Natural's Not In It

[happiestsadist]

This one's been floating around for a long, long time. But, as these posts often do, it takes a specific thing to make me point out, once again, that the game is fucking fixed.

So yeah. Makeup. And this damn thing. Ten "scary celebrity closeups" *cue spooky theremin*. All I'm seeing are nine women who adhere to the standards of beauty and Iggy Pop

Comments

[sunsetsinthewes]

Everything about this post is just... word.

[happiestsadist]

Even though I had to defend Zooey Deschanel and Katy Perry, and goddamn it, I hate them both, thanks.

[happiestsadist]

Fuckin' A, nobody looks *amazing* that close up, regardless of make-up. The only time those sorts of shots look good is with perfect lighting and posing or some sorta *`~-magical-~`* good luck and timing.

True that. If you get that close to someone and still think they look amazing, it's generally mostly that you care for them a lot and/or are super attracted to them anyway.

Also, all of those pics are awesome, even if the only things I can tolerate about Amanda Palmer are her eyebrows and resolute pit hair.

Generally, if I find a person attractive (as opposed to a picture of a person), I'll find them attractive most of the time, unless they are unwell, and then I just worry. Morning scruff, all fancied up, some bizarre costume, sexy dishevelment, all good.

[arthur_sc_king]

The only comment I can think of would be to grab this paragraph from towards the end of Atwood's The Edible Woman, where Marian (the protagonist) gets all dolled up by her friend:Marian stared into the egyptian-lidded and outlined and thickly-fringed eyes of a person she had never seen before. She was afraid even to blink, for fear that this applied face would crack and flake with the strain.
        - Atwood, Margaret, The Edible Woman, 1969, p.232.
I suspect most of y'all have read this already, but if you haven't yet, do so. Trust me.

[happiestsadist]

I think there's both a lot of truth to it, and a lot of internalized misogyny and femme-hatred. The enforcement of one ideal of femininity is as much of a problem as the strict enforcement of any other.

I have stayed femme by choice, and at the cost of getting taken seriously as my actual gender. That should mean something.

[kankurette]

I have. I love that book.

[ms_daisy_cutter]

I'm with happiestsadist. Atwood has many good things to say, but that passage displays the Second Wave aversion to any sort of adornment and, more deeply, internalization of society's disdain for anything marked as "feminine." She's echoing the misogynist meme that a woman who wears makeup is somehow deceiving others.

In a way, it's understandable: Women were just coming out of the Mad Men era. But that was a while ago, you know? And I should point out that self-adornment is not strictly female. Consider European courts of the 18th century. Consider tattoos, piercings, and other body mods.

I'm someone who more or less ignores fashion, but I think it's important to distinguish between human desire to dress up on the one hand and the fashion industry (and associated industries like the diet industry), plus social pressures on all women to conform to a very narrow range of options, on the other.

[happiestsadist]

Quite. There's a reason stage makeup is stage makeup.

words.

[rye_bunny]

Am I the only one here who wears make up, like, every day? I have dark circles under my eyes, might as well take care of a few blemishes while I have concealer out. Eye shadow is usually neutral, just shadow play so it looks good, but not like I'm ~wearing make up~. Colour & eye liner if I'm going out. Eyelash curler use is MANDATORY for stepping out in public, on the rare occasion I can't be assed to do anything else. Women are judged on their looks. I know this, and I play that game.

IDK. Basically what I'm trying to say is, Rarity is a my favorite MLP and fuck anyone who hates her for being too girly or "high maintenance".

Re: words.

[happiestsadist]

I don't anymore, but I see no earthly reason to judge. As I said elsewhere in the comments here, the world is judgy and while the game is rigged, it's still there, and though winning isn't really possible, it can still be fun to play.

That said, I don't go out with my nails chipped, so. Those are an everyday kind of requirement. And I am maybe a makeup obsessive who need to get off their ass and start that makeup blog. (I have very vehement opinions on makeup for a reason.)

"High maintenance" is douchebag code for "makes me resent the level of their appearance I am appreciating by acknowledging that it is work".

Also, fuck yeah, eyelash curlers.

Re: words.

[starphotographs]

That said, I don't go out with my nails chipped, so. Those are an everyday kind of requirement.

Hee! My requirement is that I re-paint as soon as it seems like there's going to be more nail than polish showing. That "nooooooo, my hands are gonna be blank! :(" reaction. XD

The hard end bits of my fingers need to be a color worth idly staring at when I have nothing else to occupy me. :P

Re: words.

[happiestsadist]

I find that if my polish is chipped, I get to picking it, which leads to general hand-picking, and then they're all hurty and unhappy.