I have recently been engaged in quite some conversation about girls wearing make-up, and we always end wondering when did it became an obligation. And we never came up with a satisfactory answer.
Somewhere between high-school and the beginning of working life, there is a turning point when all of us go from wearing some eyeliner at a special Saturday party, to being unable to go out without the full pack of make-up. We can try to convince ourselves that we are no slaves, and that there was once in Summer we spent a whole month without it, or a hangover day we went to the super market skipping the beauty ritual… but once we enter the club, it is hard to get out.
But my concerns go further than this superficial standard. It is not the chemical mask that worries me, but the whole urge or hiding who we really are. Make-up is just the peak of this huge iceberg that obliges us to ‘fit’ in society. Look beautiful. Be fitted. Be polite. Don’t laugh that hard. That is not of your business, stay out of it. Don’t get into troubles. Smile even if you don’t like it.
We live in the constant stress of being liked and accepted by others. And any time we enter in a new group of people (if you take out attention whores from the equation) we hide our real us. It is much safer to analyse the kind of people around while adopting a poker face and maybe later, if we like what we see, we can start letting some of our real personality go out.
What a headache discussion, isn’t it? Recently I discovered Man Repeller, a blog with a hilarious approach to some of this issues. And even if I don’t agree with everything on it, it feels good to see a community trying this hard to show their real personalities. And really, it is so funny to read!
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