So, I've been thinking about this a lot. This idea was kind of sparked when I was in the car with my mum and we were sitting in a car park. A group of boys walked by, and she said, "I didn't know men could wear shiny shoes."
All I could ask to myself was, "why does a style of shoe, have to be associated with a certain gender?"
I already have a post which touches on this and I'll link it here: CLOTHES AREN'T AS SUPERFICIAL AS YOU THINK, but today I want to focus more on make up.
So I have a theory, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I do feel that it does in some ways prove why make up (on boys) has such a stigma attached to it.
Most of the time, make up is associated with women, femininity. In our society femininity is just shamed. You can't deny it. When people do things "like a girl," that is an insult, girls who are more drawn to more feminine things are immediately judged to be less intelligent. Femininity, even in women is not seen as an attractive quality, and it is seen as something even worse when it is seen in men.
How is this contrasted with masculinity? Well take clothes for example. Clothes that are usually worn by men (jeans, for example, trainers) can also be worn by women without a sort of stigma attached to it. However when men where clothes that are usually worn by women (dresses), there is a sudden uproar about it (think Jaden Smith). Why? Dresses are associated with femininity, and femininity, in our society is shamed.
So it's kind of easy to see, how and why make up has such a stigma attached to it when it's seen on men.
Why does it have to be that way though? Make up is literally just another product. It's an art form. It's something people use to express themselves, make them feel better about themselves, enhance their look.
We have put a gender barrier around make up, and that is so unhealthy.
I understand that it's marketed more towards women, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I personally think that what is bad, is how because we live in a society which shames femininity, it kind of puts a barrier round anything that is associated with it. This is how I see it:
'So women and only women can where dresses, because "females are feminine," so even though femininity is seen as a bad thing, females, women are allowed to embrace it because that's what they're "supposed to be anyway." However we have to stop anyone who isn't a woman to not embrace femininity, because femininity is bad, and it needs to be "contained."'
So basically we need to stop shaming femininity and women! If we stop doing that, and stop making it seem like such a bad thing, then it allows are people who aren't seen as people who would traditionally embrace feminine things (like make up), to embrace it and enjoy it. It lets people open doors they would have been too scared to open.
Share your thoughts with me! What do you guys think about make up, femininity, etc? I'd love to know!
So I have a theory, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I do feel that it does in some ways prove why make up (on boys) has such a stigma attached to it.
Most of the time, make up is associated with women, femininity. In our society femininity is just shamed. You can't deny it. When people do things "like a girl," that is an insult, girls who are more drawn to more feminine things are immediately judged to be less intelligent. Femininity, even in women is not seen as an attractive quality, and it is seen as something even worse when it is seen in men.
How is this contrasted with masculinity? Well take clothes for example. Clothes that are usually worn by men (jeans, for example, trainers) can also be worn by women without a sort of stigma attached to it. However when men where clothes that are usually worn by women (dresses), there is a sudden uproar about it (think Jaden Smith). Why? Dresses are associated with femininity, and femininity, in our society is shamed.
So it's kind of easy to see, how and why make up has such a stigma attached to it when it's seen on men.
Why does it have to be that way though? Make up is literally just another product. It's an art form. It's something people use to express themselves, make them feel better about themselves, enhance their look.
We have put a gender barrier around make up, and that is so unhealthy.
I understand that it's marketed more towards women, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I personally think that what is bad, is how because we live in a society which shames femininity, it kind of puts a barrier round anything that is associated with it. This is how I see it:
'So women and only women can where dresses, because "females are feminine," so even though femininity is seen as a bad thing, females, women are allowed to embrace it because that's what they're "supposed to be anyway." However we have to stop anyone who isn't a woman to not embrace femininity, because femininity is bad, and it needs to be "contained."'
So basically we need to stop shaming femininity and women! If we stop doing that, and stop making it seem like such a bad thing, then it allows are people who aren't seen as people who would traditionally embrace feminine things (like make up), to embrace it and enjoy it. It lets people open doors they would have been too scared to open.
Share your thoughts with me! What do you guys think about make up, femininity, etc? I'd love to know!
Agree with aaalll of this!!! You brought up a very interesting point about the jeans + shoes being more ''masculine'' but women aren't shamed if we wear them (and if men wore make-up they are shamed), which I have never really thought about. The entire idea of femininity is shamed/ridiculed, whereas masculinity is more acceptable to be, I guess? Love everything you said!!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I know I don't make much sense but thank you for commenting :) it's very appreciated x
ReplyDeleteyes! you're so right! the stigma is so strange. It's really interesting what you said about women not really being shamed for wearing clothes that are traditionally considered masculine. maybe it's because masculinity is seen as something to aspire to, to strive for. it's beyond annoying and just silly that make up is gendered and people are shamed for wearing it. making labels like 'guyliner' is so ridiculous! it's still eyeliner, eyeliner isn't some feminine name it's literally telling you what the product does. gah! lol sorry your posts are always so thought provoking!
ReplyDeletex
Thank you! Yeah I've never heard of "guyliner" before, but that sort of stuff just really irritates me, like when people say "manbun" like guys, it's just a bun! We do we always need add male pronouns etc in front of things that are traditionally feminine? they re what they are! you don't always need to assert your masculinity, femininity isn't something to be scared of and gah yeah. thank you for commenting :)
DeleteWow I came across your blog today & i got to say that you did an awesome job on talking about the other perspective individuals don't usually touch on. The fact boys are shamed to exhibit "Feminine" characteristics and how in general femininity is portrayed to "weak links". LOVE LOVE LOVE this post!!!
ReplyDeleteAw thank you so much! I'm really glad you liked it and I'm glad I made sense :) I feel that it's just important to talk about this stuff if you feel that you can, so I'm doing it haha! Thank you so much for commenting!
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