Using makeup doesn't hide women's 'real'

beauty, it hides the labor that goes into

meeting beauty standards
We’ve bought into the notion that it’s not just desirable but mandatory to invest in the
charade of what 'real women' look like.

Let’s be clear about something: looking pretty, by American beauty standards, takes a lot of
effort — no matter how genetically gifted you may be.Gpointstudio / Getty Images/Image Source
Nov. 6, 2018, 5:25 PM PST
By Lux Alptraum

For all the benefits secured by women who deftly wield a makeup brush or wig or
shapewear, there’s a danger that comes with being too good at transforming one’s self
into the ideal image of female beauty.
In January 2015, makeup artist Andreigha Wazny posted two photos of her
friend Ashley VanPevenage, one showing VanPevenage without makeup, the next
showing her with a fully made-up, high-glamour face. The transformation is stark:
VanPevenage’s skin goes from blemished to flawless, her nose appears to change shape,
her eyebrows darken and fill out, and her eyes — now framed by dark, smoky eye
shadow and lustrous black lashes — seem brighter and more radiant.

To anyone familiar with the transformative power of makeup, there was nothing
particularly surprising about these before and after shots. But when they went viral,
launching out of the orbit of makeup social media and into the mainstream internet,
things took a dark turn.
Lux Alptraum's "Faking It: The Lies Women Tell about Sex -— And the Truths They
Reveal"Courtesy Seal Press

A few weeks after Wazny posted the photos, a Twitter user reposted them with the
caption “The reason why you gotta take a bitch swimming on the first date,” an outing
that would presumably wash away a woman’s makeup and reveal her “true” face. (The
phrase, it should be noted, did not originate with this user, but seemed to explode in
popularity subsequent to this exchange.)

The implication of the phrase, which eventually turned into a meme itself, was clear:
Women are trying to deceive men, using the various tricks of the beauty industry to lure
unsuspecting paramours into relationships. A man who isn’t careful — who takes the
object of his affection at face value, so to speak — can easily wind up saddled to a woman
who’s merely faking the attractive exterior that drew him to her in the first place.
Women, it’s implied, are inherently deceitful, and those who manage to secure through
makeup what they were denied by nature deserve to be revealed.

For women, the world of beauty often presents a difficult, if not outright impossible,
situation to navigate. Eschew cosmetics entirely, and you’ll likely be scorned for not
caring enough about your appearance; put too much faith in the power of physical
transformation, and suddenly you’re a grotesque caricature of vanity as well as a portrait
of deceit.

There is, in theory, an optimal amount of effort that deftly balances looking attractive
with not caring too much about your appearance, but where that perfect mix is can be
pretty hard to pinpoint — and where, exactly, it lies depends a lot on what sort of looks
you were born with.

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“Take a bitch swimming on the first date” may be one of the more vicious male
commentaries on female makeup use, but it’s hardly the only one. Men have long
declared themselves the arbiters of acceptable application of makeup, and the internet is
filled with anti-makeup screeds that use photos to illustrate the argument that women
who are unadorned and au naturel look far better than “cakefaces” who bury their skin
under layers of product.

Why the animosity toward makeup? Some of it is undoubtedly due to a suspicion that
women who wear makeup are trying to hide something (presumably a hideous
appearance), but there’s also a vague sense that women who eschew cosmetics are of an
entirely different — and more desirable — breed than their bedecked peers. A "Men’s
Health" piece offering itself up as “an ode to natural beauty” presents a collection of
reasons why bare faces are better; for readers of "Men’s Health" it’s clear that makeup
isn’t just makeup.

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According to the experts cited in the piece, going makeup-free makes women seem more
confident, more innocent, and more “primal” and sexy (how a lack of makeup
simultaneously makes women seem less sexually experienced and more “primal” is a
mystery to me), as well as suggesting that they’re outdoorsy, approachable, and
down-to-earth. The general sentiment — which pervades virtually all arguments against
makeup — seems to be that women who eschew beauty culture are more authentic and,
as a result, inherently better partners.

Which, I suppose, makes it that much more ironic that the photos chosen to illustrate
this celebration of going makeup-free are all stock images secured from Thinkstock —
photos that, unsurprisingly, are definitely showcasing women who are wearing makeup.
This isn’t just a mistake on the part of "Men’s Health"; it’s a common trait of articles
claiming to celebrate going makeup-free.

If anything, men who try to use photos to “prove” they hate makeup are more likely to
offer up a demonstration of how little they know about how makeup works and what
role it plays in many women’s daily routines. The “makeup-free” women celebrated by
men are rarely truly makeup-free; rather, they’re either wearing sparse amounts of
carefully applied product or employing the oxymoronic cosmetic strategy known as
“natural makeup.”

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For those not steeped in the lingo of fashion magazines, practitioners of the natural
makeup look use cosmetics to create a visage perhaps best described as “you, but
better.” There’s a great deal of emphasis placed on making the skin look flawless; blush,
subtle eye shadow, muted lipstick, and mascara all come into play to help make facial
features pop and add depth and definition to features that might not stand out without
cosmetic assistance. It’s a look that’s supposed to suggest effortless beauty, but as
anyone who’s actually put it into practice can tell you, it often takes more effort than a
heavier, obviously made-up look.

Devoting the better part of an hour to making yourself look as if you’re not wearing
makeup at all may seem like a counterproductive task, but for women with acne scars or
eye bags or unwanted facial hair, it can be a way to feel pretty without looking overly
made-up. When I ask Baze Mpinja, a former beauty editor for "Glamour," for her
thoughts on the look, she offers another possibility for its popularity. Natural makeup,
she tells me, allows women to conform to conventional beauty standards without
advertising the fact that they’re trying.

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“You’re supposed to hide the work that goes into looking pretty,” Mpinja notes. “If you
admit how much effort you’re putting in, it begs the question why.” Specifically it
suggests that you’re vain or desperate for male attention, undesirable qualities even
within a society that teaches women to measure their worth by the amount of attention
men give them for their appearances.

But let’s be clear about something: Looking pretty, by American beauty standards, takes
a lot of effort — no matter how genetically gifted you may be. Even if you’re blessed with
clear skin and an even complexion, thick, healthy hair, long, dark eyelashes a stunning
bone structure and enviably pouty lips, to be considered truly beautiful requires
adherence to all manner of painful, time-consuming rituals designed to remake the
female body into an artificially soft, smooth, and hairless “ideal.”

And if you’re not white, it’s that much harder: The faces and features most readily
celebrated in our culture all hew to a Eurocentric beauty standard.

What kind of work goes into being pretty? The first episode of the CW’s "Crazy
Ex-Girlfriend" offers a glimpse into some of the complicated, and at times grotesque,
practices that have been normalized by American beauty culture. As Rachel Bloom
performs “The Sexy Getting Ready Song,” an R & B tribute to the work women put into
physically prepping themselves for a romantic encounter, a variety of ablutions are
depicted on-screen. Among those that make an appearance are eyebrow plucking, nose
hair plucking, heel buffing, donning Spanx, exfoliating facial skin, curling eyelashes,
curling hair, bleaching facial hair, and — in a scene that ends with a shot of blood
spattered on the bathroom wall —self-administered waxing of the hair inside her
buttocks.

Though the beauty rituals are played for comic effect, they’re very much rooted in
reality; indeed, some women’s cosmetic routines are far more punishing than what
makes it into the song.

So much about the ideal women are taught to aspire to — the gravity-defying yet ample
breasts, the silky smooth skin, the muscular yet buxom body — is an artificial construct,
effortlessly available to only a tiny minority of women (if to any of us at all); for the rest
of us, achieving the look takes a staggering amount of work. Any woman who’s tried to
be pretty knows exactly how much time, effort, and pain are required to adhere to
beauty standards.

Against Plastic Surgery

It is not a secret that the standards of

beauty nowadays are rather strict and demanding. No matter what combatants
against discrimination say, appearances that match the existing beauty standards
remain one of the crucial characteristics of a modern individual. People who are
discontent with their appearances have different ways of improving the way they
look, such as makeup, clothes, or being in harmony with themselves. However, there
is a more radical alternative, which is effective in terms of changing the way a person
looks like, but is highly debated and should be abstained from in the majority of
cases: plastic surgery.
The foremost reason for not getting plastic surgery is that this procedure can become
highly addictive (Huffington Post). Although a person might think they would do a
single improvement, the temptation to keep “adjusting” one’s appearance can
become overwhelming and lead to unpredictable and often sad results. The
best examples of this are women like Cindy Jackson (who got 55 plastic surgeries,
which is a world record), or Jocelyn Wildenstein, who is rumored to have spent about
4 million dollars on plastic surgeries. The “before and after” photos of her can be
found online easily, so you can make your conclusions looking at the results of the
numerous plastic surgeries she has undergone. Janice Dickinson, Michael Jackson,
Courtney Love, and other famous personalities who had undergone plastic surgeries
can also be good examples of why this kind of surgery should be abstained from.

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Plastic surgery does not solve the main problem of the person who decides to
undergo it, which is being discontent with his or her appearance. Such a person
should rather focus on solving his or her inner problems, and should pay more
attention to what is going on within themselves rather than on the surface of
their bodies (MindBodyGreen). In the case of an aging person, it might be the fear
of death or the feeling that they do not have a youthful appearance anymore that
causes them to change their appearance. If a person is obese, they should consider
changing their diet and lifestyle rather than doing a liposuction. There is also a
serious psychological disorder called dysmorphophobia—the major symptom is being
severely unsatisfied with one’s appearance, body parts, or body as a whole.
Anyways, visiting a psychologist or a psychotherapist could be more useful and
satisfying than having your face redesigned.

It is important to remember that plastic surgery is something that remains with you
forever (dbreath.com). You cannot return to your natural look if you feel discontent
with the surgery. You will have to do another surgery to look similar to your original
self, or try to improve on your previous plastic surgery. Moreover, if you try to keep
up with fashion trends, you will lose the race, because trends change, and your
appearance remains. What is natural is almost always better than the artificial, and
deep inside you will know that the way you used to look before the surgery was
better. However, it is necessary to distinguish between cosmetic and reconstructive
surgery. In case of accidents, when a person’s appearance is ruined, reconstructive
surgery is indeed necessary and helpful.

Plastic surgery in its cosmetic aspect should be abstained from. Changing and
improving one’s appearance can become addictive, so a person might feel a
 constant desire to undergo surgeries; also, this desire is usually caused by issues
with well-being, which a psychologist could help out with better than a surgeon. You
cannot undo plastic surgery, so once you undergo it, you will have to live with it
forever. Be yourself, and see the beauty you hold naturally.

References

Shah, Yagana. “4 Good Reasons to Never Get Plastic Surgery.” The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 07 Aug. 2014. Web. 14 Oct. 2014.

“Why You Should Say NO to Plastic Surgery & Botox.” MindBodyGreen. N.p., n.d.
Web. 14 Oct. 2014.

“The Top 5 Reasons You Should NOT Have Plastic Surgery.” The Top 5 Reasons
You Should NOT Have Plastic Surgery. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2014.

The fight against cosmetic surgery

Julie E. de Moissac

Copyright and License information Disclaimer

An interesting discussion regarding tail docking and ear cropping has been circulating around the
veterinary community recently in this country. It has been an illegal practice in Newfoundland
for many years, and the CVMA has had a position statement regarding this practice for some
time that states: “The CVMA opposes surgical alteration of any animal, for purely cosmetic
purposes.”
New Brunswick kick-started the debate earlier this year by taking this position statement and
turning it into a bylaw, making it unprofessional conduct for its members to perform these
services. This move immediately got the attention of the Canadian Kennel Club (CKC), which
promptly requested a meeting with the CVMA Animal Welfare Committee (AWC). The AWC,
whose previous request for a meeting with the CKC regarding breed standards had been ignored,
agreed to meet. The CKC informed the AWC that its members had voted not to change any of
the breed standards, even though veterinarians in part of the country would no longer be
performing these services. The same tail docking and ear cropping debate occurred in
Saskatchewan this spring, with the proposed bylaw tabled until their next AGM.
Meanwhile, the American veterinary conglomerate, Banfield, has adopted the American
Veterinary Medical Association’s recent position statement against cosmetic surgery and is no
longer performing these operations in any of its over 500 facilities. I think we can all agree that
snipping off puppies ears and tails serves no purpose other than to satisfy some archaic notion of
how a dog should look by an out-of-touch institution. Refusing to participate in these procedures
would show animal welfare leadership by veterinarians and send a clear message to the kennel
clubs.
The main argument against this movement is that if we don’t do it then some untrained
individual will. That may well be the case in some instances, but I believe that most dog owners
would be quite willing to have a cocker spaniel with a tail or a great dane with natural ears. In
fact, I’m quite sure that most of the pet-owning public does not even realize that cocker spaniel’s
tails are docked as puppies and think that they are born that way. We have a huge role in
educating the public about cosmetic surgery in particular, and animal welfare in general. If the
general population of veterinarians refuses to tail dock and ear crop, and if the public is educated
to refuse to have these alterations done, then breed standards in the show ring will have to
change.
The CVMA is in the process of generating an educational pamphlet that will be mailed out to the
membership, depicting pictures of dogs with unaltered tails and ears. Watch for it in the near
future.
So, do we move toward the elimination of cosmetic surgery by developing bylaws, or do we
adopt position statements within our individual practices? Bylaws are laws made and enforced
by self-governing bodies and definitely get attention and generate much healthy debate. They
also give individual veterinarians support when dealing with bullying clients. Position
statements, on the other hand, are developed by a group of knowledgeable individuals acting as
spokespeople for the group. They are not enforceable by regulatory bodies but can become part
of an individual practice philosophy. Either way, it’s not difficult to argue that the welfare of
animals must be paramount, and that surgical alteration for merely cosmetic reasons needs to
end.
4 Good Reasons To Never Get Plastic
Surgery

By Yagana Shah

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A smaller nose, perkier breasts, a tighter tummy — from time to time, many of
us find ourselves scrutinizing our bodies and wondering if perfecting our
appearance would make life just a little bit more, well, perfect. We’d be lying if
we said we’d never gone on some crazy crash diet to whittle our waists or
used a pricey cream to tone our décolletage, but for some, it’s an obsession
that extends much further: to plastic surgery. But what you may not realize is
the price of perfection goes deeper than your pockets.

Here are four reasons you should seriously reconsider going under the knife:

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1. It’s pricey.

According to the American Academy of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Americans

spent over $7 billion last year in surgical procedures alone. Another
$5 billion was spent on non-surgical procedures, like injectables, and skin
rejuvenation services. Nearly a third of surgical procedures were performed
on patients over 50. The most popular procedures for post 50s? Liposuction,
eyelid surgery, and facelifts. And it doesn’t come cheap. On average, a facelift
costs over $6,500. A tummy tuck? Over $5,000. A nose job? Over $4,000.
That’s a few months mortgage payment. Or a vacation or two, or more.

Factor in any time you have to take off from work to recover (or hide), and
what you’ll have to pay for touch-up procedures if you’re not happy with the
results. Plus, not all surgery is permanent. Things like breast implants aren’t
forever. According to the FDA, one in five women will have to have their
implants removed within eight to 10 years because of complications. At
around $3,000 bucks a pop, you’re talking more than chump change.

2. It can be addictive.

Sure, you’ll think it’s just this one time — that’s probably what Joan said. But
countless plastic surgery addicts have said the same thing. In 2011, Cindy
Jackson, broke the world record for having the most cosmetic procedures.
(Yes, there’s a World Record for that.) Jackson, 55 at the time, has spent
around $100,000 on procedures including facelifts, nose jobs, and lipo since
she first started in 1988. “I didn’t set out to break, to set a world record, it was
never my ambition, it’s just that I had so much done,” she said in an interview
with ABC.

“It’s not an official diagnosis,” psychiatrist Katharine Phillips at Rhode Island’s

Butler Hospital told People. “But certainly patients can feel very driven to get
cosmetic procedures; that it is their only hope.” According to Phillips, while
body dysmorphic disorder affects under 5 percent of Americans, it affects up
to 15 percent of cosmetic surgery patients.

Think about when you try to dye your hair and don’t like the results. What do
you do? You try to fix it with more hair dye. More often than not, the results
just aren’t pretty.
3. It’s risky business.

Like you diligently read the warning labels on medications and beauty
products (we hope), so should you be aware of the risks related to cosmetic
procedures. You may not have known, but pre-existing conditions, like heart
disease, diabetes, obesity, or even a smoking habit, can all interfere and
cause complications, putting your health at risk. According to the Mayo Clinic,
there are multiple risks, as with any surgery. Scars, nerve damage, infections,
and blood clots are all possible complications.

Breast implants in particular can have a multitude of complications. While you

may expect larger, perkier, more attractive breasts, asymmetry, deflation, or
rippling can occur, worsening the appearance. And if you’re seeking a quick
fix for your saddlebags, liposuction likely won’t remove your fat forever. A
2011 study at the University of Colorado Denver found the fat you lose, often
rebounds just a year later, and reappears with a vengeance, particularly on
your tummy and arms. Yeesh.
4. You might be unhappy with the results.

You only have one body, and once you change it through cosmetic surgery,
things will never really be the same again. You might think you’ve got nothing
to lose, but surveys have shown that that’s not always the sentiment you’ll
have after. In fact, one study showed that facelifts, brow lifts, and eye lifts
don’t really make you more attractive.

A study by the Aesthetic Surgery Institute found that just under a third of
patients were unhappy with some aspect of their facelift. A Norwegian study
found that adolescent girls who underwent cosmetic surgery were more likely
to show symptoms of anxiety and depression, which researchers concluded,
means cosmetic surgery won’t fix any underlying mental health problems
which drive you to it.

Plus if things wind up poorly, chances are, you might be even unhappier than
you were to start with.

So, love yourself, and leave your pretty face alone.