Up until about 4 months ago, I used to wear makeup every day. Granted, sometimes I would only wear mascara, but still, I NEEDED it. I was hooked to makeup like it was crack. I wouldn't go anywhere without it- not even the gym. I really just didn't like what I looked like without it. I felt ugly a lot of the time. And even with makeup, I had self esteem issues.And then one day I had a revelation. WHO CARES?!? I mean, why was my appearance so important to me? Why did I care so much if other people thought I was attractive? Why was it so important to me that I feel attractive? And to get to the root of the problem, why did I only feel confident about my looks with artificial colors and chemicals painted all over my face? Are my natural looks really so bad?
So I didn't wear any makeup that day. And I didn't wear any makeup the next day. Or the day after. And you know what? It felt pretty good. Not only was I saving valuable time and money, but I felt better about myself. My confidence really began to skyrocket because I wasn't basing my own worth off of my physical appearance. I had always known I had much more to offer than my looks, but if wasn't until I honestly stopped caring, that I truly believed it.
There was such a sense of empowerment when I just stopped caring what other people thought about my looks. I could honestly care less if someone thought I was ugly, or someone thought I was attractive. Physically appearance doesn't mean anything. It doesn't measure someone's worth and is in no way indicative of what they have to offer. It's superficial and vain, and I really didn't want to be a part of that world anymore. And I stopped participating in that caddy life of judging other women by their looks.
With every day that went by, I felt better and better about myself. And I really started thinking about makeup in general, and why I originally wore it, and why most women do wear it. I mean, it's expensive, it's time consuming, and it's bad for your skin. But...It makes us look "better", so that's a good enough reason. For women, looking good seems to outweigh most everything.
From birth, girls are taught to want to be beautiful like a princess. Society places a VERY strong emphasis on a woman's appearance. From her weight, to her clothes, to her hair, to her face, to her body. If you walk through Target, you'll see rows and rows and rows of makeup, made exclusively for women. You'll also see rows of facials cleansers and age defying lotions, made exclusively for women. These products are supposed to improve appearance, but only for women.
Diets and weight loss programs are designed for women. A small percentage are designed for men, and they are always noted as a "men's program." The majority of weight loss programs are designed for women. (Think Jenny Craig & Weight Watchers)
Cosmetic surgery has been booming. In 2008, there were 12.1 million cosmetic procedures performed in the United States. And guess what? 91% of of those cosmetic procedures were for women! That's horrible. Over 12 million Americans felt they needed a cosmetic procedure to look better, and 11 million of those were females. (http://www.plasticsurgery.org/Media/stats/2008-quick-facts-cosmetic-surgery-minimally-invasive-statistics.pdf)
The pressure for women to be thin is worse than ever. It is estimated that 8 million Americans have eating disorders. And 7 million of those are women. 1 in 200 American women suffers from anorexia, and 2-3 in 100 American women suffers from bulimia. (http://www.state.sc.us/dmh/anorexia/statistics.htm)
I remember reading recently that women spend over $400,000 on beauty products in their lifetime. A teen girls spend an average of $200 a month of beauty products. Sheesh. It sure seems that women will sacrifice everything in the name of beauty. She will spend time every morning putting on makeup, she will spend money buying it, she will spend thousands of dollars in one lump sum on cosmetic procedures and endure the pain and health risks of going under the knife and getting a completely unnecessary surgery. She will slowly kill herself with eating disorders, just so she can be the size she thinks she is supposed to be.
I have to say, I don't like these societal beauty standards at all. Women are real people, with real feelings and real talent and real experiences. Women have amazing things to offer and contribute to this world. We're not just pretty faces. We're not just sexual fantasies and play things for male amusement. We don't deserve the pressures of feeling obligated to look great. Men certainly don't have those same pressures. Men can be accepted for who they are and what they look like without having to put on makeup, go on disgusting diets, get needles poked in their faces to get rid of wrinkles, get plastic surgery or throw up after every meal. Why can't women be afforded this same right? Why can't women simply be? Why can't women just be comfortable with what they were born to look like, and say FU to anybody who doesn't like it?
I have not worn any makeup for over 4 months, and I do not intend to wear makeup ever again. I think I look great without it. I gained real confidence through accepting myself for who I actually am, and I have never felt so good about my looks in my life. I don't waste my time or money on that crap anymore. I mean, what is so wrong with what women actually look like? Nothing! But patriarchy still lives on, and society still makes women feel like they NEED to look great, and go to artificial means to achieve this. It is very profitable for cosmetic industries to tear down women's self esteem, and then sell them products that will make them feel good again.
But I think it takes a real sense of security to be able to walk out of the house everyday with your natural face and like the way you look, and not care about pleasing other people, especially men. And it's definitely empowering to rebel against the status quo and sexist beauty standards.
That is why I don't wear makeup.
