HOW DID THINKING MORE EVER MEAN CARING LESS?
Is there still a feeling that clever girls don’t care about what they look like? I grew up in the 90s so my reference for these things maybe a little out of date. I have a feeling that this mindset hasn’t changed. Can it be that in 2017 people still think that airheads care more about their looks than the studious?
It is International Women’s Day today and I am confronted with these social stereotypes of women. Do you love or hate the Kardashians? Are they a symbol of all that is wrong with the millennial woman? Are they setting feminism back by being all body, hair and makeup or are they smart, clever business women? On the other side of the spectrum we have world leaders like Theresa May and Angela Merkel who look like they have little time for fashion and the-like. Are they just from a different era?
Clever women can care about their looks but where are the examples? Michelle Obama is the only one that comes to mind. I don’t think entertainers count in this context because their looks really do matter for their livelihood. They will work hard on looking great all the time because their lives demand it. But what about real people like you and me? Should we care less?
You’re reading this because you care. You know how important it is to a woman to look after herself. It’s not just some vein attempt at attention. It is part of our DNA. They call it make-up for a reason. There is a school of thoughts that states ‘the personal is the political’. Everything we purchase has traceable ramifications. We want to know where our money is going, what’s in our products and which political parties our vein choices are funding.
Are we supposed to be millennials who care more about everything but less about our looks? The opposite seems true. There is an explosion in selfies, shelfies and MUAs.
The beauty industry has always been driven by unattainable goals. That is part of the fantasy and I think we’re more aware of that than ever before in fact we relish it. But I still ask myself why did thinking more ever mean caring less?
Part of our Write My Wrongs Series
