I read an article in the Guardian a while back, about makeup and the feminist question, feminist Julie Bindel was putting on make up for the first time and musing over why women chose to hide themselves under a layer of cosmetics. This created a torrent of abuse from women who stated there was no hiding involved, that women’s desire to wear make up was not a sign of weakness. It was not necessarily for men’s benefit or other women’s benefit for that matter. It did make me wonder why we spend so much time on this issue, women’s appearance seems to be so intrinsically wrapped into issues of feminism one wonders whether people have realised how incredibly ironic that is. Surely old school feminists were trying to get away from women being judged on their appearance, so why is the issue of wearing make up or not wearing makeup such an issue.

I then tried to forget about this, I feel getting bogged down in feminism, and it’s sometimes questionable ideals, is really not worth my time. Then I came across these photo’s by Kurt Stallaert, and it got me thinking. These images display make up as an instrument of torture, which to anyone who has witnessed an eyelash curler coming towards them at full speed, is not hard to imagine. But there is still part of me that feels like aren’t we missing the point here?

There always seems to be these examples trotted out of women who get up three hours before they have to leave to put on their face, usually before their partner, who has never seen them without slap. All I can think when given these examples, is realistically this cannot be the norm. Women across the world would be permanently sleep deprived.  And call me crazy but do you not think that there are men who spend three hours getting ready by carefully trimming facial hair, preening coiffeurs and plucking chest hair. Why do we not have articles written on these poor souls? Why do we not abhor society for creating a world, where men have to remove their natural hairyness in order to be accepted by society?

But more to the point this is all aesthetics, and I thought that what was what we were trying to get away from? Surely some people will agree that some makeup does very little to enhance a women’s looks, far from covering up flaws it acts to enhance or create new ones. It all seems to adhere the very standard ideas about how women apparently, wear makeup. There is no consideration for the electro kids; their blocks of colour akin to face painting, the goths with their blackened eyes and sallow skin, to say nothing of emo’s where makeup is no longer a gender issue. Aren’t all these arguments somewhat outdated.

I remember having a discussion with a friend at university who said that hair is a feminist issue, she was referring to women shaving their legs. I remember thinking what the hell have feminists got to do with my legs, their mine, they can fuck off and deal with their own legs!

I can’t help but feel that by making such a big deal about make up and whether it prevents us from being the women we could be, if only we step out from behind the mask. Is frankly outdated bullshit. ‘Mask’ another term I have a problem with, according to Goffman, everyone has a backstage and frontstage persona, it is part of living in society. You have behaviours which are public and those which are private, this is not good or bad it is simply a result of living in a community as opposed to in a solitary confinement. For me, make up can help me get into a role but that doesn’t mean I am betraying the sisterhood, because my role is not exclusively ‘I am out to get men’s attention’. I just feel that where feminism is concerned they should stop focusing on surface issues, and I thought that was the whole point? To judge the person and not their looks.