Discussion Title: Wearing makeup is anti-feminist

1. Wearing makeup is anti-feminist
1.1. Con: Makeup is about self-expression more than anything
1.1.1. Pro: Women should have the right to choose what they put on or wear to express themselves, whether it's attractive or not: this is what true feminism teaches. This means that if a girl wants to put on makeup, then she can as long as it's what SHE wants to wear, not because someone else told her to.
1.1.2. Pro: Makeup is just a way of empowering someone to make adjustments to how they look, like the clothes you choose to wear.
1.1.2.1. Pro: Makeup can make give a person self-confidence.
1.1.2.2. Pro: Makeup allows a person to match their body to their clothing.
1.1.3. Pro: Women should be free to wear make-up, but not feel obliged to do so.
1.1.4. Pro: Men can wear makeup too.
1.1.5. Con: The number of views on YouTube "how to" makeup tutorials strongly suggests that make up is more about complying with cultural norms than it is about self expression. It CAN be about self expression, and it isn't necessarily anti-feminist. But wearing makeup in a self-expressive and feminist way requires intentional acknowledgement and subversion of the cultural baggage that comes with it.
1.1.5.1. Pro: The self-expression might be anti-feminist, because they are expressing the cultural pressures placed on them to wear makeup.
1.1.5.2. Pro: People might not have to wear makeup, but those who do might be expressing themselves, because they are pressured into doing so.
1.2. Con: Feminism means personal choice to live however one wishes as a woman, without discrimination or oppression. As such, wearing makeup, or indeed not, is feminist on the understanding that it is a personal choice.
1.2.1. Pro: It might actually be anti-masculinist where women could choose what type of body they want to have, but men can't so much \(they're more stuck with what they're given\).
1.2.2. Pro: Wearing make-up has nothing to do with the equality of men and women. You would rather focus on yourself and how you look rather than actually solving the issue of problems women and men face.
1.2.3. Con: Women's personal choices may be different from their wishes. A person's choice may be influenced by oppression and discrimination. The idea of free will does not make sense here, because the circumstances are part of the decision. It's just that people choose what they do in their situation\(s\).
1.2.3.1. Con: If the wish is to increase attractiveness and boost confidence, would it be reasonable to say that it is an unwise choice not to wear makeups which could contribute to such effects, especially in such social context where the general public approve of this action.
1.2.4. Con: Makeup is connected with discrimination \(because its [origins](https://www.byrdie.com/history-makeup-gender) involve it\). So people will not avoid discrimination \(which involved oppression in this case\) when they wear makeup. The fact that the claim above connects women to makeup proves this point.
1.3. Con: There are utilitarian purposes for wearing makeup that are independent of feminism, so it can't be feminist/anti-feminist in these instances.
1.3.1. Pro: Actors, clowns etc. wear makeup as part of their job.
1.3.1.1. Con: People can legally require women to wear makeup for work \(like [jobs and promotions](https://smallbusiness.chron.com/can-employer-require-female-employees-wear-makeup-63185.html)\).
1.3.1.1.1. Pro: A production company requiring actors to wear makeup to look different is similar to society pressuring women to put on make up to appear more clean, pure, unblemished.
1.4. Con: Forcing women to not wear make-up is not different from patriarchy telling them how they should dress and appear for social acceptance.
1.4.1. Pro: Pressuring women not to wear makeup \(such as through saying it's anti-feminist to wear it\) is anti-feminist in itself.
1.5. Con: People can wear makeup and still be a feminist.
1.5.1. Pro: Some people wear makeup to embrace feminism.
1.5.2. Pro: Most women wear makeup to feel better about themselves, not to pander to men's needs. To empower yourself as a woman and to empower other women is exactly what feminism is about.
1.6. Pro: Makeup involves sexism, placing people into gender roles \(as women are mostly expected to wear makeup and men not as much\)
1.6.1. Pro: -> See 1.3.1.1.
1.6.2. Con: Makeup can also be an artistic endeavor when it is used beyond the purpose of removing things that some would see as blemishes.
1.6.2.1. Pro: Drag performers use makeup as an art form
1.6.2.2. Con: Most women put on makeup to "improve" their appearance. This is because society expects women to be pure, clean, hairless, without blemishes.
1.7. Con: Makeup is a traditionally feminine past-time. To remove it is to devalue femininity, which is anti-feminist.
1.7.1. Con: Many conventionally feminine past-times were definitively made to oppress women.
1.7.2. Pro: Women will be more hidden from public view, so women's issues will be less of a forefront.
1.8. Pro: Makeup involves objectifying women, and wearing makeup supports that.
1.8.1. Con: If someone who isn't a woman wears makeup, it does not contribute to the objectification of women.
1.8.2. Pro: Makeup only increases the focus on female bodies, instead of character or abilities.
1.8.3. Pro: As long as makeup is not used by the majority of men, wearing it will typically be associated with women's focus on appearing feminine and attractive for men.
1.8.3.1. Con: Many people wear makeup for well-known reasons other than attracting men.
1.8.3.1.1. Pro: Lesbians wear makeup.
1.8.3.2. Con: There may be intentions attached with products that create associations. However, that's not the outcome in reality. Because people can use products however way they want to after being bought, people will apply them differently than its original purpose and these individual uses will shape the association as much as \(or even more\) than its original purpose.
1.8.3.3. Con: There is nothing wrong with a woman superficially trying to be attractive for men. Men do the same thing for women.
1.8.3.3.1. Pro: It is anti-natural to not allow objectifying. This also applies to the male,when they try to increase their masculinity by, for instance, doing workouts.
1.8.4. Con: Objectifying a woman is a personal choice. Women are not in control of how others see them good or bad.
1.8.4.1. Con: Since a person's image impacts how others see them, women are in control of this and can prevent their own objectification.
1.8.5. Con: Wearing makeup alone is not what causes objectification, but instead the context of use that determines it.
1.8.5.1. Pro: Because objectifying is not characteristic of makeup alone - clothes, haircut, jewelry, etc., have equal potential - it's not a source, but outcome of it. Targeting makeup as being anti-feminist would not stop the objectification, as it diverts our focus from fixing the underlying issue that's causing it.
1.8.6. Con: If we teach people not to objectify women in general, then we don't need to teach women not to put themselves in positions where they can be objectified via makeup \(like telling them not to wear it\).
1.9. Con: Wearing makeup does not have to be politically motivated, as there are multiple reasons and contexts as to why people wear makeup, just as there are multiple reasons/contexts for any activity.
1.9.1. Pro: Some people wear stage makeup because they are actors/actresses. This does not have anything to do with feminism, but instead just playing their role in a production.
1.9.2. Pro: Feminism is about freedom of choice and equality. A woman should never be forced to use makeup but should be free to do so
1.10. Pro: Makeup becomes oppressive when people are socially and cultural pushed to wear it.
1.10.1. Con: If makeup becomes oppressive when people are socially and culturally pushed to wear it, the anti-feminism element arises not from the wearing of makeup, but from forcing and requiring people to wear that makeup.
1.10.2. Pro: If a woman feels she is being forced to wear make-up to be noticed and/or recognized, that is anti-feminist because they are letting themselves be less than everyone else when they give in to the pressures.
1.10.3. Pro: -> See 1.1.3.
1.11. Pro: When women cannot appreciate their natural beauty when they wear makeup \(does not happen in all instances of wearing makeup\), then it ventures into being anti-feminist
1.11.1. Con: Issues with self-esteem and self-image are sociological and psychological issues, not political/feminist ones.
1.11.2. Pro: If people don't believe in themselves - because they don't recognize their own value, then they won't advocate for themselves when they need to. If women stop advocating for themselves because of this, then that's anti-feminist.
1.12. Pro: Makeup culture places strict expectations on women to perform femininity.