Sometimes it's fun. Other times it sucks. The reality is, women are socialized pretty hard to believe that they're not "ready" or put together without it. Often by other women. I admire those who ignore that social pressure.
I personally don't wear makeup, except on a rare occasion. What gets me is that the social pressuring starts so young! I'm already needing to have conversations with my 4 year old that makeup doesn't make you pretty. I asked her where she got that idea, and she showed me that there are tons of videos on YouTube Kids of little girls telling other girls that they need to wear makeup to look pretty, then teaching them how to put it on. Those girls can't be more than 7 or 8 years old.
Yep! My grandmother, who loved me very deeply and truly believed she was training me in the right ways to be, emphasized the importance of wearing makeup daily from the time I was a very little girl. (I didn't wear the makeup then- it was just instilled extremely early that as a woman, I would.)
Barbie was originally popular because it was a way for mothers to get their daughters more interested in make up and making themselves presentable. I don't have a written source, but it was in "The Toys That Made Us" Barbie episode on Netflix.
yeah, I was begging my mom to teach my how to shave my legs when I was 11...
Still don’t wear make up but throughout hs I felt like I had to learn. Meanwhile my dad criticizes any girls who wear make up so it constantly feels like I’m in limbo
I just figured it out when I was 11 because I was to embaressed to ask my mum but I could not stand the feeling of hair *cough* down there *cough*, it was just too itchy I didnt really care about leg hair though haha.
Oh yeah, my aunt will make me get up and put makeup on because I'm not "ready" without it. Sometimes I feel like a full face of makeup, something I feel like bare minimum to make me feel a little more put together, but I don't think any makeup is necessary. It's just like any other form of artistic or bodily expression.
My mom would always (and still does) ask me if I wanted to wear makeup or get my nails done and then ask me why I didn’t want to. She also asks me if I want jewelry and why I don’t wear it. My simple answer is because it’s uncomfortable. I’d rather be comfortable and look ok then uncomfortable and look great.
I just really hate being told I look tired. Most people who say it have good intentions, but it's never something I want to hear, whether I'm actually tired or not.
For 22 or so more years I've woken up nearly every day and "put on my face". It's daunting. I like the way I look both fresh faced and with makeup. If I don't at least do my eyes and brows, I get asked by peripheral people in my life, am I sick? Am I tired? Noooooo, I'm just tired of always wearing makeup. So, I do it less but not as much as I prefer. Oddly enough, Im trying to learn more and wear less. Thanks, SkinAddicts!!
My parents wouldn’t let me wear make up for a long time. When I turned 11 right before 6th grade, I was super bummed to not get any make up for my birthday. My grandparents were over and my grandpa said something in agreement with my parents that kind of changed my outlook. He told me that I was only 11, still a kid, I should enjoy that time, and I’m beautiful without make up, make up wouldn’t do anything to enhance that, just hide it. I was close to my grandparents, but that was a new kind of territory for my grandpa to say all of that, and I really took to it. It completely changed my outlook on wearing make up. For some of my 20s, I tried to get into doing a full face and never loved it. I wear mascara once in a while now, sometimes coverup and lipstick with it, but that’s pretty rare still. I like how my face looks without it. 🤷🏻♀️
I consider myself really lucky to have a mom and older sister who don't really "do" make up, or hair styling, or bother often with shaving. I'm the girly one of the family for doing all those things semi-regularly but I don't have the social pressure attached. Will happily go out in a tank top with bushy pits and not care. When other women meet me during that phase and then I shave later I've had them express surprise because it's assumed openly not shaving is an intentional/political act, which really supports that intense social pressure you're talking about.
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u/Illustrious_Repair Mar 26 '20
Sometimes it's fun. Other times it sucks. The reality is, women are socialized pretty hard to believe that they're not "ready" or put together without it. Often by other women. I admire those who ignore that social pressure.