Makeup and Feminism

by Erin Maloney

With a quick Google search, you can easily find articles

written by men describing their ideal woman regarding makeup.

In a perfect world, she would look natural by wearing mascara,

concealer, maybe some eyeliner, and obviously having a waxed

upper lip and eyebrows. On the other hand, an almost equal

amount of articles can be found written by women who don’t

appreciate being told what amount of makeup to wear.
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So is a woman necessarily a “bad feminist” for wearing

makeup? In my opinion, no. It’s a cardinal rule of feminism to

never do anything with the sole purpose of satisfying men.

Clearly, this rule comes with some exceptions but for the most

part, women should be allowed to look however they feel

comfortable looking. I recently read an article written by a man

who described a girl he knew in his college days. He stated that

she wore makeup every day and he was caught off guard the first

time he saw her without it. According to him, she should have

taken this as a sign that she needs to wear less makeup. This

mindset is incredibly toxic.


In my personal opinion, a woman should be allowed to wear

as much or as little makeup as she please. Makeup isn’t always

necessarily worn to conceal flaws or insecurities, but more often

worn to emphasize the better parts. However, there’s nothing

wrong with wanting to cover a pimple or perfect your eyebrows.

In my experience, my goal regarding makeup has never been to

completely lie about my appearance or be deceitful. I enjoy

caking my face just for the fun of it, even if I’m not going

anywhere. People who wear makeup only have good intentions-

to feel better about themselves and/or have fun applying it.

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