I have a confession to make: These aren’t my real eyebrows.
Well, they’re my real eyebrows but believe it or not they don’t naturally take this shape. I do some tweezing so that my eyebrows have the perfect feminine arc.
Eyebrow tweezing is just one of the many ways women alter their appearance so that they can get as close as possible to often unattainable standards of beauty. Lips painted bright red and eyes outlined in black are not commonly found in nature. And yet there are many women who cannot leave the house unless they alter their appearance in that way, because they’re afraid that others would see them as they naturally are.
There is a passage in the book Bridget Jones’s Diary, by Helen Fielding, that makes me think about how all the rituals we women go through are absurd:
“… Legs to be waxed, underarms shaved, eyebrows plucked, feet pumiced, skin exfoliated and moisturized, spots cleansed, roots dyed. … I wonder what I would be like if left to revert to nature — with a full beard and handlebar moustache on each shin, Dennis Healey eyebrows, face a graveyard of dead skin cells, spots erupting, long curly fingernails. … Is it any wonder girls have no confidence?”
Most women fall into this trap. I often feel guilty when I notice how I’m conforming to female beauty standards — I wear eyeliner, shave my armpits and have been known to wear heels. It’s important for me to continually remind myself why I’m doing those things — it’s not only for me, it’s for the culture that has told me how I should want to look.
Women often tell themselves that those decisions are individualistic and noble: They feel “liberated” when wearing a small bikini, “confident” when they’re wearing makeup or “empowered” when they undergo breast augmentation.
A woman, of course, has every right to get implants and decide how they look; part of feminism is allowing women to make their own decisions. But we shouldn’t fool ourselves into thinking that such a choice is purely individual. Bigger boobs and heavy makeup don’t inherently infuse a woman with confidence and happiness. Those feelings usually come from the knowledge that others are enjoying her new appearance as well.
Recently, the Women’s National Basketball Association unleashed a new marketing technique that has been defended in a similar way. According to a story written by reporter Shannon Ryan of the Chicago Tribune, new players in the women’s professional basketball league took part in makeup, fashion and eyebrow-shaping lessons in an effort to attract more fans and more attention.
It is obviously unfortunate that incredible female athletes, whether in basketball or soccer or other sports, don’t get the same recognition as male athletes (unless they’re as sexy as Anna Kournikova). I can’t really blame the WNBA too much for taking such a superficial route; good marketing is appealing to the beliefs and needs of the people. What bothers me are the justifications they use for explaining their strategy.
WNBA President Donna Orender is quoted in the Tribune story as saying that it’s just “reality” that “there’s more focus on a woman’s physical appearance” and “men are straight out accepted for their athletic ability.
”Yes, that certainly is the reality. But that’s the reason they’re choosing that kind of marketing, it’s not the justification. It’s a shame that they can’t just be marketed as great athletes who happen to be women, because their looks should have nothing to do with how they play basketball.
Renee Brown, WNBA vice president of player personnel, said they’re just “celebrating their womanhood.” But womanhood is about more than looks. And it’s definitely about more than eyebrow tweezing.
Amanda Teuscher is a senior journalism and political science major. Send her an e-mail at at156604@ohiou.edu.
Reader Comments
At least Herzog writes columns that incite discussion, albeit mostly negative. I've had a more entertaining time reading a women's studies textbook than your mundane, cliche columns.
mmakebeliever,
Could you kindly remove the stick, pardon, I mean Red Wood, from your derriere before commenting? It would make your trolling less abrasive, perhaps even constructive.
I love that when Amanda writes columns of "substance"-- no one comments. She has written some great articles concerning pay discrepancy, global feminist issues, etc. Writing a column about the pressures of society on women to wear makeup is no less important. Especially in the context of this article. What kind of society do we live in where women can play sports (don't worry, they have concluded that your uterus won't fall out anymore), but should be urged to dab on some lipstick and rouge before hitting the court? And to gain a wider audience no less?
Fantastic three-pointer dear, but frankly I don't give a damn unless you're wearing mascara.
meh,
I was merely pointing out that these columns are nothing new. It takes the same 'issues' mulled over for years and beats them like a dead horse. No need for personal attacks, dear.
These issues are still written about because they have not gone away. Saying, "Oh this has been done before, don't do it again" or, "Why don't you write about some real feminist/women issues" is silencing.
Amanda is not going to write about complex issues in gender theory, not because they are not applicable, simply because it will not appeal to a large audience. This "cliche fodder" is something that people know and experience. A lot of women wear makeup. Some of them are more attached to their makeup than others-- we might wonder why women are so attached to their makeup and analyze the reasons and choices behind what wearing makeup means.
Also, pressuring women to wear makeup while playing sports seems like a stunningly new phenomenon. I'm sure some female athletes do wear makeup while on and off the court/field/pitch/etc. But having an industry say to their athletes, "We would like if you looked more feminine while competing-- You know, give the audience something to really look at; We think it'll boost our popularity." That says something far beyond what wearing makeup if you're a woman means.
Pardon me for wanting to keep T&A out of women's sports so we can focus on what really matters- THEIR TALENT. NOT THEIR TATA'S.
So wait, meh. I thought women wear make-up and dress how they want to because it's stylish and because it makes them feel good and because they can. We had this discussion a few weeks ago with the catcalling and so forth.
So what do T&A have to do with it? Chill out.
Did I ever say women could not make personal choices to wear makeup because it makes them feel stylish? No, I did not.
T&A because why should sport managers feel the need to "feminize" their players by wearing makeup so that they can boost ratings? Should they also clad them in special feminine jerseys to show off their hot athletic bods? Their feminine assets? No. You can be pretty and play sports; but playing sports should not be about being pretty. We should not market them that way either.
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