suddenly and completely felt self-confidence and self-acceptance, my god. Things would change.
[–] friedparata 3 points

lots of plastic surgeons. and i mean lots of them.
[–] otterstrom 3 points

if this really happened, I guarantee you surgeons would pour SOOOOO much $ into lobbyist fighting to relabel PS as insurance-covered medication for: depression, anxiety, blah blah everything blah
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