tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7146512.post9030914634510429527..comments2024-03-12T22:31:46.500-04:00Comments on What Would Phoebe Do?: WWPD Guides: not worrying about it (too much)Phoebe Maltz Bovyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996039330841139883noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7146512.post-2405736897008214532012-07-17T11:05:36.019-04:002012-07-17T11:05:36.019-04:00Phoebe, yes, the magical thinking argument accords...Phoebe, yes, the magical thinking argument accords with yours, in that it would lead us to wear a lot of makeup, but very rarely (in order to preserve the magic feeling,) and then none or little on an everyday basis.<br /><br />What torments me personally is that, while doing the maximum for special occasions is fun, everyday makeup is not fun. It’s mildly boring. And I think I will never know whether it actually does any good.caryatisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7146512.post-13028227985593424402012-07-16T03:54:07.990-04:002012-07-16T03:54:07.990-04:00PG,
I think we need to separate out what's li...PG,<br /><br />I think we need to separate out what's life and what's the specific world of TV and entertainment. Onscreen, the "before" (or "after" in makeunder situations) is always going to be what an "after" would be in real life. There are plenty of women - in academia, but elsewhere as well - who wear no makeup whatsoever, who stick with their natural hair texture and not in the extra-products-for-ringlets sense. Skirts (even long, comfortable ones), earrings, long hair, etc. can allow even incredibly low-maintenance women to seem definitively feminine, and to make it so that the lack of makeup doesn't seem at all to be about making a feminist point.Phoebe Maltz Bovyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17996039330841139883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7146512.post-71220775663618562352012-07-16T00:22:29.286-04:002012-07-16T00:22:29.286-04:00I think there's a difficulty with sort of unil...I think there's a difficulty with sort of unilaterally withdrawing from the primping arms race, though, in that the default appearance for a woman is primped to a certain extent. I just watched the beginning of Mean Girls on TV, and even pre-Plastics Cady is clearly wearing makeup. She's complimented by the gay male friend on her natural hair color, and by both of her new friends for being naturally hot, but -- makeup! Similarly, even madeunder Snooki has photo credits indicating professionally applied NARS Cosmetics. I think a woman who goes minimal (say, just enough beauty products so that her lips don't crack, her skin doesn't look ashy and her hair isn't sticking up) will be perceived as sort of lazy or -- gasp! -- man-hating/ lesbian/ feminist.PGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09381347581328622706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7146512.post-49787692856619595382012-07-13T16:15:20.442-04:002012-07-13T16:15:20.442-04:00Caryatis,
All that makes sense. But I wonder what...Caryatis,<br /><br />All that makes sense. But I wonder what you think, then, of an approach like the one I suggest - scaling it down, primping a lot a little of the time only. I suggest this not for <i>all</i> women, but for those of us who have a nagging sense that we're overdoing it. (I don't <i>currently</i> have that sense, b/c I live in the woods and don't necessarily put on eyeliner to walk the dog, but there have been times I've experienced it.)Phoebe Maltz Bovyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17996039330841139883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7146512.post-52950261309300352882012-07-13T13:54:56.804-04:002012-07-13T13:54:56.804-04:00I think magical thinking a la Malinowski has a lot...I think magical thinking a la Malinowski has a lot to do with the makeup "ritual" (and notice that word). Let's say I'm going on a job interview or date. Well, I can't really control whether I get the job or whether the guy likes me -- that depends on education/work experience or on my personality and basic genetically determined level of beauty, which are not things I can change during that anxious hour of prepping. <br /><br />However, I can make damn sure that I wear the right shoes, blowdry my hair, and spend more time than usual on my makeup. In theory, I know that the right lipstick shade has very little power to help me succeed here, but focusing on the little things under my control rather than the big things that are not makes me feel, well, empowered and on top of things. <br /><br />And on an everyday basis, my motivation for wearing makeup is similar: I have a strong, neurotic drive to be beautiful, but I'm not, no matter what my boyfriend may say, and I can't change that. But I can pay attention to hair, makeup and clothes. Since it's what I can do, it's what I do do.caryatisnoreply@blogger.com