It's Women's History Month. And accordingly (or possibly just on coincidence, but let's pretend it's on purpose) we've been having great conversations about women's rights, feminism, beauty, and advertising at our house.
Perhaps the most intense of those conversations revolved around the role of cosmetics. Makeup. It seems like a little thing. But what effect is it having on our sisters and daughters that they're told they aren't beautiful without bits of chemicals and mud on their faces? Or that the same people who tell us that we need those bits of chemicals are making money from selling them to us? What resources do we spend to buy them? What does it cost our environment to produce and ship them? I'm a little dubious that the man in the corporate boardroom selling lipstick has the best interest of women in mind.
I'd love your thoughts. I've got some more of my own, but I'll end with the thoughts of others. First, a quote about just how serious the inequality remains. Second, a link to a blog post by Eugene Cho about a sort-of conversation with Rob Bell about women's voices in the church. It's definitely worth a read.
"When women still earn just 78 cents for every dollar men make, when one in four women still experiences domestic violence in their lifetimes, when women are more than half of our population but just 17% of our Congress, when women are 49% of the workforce but only 3% of our fortune 500 CEOs, when these inequalities stubbornly persist in this country in this century then I think we need to ask ourselves some hard question and we need to take a hard look at where were falling short and who were leaving out and what that means for the prosperity and the vitality of our nation." - Obama
Eugene Cho (sort of) talks to Rob Bell about women's voices within the church.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
I go to a church that routinely uses the phrase "God our Mother, God our Father." After hearing that message every week for a year and a half, the real meaning has only sunk in a few times while in a service. Each time it does, whole paradigms shake and my entire conception of Christianity changes. Think how drastically images change when you listen to a sermon and consciously imagine God as woman-spirited... in my case, as in some way "like me." I have the potential to be godlike. I am worthy of this aspiration. It is stronger than the most overwhelming personal blessing that has been placed on me. Yet, I can never stay in this moment. It is too painful to see how dramatically patriarchy has concretely formed my consciousness, even in spiritual matters. I have to do so much work to imagine. Knowing how much work I have to do to imagine something so true and simple brings an inconsolable sadness.
When I was younger, I had a very hard time with the concept of Imago Dei. I was created in the image and likeness of God? Really? 5th grade Sunday school teacher, you're really gonna have to explain that one more. At that age I wasn't able to conjure a genderless, bodiless idea, so the fact that God was a man and I was a girl meant He must have messed up on the exact replica thing. Or maybe it was me that messed up and ended up as a girl. My teacher had me repeat the passage over and over. Each time it felt foreign, like I was not able to truly reflect the image of God. Of course my theology has become a bit more sophisticated, but back then it was very hard to memorize the passage and believe it. In fact, even armed with new understandings, it still is.
This month I've been tracking down a lot of arguments that locate "fear of the feminine" as the deep root of homophobia. It seems to be the deep root of a lot of things that we use violence and domination to combat. I keep asking myself, "What, specifically, are we so afraid of? Why is femininity threatening?"
jess, the "feminine" has been a source of fear for centuries in western society. I think that this fear is intricately tied to woman's status as "other"--we fear what we cannot understand, and we cannot understand the "other" (whether it be females, minorities, whoever). Hence the femme fatale stereotype, the "feminizing" of the masses and mass culture, and the link between the feminine and traits like irrationality, disease, madness, etc. It is interesting that you bring up that "fear of the feminine" is the root of homophobia. In the same vein, misogynist rhetoric has frequently been directed not against women but against the gay community. Anti-woman and the feminine are equated with anti-homosexual and effeminacy and equally devalued in a reaffirmation of male power and superiority. (Ken you'll read all about this in my second chapter!!)
Anyways, getting back to the topic of cosmetics, while they may reflect (in many ways) our obsession with feminine beauty, in the past cosmetics have been used as an expression of individuality, power and freedom for women. In these cases, women used cosmetics not to conform to patriarchal values but to confront them (think the flappers, rosie the riveter etc.). See a good article about this here: http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/74876/?page=1/
I consider myself an uncompromising feminist, and I freely admit that I wear makeup. Not tons of it, and not all the time. Do I feel obligated to do so? Sometimes, yes. I don't think I have ever taught a class or played in a recital without it.
Am I conforming to patriarchal stereotypes about beauty through my mascara and lipgloss use? Maybe. Do I feel that there is any way to avoid each and every gender stereotype imposed by society? No. I also wear dresses, skirts and heels. I shave my legs and pluck my eyebrows. I have accepted that I do some (or most. all?) of these things because in my culture, these are expectations for a person of my gender. Similarly, men wear ties, shave their faces and don't ever experience the fabulousness and fun brought on by some red lipstick. (Consequently, this isn't the whole story... I know plenty of men that wear makeup and have also seen plenty of women in ties - huzzah for gender-bending and bucking the norm!) We all conform to varying degrees to standards like these. And we do so on the basis of our sex, class and race. That is a large part of what makes us a culture.
Obviously, some of our cultural norms are harmful and prejudiced. When half of all teenage girls surveyed in a major poll say it is OK for Chris Brown to beat the shit out of Rihanna because she is his girlfriend, there are harmful cultural values at play. As a feminist in a patriarchal society, I have to chose my battles. And honestly, one look at the quote Ken posted by Obama tells me that our use of cosmetics is the least of our worries. Why don't we instead focus on educating the young women of our society about what their true status is instead of establishing a false sense of equity? Why don't we value them and show them that they have the power to continue the process of change? And they can wear all the mascara they want.
Maybe it's just the spate of revisionist history I've been reading lately but I can't help but feel overwhelmed how deeply some of these problems are ingrained into our society. In regards to history, think about how few women are even represented in history books, and when they are- well, everyone knows Helen Keller was blind and deaf and mute but then not mute, but how many kids are taught that she went on to become a huge political activist fighting for suffrage, peace, Socialism, etc? God forbid they see how truly rich a woman's life story is- no, instead we get full profiles of Benjamin Harrison, a complete nonentity of a president.
The only reason to consider Harrison ties in with something Kelly alluded to- he was our last president with a beard! Sure there was a Taftian moustache or two later on, but there really is a weird antibeard power structure out there. 100+ years without a bearded president? What's even up with that?
Many thanks for the thoughtful comments!
Jess - Yay for recognizing the feminine in the divine.
Kel - Woot! I also don't think makeup is the problem or the solution. I just think it's a disturbing symptom of something deeper. And corporations make billions off of it.
Jordan - So, so true.
Also, as I'm currently rocking the beard, I've been secretly hoping that Obama might buck this trend.
From a late-reader: I wear makeup for two reasons. Sometimes it's for both reasons, and sometimes it's for one or the other
1- To encourage the feminine beauty and feel even more like a girl and a woman when I step out of the house. I love true feminine beauty and it always feels great to leave for the day feeling like a loved and beautiful woman.
2- Many guys that I see are generally attracted to girls that have highlighted blonde hair and wear makeup. While I do not want a guy who is only attracted to a makeup wearing woman, there are days when I think it may help assist conversations with guys.
Sad? Maybe- and usually my reasoning is more the first and not the second. But I do think that if I saw guys drawn to non-makeup wearing women, that women would wear it to enhance and to bring out the confidence.
But then why do we need the "confidence"? Where do we not get it...
Post a Comment