Is wearing makeup playing into the consumeristic, patriarchal society that we live in? The debate surrounding whether or not women should wear makeup is wide spread and highly deliberated. Many argue that women do so to play into the male gaze, to appeal those who look onto her rather than for herself. Others counter by saying it is one’s agency being demonstrated when she chooses to wear makeup or not. So, which argument is right? Is makeup solely a superficial tool used to manufacture a societal standard of beauty? Or can it, instead, be used as a form of self-expression, of self-empowerment that we use to queer the expectations society has for women.

Many feminist scholars argue that makeup is a convention aiming to maintain female oppression. That a pallet of eye shadow or a tube of lipstick works toward reinforcing the patriarchy due to the societal implications makeup has on the interactions women have within the world. Beauty is so integrally tied to the concept of success in our culture that it’s hard to separate the two. Thus, in order to be successful, one must be beautiful, using whatever means necessary to accomplish that goal. This results in the beauty industry being so popular. This ideology is specifically what the anti-capitalist feminist movement denounces. It advocates the belief that makeup further encourages capitalism through the monetary buy-in women must make in order to participate in this practice in addition to believing it is for superficial gains that focus on the increased enjoyment of the male gaze. Due to these reasons, many feel that wearing makeup is a formal acknowledgment and acceptance of male and monetary dominance in society.

Despite seeing some validity in this stance, one must recognize that the main arguments within this ideology are inherently problematic. The primary issue being that it utilizes a victim blaming stance, in that it blames women who wear makeup for perpetuating a patriarchal society without acknowledging the full breadth of the issue. Not only is it difficult to denounce societal expectations in their entirety, it ignores the root of the issue. Makeup is not the sole mechanism reinforcing and maintaining female oppression. Instead, it spans much further than this simple dilution of the problem and we cannot blame those participating in an assumed patriarchal practice for the reason as to why society is the way it is. Makeup is an element that one could argue maintains the patriarchy due to the implied implications of using such beautifying tools to satisfy the male gaze, but is a minuscule element that, if denounced, will not make much difference in the larger scheme of things. Instead of demonizing those participating in this practice, we must approach this situation from a new direction that will ultimately hold more significance in the long run. We must work toward redefining the abstract meanings and associations of makeup, reclaiming the act and using it for empowerment, not as a means to degrade others.

Reclaiming terms that are dominantly associated with negative feelings is a powerful act. By doing so, it shifts the power off the dominant group and redistributes it among the marginalized. This practice can be applied to the associative meanings of makeup too. This further shifts the belief that it reinforces a capitalistic patriarchy to something more complex, giving the power to women regardless of whether they choose to participate in the makeup practice or not. Instead of demonizing those who wear makeup and blaming them for helping the “male agenda,” acknowledge that whatever one chooses to do (wear makeup or not), is her demonstrating her own agency and demonstrating her own free will to decide what she wants to do with her body and with her life. This belief must be fully encompassing as well. What I mean by that is to not solely commend women who do or don’t wear makeup due to their personal preferences, but commend all women for doing whatever the hell they want to do, be it for herself or for her wanting to play into societal expectations. The latter might be difficult for some to stomach. How can we commend those playing into the shallow expectations laid out for us by society? Well purely because it is not our job to decide what others should do and it is especially not our job to decide why they do it. What qualifies you to judge others? Nothing. It’s as simple as that. Regardless of what you feel, makeup perpetuates or doesn’t perpetuate--it is your own belief and you are using your own agency to believe that. Let others use their's to do the same.