VIII

Alice

1.) How do you feel about natural beauty?

I think it's fab! If someone feels comfortable enough to go without make up then I respect that. I've never felt inclined to wear make up, and I'm completely happy that way. But the notion that natural beauty is inherently tied in with make-up, needs to be challenged slightly I think- natural beauty should also refer to ones character, because what is on the inside is essentially real beauty.

2.) How does it make you feel when you wear make up?

If a professional does it, definitely gives me a confidence boost, but I try to put on makeup myself, cause I have no idea how to go about it. 

3.)In terms of the media, do you feel that they have pressured our generation into this whole idealistic view of 'beauty'?

Yes of course, we are all aware of the use of Photoshop and editing in advertisements, and what not but inevitably it still affects us. We are presented with these perfect images that we're supposed to aspire to, but it's just so unrealistic. They select the most beautiful people to advertise products, but even that's not good enough so they manipulate the image to make them look even more flawless. It's not only unrealistic therefore it's just unachievable, a normal girl isn't going to be able to reach those levels of perfection on a day to day basis because not even the models themselves look like that naturally!


4.) Especially between girls, do you feel instead of all girls uniting together,  we seem to be criticising each other? An example of this would be a television programme called 'Fashion police'.

I haven't seen the programme but I definitely agree that there's a lack of unity amongst gals, particularly because of the whole 'team' mentality on a social media. Team thick, team thin, team light skin, and team natural- that kind of thing. When we use those hash tags we're implying that those attributes elevate us above other women- like to have curves is more feminine  or to have lighter skin is more desirable. It's great to be confident in what you've got but we need to move away from the team idea and towards accepting beauty in all its forms. Teams compete against each other, and I question what we're competing for as women, through the use of the terms light skin or whatever.
At the end of the day if you join a 'team' you isolate yourself from a whole group who don't share that feature with you; those who aren't light skinned, who use synthetic hair, who wear make-up or who aren't thick set. It seems like an anti-female bias in society pitting women against each other by highlighting their minor differences instead of celebrating their many similarities. It's crazy, we don't need to be oppressed by men telling us we're not equal 'cause we buy into the patriarchy ourselves, creating disparity amongst ourselves- any movement that lacks unity isn't going to be as strong.

5.) Do you think the real definition of 'beauty' has been overshadowed by this fake meaning of 'beauty'?

Let me just quickly highlight that I don't think the use of makeup is fake, it's a woman's choice if she wants to wear it and if it makes her feel more self-assured than great, go ahead. The implication that wearing make-up makes women less real is silly- the external does not affect the internal in this case. However I do believe the focus on exterior beauty has overshadowed the importance of inner beauty. We're human's and have always praised things that are aesthetically pleasing whether art, nature or whatever. The difference though is that humans in general are not objects- like a piece of art or a flower, therefore deriving their value solely from their appearance is flawed, because obviously there is so much more to them. Appreciating external beauty is great but championing it as the be all and end all for a person isn't- inner beauty is so important. I don't think most people will get far in life if they're absolutely stunning, but have an ugly spirit and heart. Though I'm sure many people would dispute that.