Columnist concerned by treatment of women wearing make-up

There seems to be a lot of advice for women when it comes to what we should or should not be doing to our faces.

The Internet likes to celebrate women who choose the bare skin look, as though they deserve a medal for abstaining from foundation.

I have nothing against women who choose not to wear make-up, but there is a fine line between empowerment and condemnation.

Songs like Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass” or Amy Schumer’s “Girl, You Don’t Need Make-up” come to mind as they both are intended as message to help increase women’s positive body image, but instead appear to be beauty shaming.

There is an assumption that women who choose to wear make-up do so because they have low self-esteem. Women who wear make-up “need” to so they feel beautiful. This is not true. Many women wear make-up because they want to.

Worse still, is the assumption that women wear make-up to impress men. On the other hand, social media tells us that men prefer women who wear less make-up. Most of us wear make-up for ourselves, not for the guys.

For some, make-up is an extension of fashion that enhances an outfit. I wear lipstick not out of poor self-image, but because I like it and it gives me confidence. Applying lipstick is my version of putting on a power suit.

Implying that a woman wears make-up to make up for a lack of self confidence undermines women. We cannot suggest that women are incapable of thinking for themselves.

We are more than our morning rituals. The women who walk out the door with bare faces are just as strong and respectable as those who get up a little earlier to apply their foundation.

Telling someone they don’t need make-up can be just as harmful as telling someone they do. Let’s start celebrating our various life choices rather than shaming one another for being different.