Should Men Wear Make-up?

[RabbitLuvr]

I probably ate a lot of lipstick today.

 

[Calliegirl]

Lipstick on the cups, that brings back memories. My mother always left lipstick on the coffee mugs, you always knew which one was hers.

 

[Ansciess]

The "should" for me would be people "shouldn't" treat others poorly for doing what they like so much as they're not hurting anyone.

I can't imagine anyone here disagrees with that, so unless corrected I will assume it's a general statement, and not that you're trying to imply that the argument here is between having no political analysis of make-up vs. having a political analysis and treating others poorly.

I also think people "shouldn't" treat others poorly when they have an intellectual disagreement. And I assume that everyone agrees with that sentiment too.

 

[cornsail]

It seems that there is a cultural/societal overemphasis on the way women look as a measure of their value. Even little girls are complimented on their looks a lot more than little boys. Then there's advertizing, magazine covers, articles about how supposedly unattractive famous women are without makeup and so on. And men who aren't attractive in the traditional sense seem to have much more prominence in TV and film. Appearance based insults also seem to be used more against women than men. There are exceptions to everything I'm saying of course, but I'm talking about general trends and norms. Overall, I think this is a bad thing. I'm not saying that people should not care about their appearance, not care about other people's appearances and never compliment anyone on their looks. That's why I'm saying "overemphasis" rather than "any emphasis at all" .

Is the beauty industry simply capitalizing on the high degree of importance placed on women's looks or is it also contributing to it? If it is contributing is it a significant contributor or is it insignificant compared to other things? I think these are interesting questions that I don't know the answers to.

 

[kazyeeqen]

The text that I accented really strikes a chord with me. I am annoyed with myself because I place so much of "who I am" on how I look. I don't mean to get so personal, but it's difficult when you are one of the ones who isn't necessarily "pretty". And I'm not talking about a skewed sense of self image. When makeup can help accent 1-2 positive features that you may have, so that even though you may not be pretty, you can look and feel somewhat cute or attractive, it's hard to give that up. And it gets harder the older I get. Especially when society is throwing all kinds of beautiful people and expectations at us at every turn. I don't know about anyone else, but I've been on earth for a while and it is very apparent to me that, outside of family and really close friends, we are judged by our appearance. And that is sad. Very, very sad. Anyway, not sure if I went way off topic as I did not read the entire thread.

I completely agree. I especially agree with how sad it is.

Also, in my experience, (and of course I can only live in my own body) whether one is confidant about their looks has very little to do with how objectively attractive (if there exists such a measure, and I for one don't believe there does) one is. People feel fat no matter how much they weight or ugly no matter how attractive other people think they are.

 

[mary1]

I can't imagine anyone here disagrees with that, so unless corrected I will assume it's a general statement, and not that you're trying to imply that the argument here is between having no political analysis of make-up vs. having a political analysis and treating others poorly.

I also think people "shouldn't" treat others poorly when they have an intellectual disagreement. And I assume that everyone agrees with that sentiment too.

I'm simply replying to the original question posed by this thread...If others want to have a political discussion about it then by all means, but I'm not getting in middle! Too intense for me. I come to VV to chat with friendlies and drool over Today's Vegan Menu.

Um. And yes, be nice. ^.^

 

[Ansciess]

I understand Mary, no worries

 

[sequoia]

I really don't like equating wearing makeup and doing traditionally "feminine" things with being a woman. That **** has nothing to do with being a woman and looking down on it doesn't mean you look down on women. It means you look down on the roles and behaviors that we've been manipulated into performing.

No, men shouldn't wear makeup.

lmao at "make-up shaming".

 

[Envy]

If they want to.

 

[FortyTwo]

Just putting some things out there that need to be put out there.

ETA: Oops, Lambert appeared a bit gigantic. Sorry, smart phone users.

 

[Envy]

I think he would do better without mascara.

 

[FortyTwo]

I think he would do better without mascara.

Which one, you insufferable troll?

Spoiler

 

[Freesia]

Probably an unpopular opinion, but I dont have a problem with a man wearing makeup as such, but if he does wear makeup I would like it to make him look masculine.

For example a bit of eyeliner I think looks dramatic on a male goth and doesnt detract from masculinity, but if a guy wears full eye makeup and lipstick and sort of ordinary male clothes I would feel like I was talking to a woman and I would not really find it attractive.

Perhaps that makes me a sexist pig. I like guys who range from "masculine looking" to those who are of the effeminate variety but I kind of have a limit to how much makeup, and the type of makeup I would want to see them wearing if they were someone I would be into.

*waits for hailstorm of comments about being a shallow female chauvinist*

 

[Freesia]

Probably a good example of men who I think do makeup well: David Bowie, or Robert Smith from the Cure.

 

[sequoia]

i think there's a difference between performers wearing makeup for theatrics and people wearing makeup in day-to-day situations, tho.

ultimately though, i don't really care either way. i don't think it's a step toward "equality" or gender abolition or anything, but whatever.

 

[FortyTwo]

Probably an unpopular opinion, but I dont have a problem with a man wearing makeup as such, but if he does wear makeup I would like it to make him look masculine.

For example a bit of eyeliner I think looks dramatic on a male goth and doesnt detract from masculinity, but if a guy wears full eye makeup and lipstick and sort of ordinary male clothes I would feel like I was talking to a woman and I would not really find it attractive.

Perhaps that makes me a sexist pig. I like guys who range from "masculine looking" to those who are of the effeminate variety but I kind of have a limit to how much makeup, and the type of makeup I would want to see them wearing if they were someone I would be into.

*waits for hailstorm of comments about being a shallow female chauvinist*

Nah, that's a personal attractive preference. As long as you aren't saying "men should never wear feminine makeup EVER because I don't find it attractive" you're good to go.

 

[FortyTwo]

Okay, honest opinion here. I think people should do whatever makes them happy. Whether that's complying by standards that some (rightfully) deem oppressive or breaking them in the name of nonconformity and personal happiness, it's good by me. I don't think makeup is excluded from this at all. If the standard is so terrible - and it is, don't get me wrong, any kind of beauty standard is harmful because it tends to shame those who don't follow it - then why not attack the standard rather than the product? It seems to me like quite a few people are jumping on the "makeup in general sucks" bandwagon...

 

[sequoia]

There's such a strong tendency, on this thread and elsewhere, to take the position that wearing makeup is a choice an individual makes purely as an individual, that societal norms and expectations play no role in that decision.*

I can't think of a better way to test that than for you, all the men on VV, and the male SO's of the female members of VV, to wear bright red lipstick for the next several weeks. Lipstick is the most common and basic cosmetic, and a red one leaves no doubt that it's being worn.

It would make for a great social experiment about how independently made personal decisions about makeup really are.

*The same goes for the changing surnames upon marriage issue. No one's decision to change surname upon marriage has had anything to do with societal expectations - it's a mere mathematical accident that about 98% of American women take their husband's name upon marriage, while the number of men who change their name is so small as to be statistically insignificant.

great post

 

[Freesia]

I have no doubt that the next few generations of young people will enjoy bending and breaking all the gender roles and things will be a lot more fluid. I know if I ever had a son or daughter I would let them dress how they like. I like how Angelina Jolie for example lets her daughter wear army pants and have short hair because that is how she wants to look. And her other daughter wears dresses because that is what she wants.

 

[Freesia]

Another example of a male who is wearing lipstick and also face foundation and eye makeup which is outside my comfort zone is a clown.
A man is well within his rights to dress as a clown, but I am not sure if I would be attracted to that.

Then again I am sure there are people with clown fetishes, so I am sure they would be able to find eligible partners.