The Lesbian Beauty

From neck down, I am the ultimate “filthy feminist” - untouched body hair, no bra, and occasionally I bust out the wide legged three-quarter pants which apparently strike fear into the hearts of snowflake meninists. But curiously, the Tumblr worthy image suddenly stops at roughly my chin. From there up, I am the capitalist patriarchy’s dream girl. My face is covered in hundreds of dollars of skincare and makeup, hair products for my curls which I can’t bear the thought of shaving off, and semi-permanent eyelash and eyebrow tint. I’m well aware that half the lotions and potions I smear on my face twice a day every day don’t actually work and that I was just drawn in by the pretty white packaging and the promise of buyable beauty. I’m well aware that make up is gendered, inherently oppressive, and even my glittery, bright pink smokey eyes aren't “artistic” enough to escape the conventional beauty standard conformity they embody. I could go on about how much I enjoy blending eyeshadows, the coolness of fresh foundation when it touches your face, but I’m well aware that if I didn't feel societal pressure to wear makeup I probably… wouldn’t.

I know this because when I’m heading out to somewhere I know I will see attractive people - or might see attractive people - I will wear more makeup than if not. Because I’ll do my hair up nicer if I’m in the company of people whom I care what they think of my looks. Because I’ll make sure my eyelashes and eyebrows are freshly tinted if I won’t be able to wear makeup - at the beach, or an overnight gig of some description. And it’s oppressive; the money, the hours of sleep I miss because I’m applying concealer in the morning or removing mascara at night, the stress of planning ahead for beauty routines on the go. They’re small, but they add up into a daily life where your confidence and your desirability are contingent on the money you spend on little bits of silicone and coloured pigment wrapped in plastic.

Essentially, my build-a-girl self project has so far failed in seceding the male gaze. “The male gaze” simply denotes that attractiveness, specifically of cis women, is defined by what men enjoy. Beauty is not objective, and in this society beauty is constructed by and for straight men. By not-so-radical extension, the beauty and fashion industries are geared towards making women desirable to a male standard. Every Dove advertisement, every strappy red piece of lace with bows on it in Bras N’ Things tells me I’m not particularly beautiful, but I could be if I spend money on the right things. “Beauty” is toxic, and I’m swimming in it.

The indicator of success in escaping the male gaze would be when I stop feeling proud of my conventional beauty. When I stop being smug that I have the “right” kind of butt, the “correct” fashion sense (one that shows off said butt), and “flattering” makeup. When I stop mentally linking men who want to kiss me with men who think I’m “beautiful”, because I will understand that I cannot trust men’s standard of what “beautiful” is.

I met a girl who was not “beautiful”. Her hair was a mixture of short and oddly shaved, she wore low-rise jeans and a terrible button up shirt, her eyebrows were pale. And in the saga of being maybe sort of kinda a little bit queer sometimes, I thought she was gorgeous. Where the expectation for blonde eyelashes is to coat them in mascara because it frames the eyes better, where the norm is long hair falling suggestively over a girl’s shoulders, I thought her face-bareness and hair-shortness was one of the best things I’d ever seen.

There is a long history of lesbian fashion as a political statement and an identifier. Queer writer Judith Butler recounts walking down the street in a poorly fitting brown suit, and being yelled at “you look like a lesbian!” to which she answered “Well, I am”. Lesbians have been called “ugly” for forever and a day because “ugly” is the antithesis of “beautiful”. And “beautiful” means desirable to straight men.

Lesbian beauty is perhaps the most radical defiance of the patriarchy because it does not conform to the male gaze. Women who are beautiful to other women will not buy beauty products or wear mainstream clothes created for male tastes because they have no interest in being attractive for men. Conventional beauty is useless when male validation has no place in your life.

There is a danger in conforming to the male gaze - looking desirable for men invites unwanted touch, or the feared stare of boys who think they own a pretty body. Being “beautiful” is scary and painful and tiring and dehumanising. But women will not hurt you or force you to change your body to something more porn-worthy; I feel an incredible sense of safety in the presence of lesbian beauty. The expectation of spending my time, my money, of submitting myself to the pain of plucking, ripping and scrubbing disappears, and I am allowed to be a full human.

I will probably continue to wear makeup, to tear hairs from my eyebrows and be enticed by “thigh firming” workouts offered at the pilates studio. But this is because I will probably continue to be attracted to men, and swallow the bullshit beauty standards they enforce.

Hannah

Everyday Makeup Routine of a Feminist

From left to right:

• Loreal primer: to ensure the misogyny floating in the air doesn't clog my pores.
• Revlon foundation: to submit to the male expectation of flawless pornstar skin.
• Manicare beauty blender: to buff away sexism.
• Bare Minerals concealer: to hide the spots caused by sugar intake. Me? Eat unhealthy? How unladylike!
• Maybelline setting powder: to keep my face as dry as my sense of humor.
• Elf brush: to comfortingly pat the male ego.
• Body Shop bronzer: to enforce the standard that darker skin is only desirable on white people.
• Real Techniques brush: to blend white supremacy into a seamless contour.
• Maybelline brow gel: to cut men down with my perfectly sharp eyebrows.
• Essence eyeliner: to deceive men. I obviously wish to make them believe I have naturally elongated eyes.
• Maybelline mascara: to earn basic human respect.
• Benefit highlighter: to dazzle those who refuse to highlight oppression.
• Topshop blush: to look healthy and young, but simultaneously sexy and desirable. But also demure and passive. But also smart, but not too smart. Guys don't like that, remember?
• Australis setting spray: to trick men who say "take them swimming on the first date". Because I wouldn't want him to think my self worth is based on more than my makeup!

Xoxo Hannah
P.S. I highly recommend all these products.

How Feminist are Your Anti-Makeup Slogans?

Often the waters surrounding feminism and makeup are murkier than the water I just cleaned my eyeshadow brushes in. Is wearing makeup the ultimate conformity to the patriarchy? Is it empowering? Do women actually have a choice? Of course, each individual case is different and each person uniquely defines their relationship with makeup, femininity and feminism. But there are certain overarching, problematic themes in the issue, specifically when it comes to body image.

Most quotable is the dogma “You look prettier without makeup.” Variations include “you don’t need that makeup to look beautiful,” or “I prefer you without makeup.” These lines are bounced around by quasi-body image positivity campaigns, often aimed at encouraging men to help women by reassuring them of their beauty. Obviously these comments usually come from a place of good intention, but once you break down these campaigns, they have some pretty harmful undertones.

1. “So therefore… I look bad with makeup?” These poorly thought through comments can often have an immediate backlash, as they suggest negativity about how a person looks with makeup on. If a person truly is insecure about their looks, a backhanded compliment is probably not the way to go.
2. It implies that women wear makeup to please men. When the message comes from individual men, or large corporations, it carries a condescending tone of reassurance that we are still beautiful to men without makeup. Our society is geared towards making women submissive, and just generally secondary to males, so I suppose it’s not surprising that we are told our body image standards should be reliant on their opinions. This concept eradicates possibilities of actual self-love, and denies legitimacy in women’s autonomous choices about their bodies. Rather, it encourages the view that women’s happiness revolves around their sex appeal under a male gaze, which can dehumanise straight women and erase queer women from the social narrative. Sound drastic? It is. Even if you can’t see these dramatic end-game results from your window, the language and behaviours surrounding makeup have a pervasive effect which builds an overall societal attitude. Proof lies in the everyday experiences of women who are simultaneously judged for their lack of makeup, and reassured that they are desirable in the eyes of men.
3. It indicates the patriarchy’s double standard when it comes to women’s body images. For every corny lyric telling us “we don’t know how beautiful we are” or “we don’t need to hide behind that makeup”, there is a flipside where a woman who is confident in her looks and displays her beauty is called a show-off, bitch, slut, whore, etc. Confidently beautiful women are a threat to men because they are not dependent on them for self-esteem, and so cannot be controlled into being content with patriarchal dominance. It serves society better when women are insecure, and can only be saved by a *very masculine* knight in shining armour, because when women find empowerment in femininity, they start speaking up, and that can ruin certain oppressive masterplans.
4. It narrows makeup to be specifically for feminine women. If makeup is worn by women to have their beauty validated by men, then it becomes taboo substance for men or masculine folk. Even teenage boys wearing some concealer to cover acne are considered weird and strange, let alone a man who enjoys wearing a full face of makeup. Following the logic from above, anyone wearing makeup is seen as effeminate, which has direct links to weak, insecure and hopelessly promiscuous, which fuels bullying and discrimination against trans and gender non binary people.

This list is short and definitely incomplete, but addresses a few main areas of a pretty multi-layered topic. There is a strong tendency to make blanket statements about women who wear makeup; that they are inherently insecure, or are willingly giving into men’s expectations. It’s always important to remember that empowerment is personal, and every woman has her own way of being confident in a world that thrives on female anxiety and self-hate. If you are wondering how to comment on someone’s makeup without being problematic, play it by ear. Rather than regurgitating counterproductive slogans, take other factors into account to come to a more accurate conclusion about what a person needs. Do they have other body image issues? Does their behaviour indicate their use of makeup is manifesting their insecurities, or does it help them? Is your input necessary or should you gently encourage them to see a professional? When in doubt, straight up compliments are usually fail-safe!

Comment below J

Hannah