Girls and Makeup

Postmodernism is all about images and how we perceive them, and image is also something many teenagers (and adults) struggle with. For girls especially, the importance of image and physical appearance is constantly being pushed in our faces, and the biggest profiter off teenage girls’ desire to keep up their image is the cosmetics industry.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love makeup - I think it’s so much fun to play and experiment with, provided you are doing so under your own volition, and not because you think you won’t be beautiful without it. But it’s a fact that a lot of girls feel obligated to wear makeup because so many sources, from media to our peers to especially the makeup companies themselves, are constantly telling us that makeup is absolutely necessary.

I recently read this great article, about one woman’s experience going without makeup for a week, and I thought the points and observations she made were really interesting. I encourage everyone, not just girls, to check it out.

Does this mean I’m going to give up makeup forever? No. Like I said, I really do enjoy using makeup, and I’m not going to stop doing something that makes me happy just because it’s not necessary. But I will try to keep in mind that it really is unnecessary, and that going without it won’t make me ugly - and more importantly, it won’t make me less smart, or less creative, or less of a capable person.