How a stigma against makeup hurts everyone

Since early childhood, the media, friends, and family push girls to strive for beauty at all costs.

Young, impressionable girls look at photoshopped pictures of beautiful celebrities and wonder why they don’t look like them.

Makeup seems like an easy way to achieve that goal.

58% of girls between the ages of 8 and 18 wear makeup, according to a survey conducted by the Renfrew Center Foundation.

Of these girls, 20% feel that they are less beautiful without makeup, and 27% never leave the house without it.

These insecurities come at a great cost to women.

According to the personal finance website Mint, the average woman will spend $15,000 on beauty products in her lifetime.

This doesn’t even take into account the large quantities of time spent by women in front of the mirror each morning.

In 2014, a survey conducted by the TODAY Show showed that the average woman spends two full weeks every year applying makeup.

Now, the simplest solution to this would be to not wear makeup, right?

Unfortunately, for those who crave a break from a daily ritual of eyeliner and lipstick, it's not so easy.

Makeup on a woman is considered normal, and everyone knows that nothing makes people uncomfortable like breaking a social norm.

UK researchers Alex Jones and Robin Kramer performed a study in which they photographed women with various amounts of makeup on.

When they showed these pictures to university students, they discovered that both men and women prefer to see women with makeup on.

This phenomenon isn’t just a passing judgement: according to a study published in International Journal of Hospitality Management, female waitresses were tipped more when they wore makeup.

Additionally, sociologists Jaclyn Wong and Andrew Penner found that women who wear makeup earn an average of $6,000 more a year than those who don’t.

This clearly shows that there is a stigma against women who choose not to wear makeup.

However, society still manages to view women who wear makeup negatively as well.

By wearing makeup, women are somehow lying about their true appearance.

People, especially men, seem shocked that women don’t naturally have sparkly eyelids and red lips.

A man in China even viciously attacked a woman because she didn’t look like her profile picture featuring copious amounts of makeup according to chinese website Viral Cham.

Both problems could easily be fixed by recognizing one thing: makeup is a choice.

This choice should not be restricted to only women.

Only 15% of all sales in the beauty industry are from men, according to Mint.

The probable reason for this small amount is that men feel societal pressure to distance themselves from femininity.

In an article for GQ, journalist Drew Magary wrote “The fear of liking makeup is probably what keeps many men from ever trying it.”

And whenever a man does choose to use some makeup, he soon faces the societal repercussions.

A male writer for Buzzfeed wore makeup for a week, and while he described his experience as mostly positive, he was attacked with homophobic slurs.

This is idiotic, as men in makeup have been proven to have a positive effect on an onlooker’s perspective.

Many historians credit John F Kennedy’s 1960 debate win to makeup.

His opponent, Richard Nixon, was not wearing any makeup, while Kennedy was wearing some making him look much healthier and tanner.

Voters watching on TV overwhelmingly thought that Kennedy won the debate, while radio listeners thought Nixon was victorious.

No one should be judged for their makeup choices.

When we stop critiquing strangers for what they choose to put on their face, we can become a much more open-minded and accepting community.

CARTOON: SOPHIE ADAMS