Saturday, 14 August 2010

• The Cosmetic Conundrum

  

  I was “watching” The View yesterday (I don’t usually tune in, but I was doing yoga and it seemed like acceptable background noise) and the ladies were discussing the concept of makeup and its role in our society.

  Whoopi informed us that she had never worn anything on her face before becoming a talk show host. She referred to the whole makeup process as somewhat alien and torturous, with eyeliner and mascara being probed at her eyeballs and synthetic colors covering her natural skin tones. She would much rather go without makeup, but felt that she had to succumb to the beauty ritual in order for to be respected as a talk show host and even as a woman in society.

  

  The other ladies on The View more or less agreed with Whoopi – maybe not so much about the alien invasion of beauty products, but about the responsibility they felt to emphasize and perfect their womanly features in order to be taken seriously.

  

  Men have the intrinsic social power of masculinity, and women have makeup to make up for their lack of social influence.

  I don’t consider myself a “feminist,” although I do agree with a lot of the beliefs and opinions they  uphold. And I think that this whole makeup thing is worth thinking about. We’ve all experienced a guy getting ready (shower, shave...and whatever else they do) in about ten to twelve minutes.

  [This does not include the upstanding men on Jersey Shore, who take the “getting ready” process to a whole new level.]

  

  And we’ve all experienced a girl taking an hour plus just to pick out her outfit and shower...and then another good amount of time to deal with the whole hair/makeup issue.

  

  It seems that guys are good to go as is, while girls need to prep and primp and beautify themselves before setting foot outside.

  I went to an all girls high school, so makeup wasn’t really part of the uniform (in fact, it was considered pretty weird if you dolled yourself up for a bunch of girls and nuns). It was very liberating to be able to roll out of bed and go to school “as is.” My catholic school friends would brag to my public school friends about the negligible amount of time it took to get ready in the morning.

  

  But it’s nice to get all dolled up once in a while. Makeup can be fun and creative – it can be an artistic form of self-expression...not just an attempt to perfect and cover up. Just look at Cleopatra – a woman with influence and a passion for the cosmetics.

  

  So what’s the deal with makeup? Is it a necessary crutch for the weaker sex... or a creative and powerful means of expressing and emphasizing one’s feminine features?

  • 11:05 AM
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