From:
Katelyn
As I took this photo I wanted take a
little insight of what the majority of women have on their sink as apart of the
daily beautifying routine. This photo does not even cover all the products I
own just to mask what I look like, which is absolutely ridiculous now that I
took a step back to take this shot. Honestly this is quite personal to me
because I have acne problems that I’ve tried and many others have tried to get
rid of so we can have that “flawless” and “blemish free” look. Growing up, acne
has always been a constant in my life. And as wonderful and supportive of a
mother I’ve had, she has always pointed out a pimple that MUST be covered. It
is obvious to me she never meant it cruelly. That’s just how she grew up—to
always be “presentable”—being presentable as a woman means being covered in
makeup, eyelashes, and the like. At times I even find myself staring at another
girl’s acne and internally judging them… how insane that I would be buying into
the very lie that society whispers to women. When I’ve dated guys or seen guys
with acne I don’t even care to judge their presentation, nor does it really faze
me. Growing up with a brother who had pretty bad acne and never hearing my
mother telling him to go conceal himself impresses upon me the double standard
between our genders. With every advertisement I see featuring a girl covered up
with foundation due to scarring, uneven skin tone, a zit, and whatever other
“flaw” that society deems undesirable, shows me that we have to be masked. If
you look closely at the photo where my hand is reaching for the foundation
makeup called “ Two Faced: Born This Way”, I can’t help thinking how ironic the
name is—painting my face is definitely not echoing the ‘born this way’ look,
but surely ‘two faced’ is the proper interpretation—as my fake face runs down the
drain to only reveal my true appearance. I wasn’t born with a natural beige tan
skin tone, but have red blotchy skin, acne, and a nasty scar near my eye that
is being covered simply because I am afraid of how others will look at me,
assuming that I am lazy, sloppy, or not feminine enough. One of the first things
you notice about this photo is that it is black and white. Symbolically, I wanted
to liken the exhaustion I feel of putting my “face on” and taking it off each
day to a photograph drained of all its color. The lack of color to me is
figurative way of showing how depleting and defeating this daily routine can be
for many women. It feels like a daily obligation one that only women feel
pressured to do.
5 comments:
From: Halaina
I really enjoyed the meaning of this photo and the theme that is very relatable to most girls. When I was younger I dealt with bad acne as well and used makeup to try and hide all the imperfections. As a result of my appearance, I got bullied by the people around me. This tendency to hide things that are “socially unacceptable” is fueled by the society and the beauty standard that women and young girls must follow to be considered beautiful by others around us. Movies, TV show, social media platforms reinforce beauty standards and influence society’s ideas on what is considered beautiful and what is not. Not upholding these standards can result to self-confidence issues in not only women, but younger impressionable girls. I think the black and white color of this photo really accentuates how draining it can be to pressure oneself to uphold all these standards daily. I also think it adds to the perspective in how mundane and expected of women it is of women to go through this routine daily. To society, it is expected women are dressed in a presentable way with their fresh makeup and tamed hair. Going out in pubic with a look that is less than presentable as well as normal, people stare and judge because it is out of the ordinary and not what is expected. As a woman this is very influential of my daily routine. Being able to get up at a reasonable time in the morning to straighten my wavy hair, put makeup on to cover my blemishes, and find an outfit that will be socially acceptable regardless of the weather and how comfortable it may be. Beauty norms have a great impact on women and I think it should addressed and confronted to better future generations and the mental health of young girls.
From: Sammi
Katelyn,
Overall, I really enjoyed your picture and essay and I think you executed girl culture beautifully. I loved how all your elements were used, and I noticed others while I was interpreting this photograph. The black and white filter to me represented how the rules in society are black and white when it comes to women; either it’s right or it’s wrong. It’s wrong to not wear makeup, and it’s right to wear makeup. I interpreted your use of space in this photo to represent all the beauty standards that are expected of us. It’s not only just make-up, it’s hair, weight, clothes, attitude, accessories, and so on. I also have the Two Faced: Born This Way foundation, and my make-up stand is fully covered by makeup products. It’s not just you, these are the gender norms we are all thrown into. Symbolism that I noticed in the photograph, the name of the foundation is hypocritical. With a name like “Born This Way” this is so hindering to a young girl’s self-esteem. This is basically saying that you must wear makeup to be considered beautiful, and the way that you look without makeup is not already beautiful. To me, the foundation that you are reaching for is society, and the rest of the make-up on the sink are all of these categories and norms we are expected to fit into with this one-way mentality. I related to your essay so much. I have mild acne, acne scars, and sensitive skin that can cause redness on my face. I’m trained by society to “cover up” because I’m expected to have this “flawless” and “clear” look as a woman. If I went outside without makeup on with a breakout, I would be self-conscious the entire day and not be myself due to this pressure that I’m being put under daily. Make-up should be a choice for women, not a requirement. I believe that there is progress being made with beauty norms in our society, especially in comparison to when I was growing up. However, this is still a huge problem that is setting young girls up to fall into this norm like we did. I hope our generation can provide a positive influence and teach girls to love themselves before they start putting on that second face.
From Hannah:
I very much related to this photo and it’s concept. In middle school and the beginning of high school I would wake up for school about an hour earlier than I needed to so that I could make sure I perfected my beauty routine. My bathroom looked just like this picture along with a lot of more stuff. I like how the artist mentioned that the name of her foundation is “born this way” which is ironic since it is a tool to cover up what you naturally look like from birth. Similar to this, my favorite eye shadow pallet is named “naked” which is ironic because obviously if i am putting on eyeshadow to be prettier, my face is not naked. I also find it very true that our mothers teach us beauty norms without even really trying to. For example, I remember times when I have woken up and planned on not wearing makeup for the day but my mom said I had circles under my eyes and that I should put some concealer on. As I got older I used more and more beauty products and my beauty routine just kept getting longer. I think that the black and white in this photo also speaks for the fact that beauty norms in today’s society are “black and white”, that girls are expected to look a certain way and anything other than that is a flaw. The artist clearly shows how much money, time, and energy women put into how they look.
From: Madi
I was extremely interested in this picture when I first saw it. The first thing that I noticed was the use of black and white throughout the image. I can definitely see how the use of black and white is meant to symbolize the taking off of one’s make up after a long day. Washing off one’s makeup is similar to the draining of color from the image. I think any woman who reads this paragraph would be able to relate to the woman in the image. I also found it extremely creative that the foundation bottle is name “Born This Way.” This name completely reinforces the unrealistic beauty standards placed upon women. If you want the “Born This Way” look then why cake your face with makeup in the first place? The title of this piece, ‘Mama Always Said Beauty is Pain’, caught my attention as well. The writer talks about how the standards for men and their skin are so much different for women. We’re expected to cover any imperfection on our skin and to feel ashamed for it while men hardly are judged for their blemishes. It’s upsetting that mothers reinforce this idea and point out their daughters’ blemishes, however we must not blame them because this is what our society has been taught for years now. I think the writer did an amazing job using subtle details in the picture to portray the unfair beauty standards placed upon women today.
From: Molly
This photo and it's caption stood out to me right away when I saw it. I believe that the idea to put the photo in black and white was a good idea because it's almost like it symbolizes all the items girls use everyday are to be hidden away from society, as if girls always look perfect and flawless. I relate to this photo also because I had a horrible acne problem growing up which is why I started wearing makeup. Although, as I became older and my acne settled I am now so used to wearing makeup that I am almost embarrassed to go out in public without at least concealer on. It's as if the makeup industry is saying to girls at a young age that if you want to be flawless or beautiful you need to wear our products. The photo perfectly demonstrates beauty standards put on women that are sometimes unattainable.
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