To Helen Wheels, a commenter
(A reader's comments stimulated my thinking in certain directions and forced me to attempt to clarify my position and some ideas I had already been struggling with. I've placed my response here to give it a higher profile. - SD)
Hi Helen,
Thanks for your comments and the parts of yourself that you shared. I visited your blog and enjoyed reading your latest entry. (I love the photo of your puppy!)
I'm sorry to hear about your BDD and anorexia. I hope you get better.
"Anonymous" in the comments section is Kirsten Anderberg, and I'm sure she wouldn't mind my pointing this out as in her comment she owns and reproduces an article she'd written on questioning makeup. She has recently started her own blog called "Eat the Press" (http://www.livejournal.com/users/eatthepress/). Anderberg also archives many of her articles at her own website. She's a very prolific and accomplished writer, willing to take risks. She's led a very interesting life and is one of my favorite political writers.
Now turning to your comments:
It sounds like you feel you shouldn't wear makeup, or should be striving for a day when you won't feel compelled to wear makeup. Is that a correct reading of your comments? It's great if you've set that goal for yourself. But I want to make clear that I don't intend through my writing to admonish women who do wear makeup, or imply that they're not "true feminists" (whatever that might be). First off, I'd have to be a massive hypocrite to do that, as I've worn makeup for the majority of my life. Secondly, it's possible to appear to be adhering to and therefore condoning certain ideologies through dress and appearance whilst, in fact, not. For instance, I may wear a golf top, but be against the institutionalized inequality and hatefulness towards women within the golf culture.
I intend through my writing to protest a cultural climate that is seeking to resurrect rigid, limiting and outdated gender roles (which never worked in the first place). The cultural climate is enforced through mass media and influences judges in court rulings. It also affects what people are willing to put up with. As long as an ideology is so dominant that it is disguised as "common sense", people will go along with it. unimpressed.net has written two posts which analyze the Republican party's strategy utilizing Gramsci thought. I may draw upon this in my future posts, assuming I can reach a degree of understanding and facility with Gramsci's thinking. Ultimately, the cultural climate can mean that women feel increasingly pressured to wear makeup because there is no alternative image circulated of positive womanhood.
One can argue that this has already happened.
Thanks again for your comments. - Sour Duck
1 comment:
I feel so honored that you addressed an entry to me! I should have checked back sooner :)
Thank you for voicing your sentiments, I truly appreciate them, and your commentary, which is amazingly ON. I guess some days I think I should be 'beyond' makeup. All disorders aside (and believe me, the battle with them has eased lots because I was fortunate enough never to have them as intensely as others), I suppose what I would like to achieve for myself is to not 'buy into' the current definition of what is woman or womanly.
I have had this sort of pull in separate directions for years. I was raised to be more girly than my sisters (I would put up with hair-curling, they wouldn't). I was a cheerleader (?!?), I believed my parents when they said I should be pretty for men. My parents are fairly progressive so, although I got that message and it screwed things up good for me (I'm rebellious and therefore have had LOTS of confusion re: men), I also gleaned my liberal bent and tolerant nature and feminism from them, so there's that.
I guess I like to wear makeup because I like looking good, but I feel a certain amount of guilt about it at times. Not always.
ALso my sisters rarely wear makeup so I always got teased... ha.
Anyway, again, I am working on what things in my life reflect who I am, and the jury on makeup is still out, but MAN I love lipstick and eyebrow brush!
I absolutely LOVED Kirsten's rant on eyebrow pencil and drawn-on eyebrows that have been shaved off. I live in a hotbed of that and, happily, I've escaped that club. For some reason, I have these 'holes' in my upbringing when it comes to preening and all the putting-together-of-the-face. I never really learned to pluck my eyebrows (until 34) and now I trim them very little but leave 'em alone for the most part.
When I moved here to L.A., the eyebrow phenomenon was new to me and I continue to be baffled by it as well. I laughed and laughed at Kirsten's account! It's a mystery why women do it.
I also can't stand wearing girly things like slips and panty hose, and am desperate to keep working at home so I never have to... although I guess nowdays no one MAKES you wear skirts but I swear in my 20's I worked for companies who wouldn't let women wear pants.. and it was in the 80's!!!
Anyway, I'm getting off-track, had a tough day (puppy was sick, got ahold of bad stuff & ate it, cost me $100's - ugh - but he's getting better now, I just haven't been sleeping!).
Again, I truly appreciate you dedicating an entry to me and I will visit again and again. Next time I promise to be more prolific!!
P.S. I have NEVER even been tempted to look at a bridal magazine because I was never even moderately interested, and recently some woman nearly keeled over when I said that to her. Now that's something that reflects how gooofed this society is!
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