mason@utcsrgv.UUCP (Dave Mason) (09/04/83)
Why do women wear makeup? I don't find it increasing the attractiveness
of women to me (though it doesn't bother me much either (unlike some male
friends of mine)) and seems to be a significant waste of time.
Is it (as seems to me) for the same reason I drink Carlsberg Light? ie. that
Madison Avenue is just conning us?
-- Gandalf's flunky Hobbit -- Dave Mason, U. Toronto CSRG,
{cornell,watmath,ihnp4,floyd,allegra,utzoo,uw-beaver}!utcsrgv!mason
or {decvax,linus,lsuc,research}!utzoo!utcsrgv!mason (UUCP)stanwyck@ihuxr.UUCP (09/06/83)
It seems that the primary purpose of makeup is to give a woman a psychological lift toward feeling more attractive. Many people (men and women) have a difficult time believing that they can be accepted as they are, and thus they make an effort to present a false face. This falseness can be in terms of makeup, or it can be falseness of action (comman male approach). The ideal, of course, is that all of us would learn to accept others the way they are, for who they are, and love them that way. It is not true, however, that most of us (me included) can not find some areas of our personal makeup that we should try to change. But these are personality traits, NOT physical traits. No-one should ever be rejected on the basis of physical traits. Some of do need to lose some weight, though. I'm off on a tangent. My point was simply that cosmetics are usually a psycological crutch, and not something that really makes a woman more attractive (at least not to me - I am repulsed at the way most women who wear the stuff wear it).
alan@allegra.UUCP (The Flaming Poet) (08/14/84)
-- she's a plastic woman she doesn't look like a woman she looks pale and thin anorexic no round, shapely curves she has blue eyelids and rosy lips and gobs of glop on her cheeks. she doesn't smell or taste like a woman she smells like antiperspirant and perfume she tastes like mouthwash and feminine deodorant. she doesn't feel like a woman she feels rough where the stubble lies under her arms and on her legs. she's a plastic woman not much of a woman at all.
anderson@ittvax.UUCP (Scott Anderson) (08/15/84)
[en garde!]
I don't mind generalizations about why women wear makeup, but
let's be careful about judging the person underneath. I'm
referring to aspertions about "flaws in personality."
Anyhow, here are why the women *I* know wear makeup.
I. Dress code
My SO (Ann) wears some makeup to the office, usually rather
unobtrusive. I think she feels it's "part of the uniform":
she puts on her makeup when she puts on her suit.
We all know that there are times when certain garb is expected
(either officially or unofficially); think of makeup as part of the
dress code. Dress codes are mutable, but only into other dress
codes, because most people feel uneasy when they have complete
freedom to dress. (How many times have you wondered what other
people will be wearing at some gathering, so that you can dress
accordingly? I have, many times.) And as long as there are dress
codes should/ought to be changed, so that women's skin can be
preserved or whatever, but we'll only be exchanging one dress code
for another.
II. Fun
When we go out for a fancy evening (I'm wearing a suit, she a
long dress), Ann spends a long time putting on makeup, and
not unobtrusive office-wear stuff. We're talking bright and
flashy; we're talking GLITTER. Partly, it's because she has
a streak of exhibitionist in her, and on evenings like this
she'll dress in BRIGHT reds and other look-at-me colors.
Partly, it's because she thinks it's FUN. That's right: she'll
look at herself in the mirror, smile at the effect and say,
"isn't that FUN!" Partly, it's artistic expression, with her
face the canvas.
You might say all that stuff is hiding the "real" Ann, but I'd
counter that being bright and glittering IS @i(part) of the
"real" Ann. Besides, if she enjoys it, why shouldn't she do it?
[Aside to JAM: I can think of several occasions when I've "gone
for that special place on the side of the neck between ...." and
come up with glitter on my own cheeks. And y'know, I didn't
mind a bit. :-) ]
III. Looking your best
My sister spends a LOT of time on makeup, and she always comes
out looking like a minor goddess. She thinks it's important to
look her best, and she associates with people who have high
standards for personal appearance. (I was going to say "judge
people by their appearance," but we ALL do that. It's just that
we do it to varying degrees, with different standards.) She
reads all the fashion magazines, has impeccable taste in almost
everything, and dates as much as she wants. Many of us would
be envious of her.
If you asked me if she spent too much time on appearance versus,
say, studying (she's a college student); I'd say yes. But it's HER
choice, and her grades are fine. If you asked me if PART of her
motivation was insecurity (about her popularity and/or appearance),
I'd say yes. But only PART. And I think that part is too bad. If
you asked me if she was shallow and knew nothing of life except
clothes and makeup, I'd say NO. She's bright, interesting and
sensitive.
IV. Conclusion
Neither my SO nor my sister are shallow people, yet they both
wear makeup at times. They are both worth getting to know as
people (hunh? oh, yeah, them). So don't assume that a makeup-
wearer is vain, silly, and shallow. That MAY be the case.
But probably not.
Don't judge a book by its cover, or by whether or not it has a
paper jacket over the cover.
Can anyone think of more reasons why women wear makeup?
Scott D. Anderson
decvax!ittvax!anderson
203-375-0200 X 451sam@phs.UUCP (Sherry Marts) (08/15/84)
If, as Scott Anderson claims, makeup is:
1. part of the business/professional dress code
2. fun to use
3. a tool for improving one's appearance and thus one's self-confidence
I think the obvious question is:
WHY DON'T MORE MEN WEAR MAKEUP ???????
walan@allegra.UUCP (Alan S. Driscoll) (08/17/84)
About judging the book by its cover... I meant to judge the cover by the cover, nothing more. Some covers are attractive to me, others are not, and I tried to explain one of the things I don't like (make-up, etc.), and why. Of course, under any cover, there may be a great book. -- Alan S. Driscoll AT&T Bell Laboratories
robison@eosp1.UUCP (Tobias D. Robison) (08/17/84)
References: "Judging a book by its cover" is not a good analogy to judging people by the makeup they wear. It would be, if book covers were almost always prepared by the authors themselves. Most people put on their own makeup. They communicate: - their accuracy or sloppiness - the effect they make, or wish to make - the attention they wish to get - what they are, or wish to be like - ... ... Makeup is an extension of a person's abilities, personality, and adjustment to society. - Toby Robison (not Robinson!) allegra!eosp1!robison decvax!ittvax!eosp1!robison
hrs@houxb.UUCP (H.SILBIGER) (08/20/84)
While in our society makeup is almost only used by women, there are and were many societies in which men also adorned themselves. Staying close to home: war paint as worn by the native americans. This even got into our language as a synonym for makeup!. Herman Silbiger
mat@hou4b.UUCP (08/21/84)
Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site hou4b.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site phs.UUCP Path: hou4b!hou5f!ariel!vax135!houxz!houxm!ihnp4!zehntel!hplabs!sdcrdcf!sdcsvax!akgua!mcnc!duke!phs!sam From: sam@phs.UUCP (Sherry Marts) Newsgroups: net.women Subject: Re: makeup Message-ID: <916@phs.UUCP> Date: Wed, 15-Aug-84 12:30:40 EDT Article-I.D.: phs.916 Posted: Wed Aug 15 12:30:40 1984 Date-Received: Fri, 17-Aug-84 19:50:42 EDT References: <1463@ittvax.UUCP> Organization: Duke Physiology Lines: 8 > If, as Scott Anderson claims, makeup is: > 1. part of the business/professional dress code > 2. fun to use > 3. a tool for improving one's appearance and thus > one's self-confidence > I think the obvious question is: > WHY DON'T MORE MEN WEAR MAKEUP ??????? Well, for one thing it's kind of messy with all that facial hair. And yes, the facial hair is important to us. Read the Biblical account of Samson. Then read some introductory psych text. Look for ``castration fear''. I think that if I wore makeup, I would be saying ``Hey world, I'm now going to be a product of my art and a follower of fashion.'' This would just blow the living hell out of my self-confidence -- another thing to be judged on, another set of expectations that I don't understand to live up to -- and with fashion constantly changing ... well, I can't even remember my age. (my birthday, yes. It doesn't change. But my age changes by itself every dozen months or so! ;-{) You can tell I suffer from problems with self-confidence, or the lack thereof, and I certainly don't have a double-plus-good-bellyfeel of how to relate to others. I think that some of their expectations are pretty bizzare. And they think that some of mine are. But makeup can be a handicap. Where in the sam hill am I going to find the time to fuss with the crap. And as fragile as beauty is, makeup is even more fragile. Besides, no makeup can replace a deeply felt smile, and no makeup can cover a scowl. So why bother? As one who needs to learn how to care about others, it seems that we ought to be more concerned with caring about them and less with caring about what they think of us. -- from Mole End Mark Terribile (scrape .. dig ) hou5d!mat ,.. .,, ,,, ..,***_*. (soon hou4b!mat)
agust@spuxll.UUCP (Agust K Gudmundsson) (08/21/84)
[R.R. supposedly dosen't wear makeup]
>why don't men wear makeup?
I guess youv'e never heard of TV Anchormen, or politicians, or actors.
Icelandic Cowboywmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) (08/22/84)
Re the value of male facial hair to the wearer: Well, I've worn either a full beard or very long sideburns for 20 years now, and, if I knew of a proven-safe, permanent, cheap, simple, and painless method (I don't ask much, do I?) to depilliate my face once and for all, so that I never again need trim my beard or shave the parts of it I want cut off, I'd do it immediately! Hair is vastly overrated; it is mostly a bother, no matter where it grows. Will Martin