What are we, as women, told is feminine? Long, shiny, voluminous, bouncy, non-frizzy hair. Long, dark, curly eyelashes. Long, hairless, tanned/not tanned legs. Full, colorful lips. Rosy cheeks; dewy complexion. Smokey, defined eyes. Perky breasts. Slim and defined waist. Oh yeah. We are told that looking young is the most important thing of all.
Of course, there is a plethora of products to help women achieve these so called feminine traits. We have all heard the statistic of how many billions of dollars U.S. Americans spend on beauty products, but do we really think about it? Do we think about the consequences, the implications?
You can buy self tanner, skin whitening cream, rouge, blush, straightening irons, curling irons, push up bras, waist cinchers, lip gloss, eyelash curlers (which look like a freaking medieval torture device), cover-up, foundation and powder (We already have skin, for crying out loud! And men aren't concerned with covering up "imperfections" with makeup...), shavers, hair-removal cream, hair-removal foam, hair dye, hair shine treatments, eyelash growth medication, tummy-control tights, lip-plumper lipstick, eyebrow waxing, eyebrow flossing (I don't even want to know how that works). I am not so big into this crap, so I am sure there are many products I am overlooking.
We are often told to 'enhance our natural beauty'. What is wrong with our actual beauty? I think men for sure, and hopefully some women would agree that the unpoked, unplucked, unmade female form is unbelievably beautiful. As is the natural male form.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to look your best, but why does your best have to be SO EXPENSIVE?
How convenient that there is a SHITLOAD of money to be made off women being insecure with their own, natural bodies. Why would anyone with money to be made off making women insecure about their bodies (beauty supply companies, fashion magazines etc..) have any motivation to really want to improve the lives of women? In three words: they would not.
Women: you are beautiful on your own. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise. Why would anyone tell you otherwise? Because they have power over you and want to make sure they keep that power.
You can not imagine how long I've been looking for you! When you left VCU theatre, about the same time I did, I wondered what on earth you were going to do. You may not remember me, I'm Alison the older lady whom VCU theatre suggested take 30 credit hours if I actually wanted to get into their grad school. I never went. I didn't think that the theatre world could support one more starving artist. But I am still in Richmond. I'm glad to see you're okay.
ReplyDeleteAlison