My 'Feminist', And Why She Scowls

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/mar/04/return-full-makeup

And so to the Scowling Feminist, and her origin. I should state that I'm uncomfortable with the term 'feminism', in much the same way as I'm uncomfortable with any '-ism', for being a systemised outlook on the world whereby everything is assigned value relative to a central concept. Feminism, as Coc and I are discussing as I write, sets out to unravel the concept of femininity but is based upon the very concept it wishes to unravel. And if it is not unravelling the concept, it must (as I see it) be privileging it. Both these potential understandings are antagonistic to my aim of an equality based on an acknowledgement of personhood and agency. To clarify my terms: by 'personhood' I mean the recognition of the humanity we share rather than the variety within it which becomes a focus of difference; and I understand 'agency' to be the recognition of an individual's ability to accept, reject and negotiate the definitions which the power structures within which we operate seek to impose upon us, and to self-define and self-realise even within these structures.

So, I'm not sure about 'feminism'. However, neither I nor (to my knowledge) anyone else has been able to come up with a more suitable term, so it will have to do. Thus I scowl at it. And my scowls were given name from this article about makeup by Hilary Mantel, a writer I hitherto admired. Now, as anyone who has the fortune to know me knows, I love makeup. I love big colours. I love big chunky spider-lashes. I love the way eyeshadow plays and blends and clashes with all the colours upon and within me. It's ace. I don't wear lipstick because it's uncomfortable and cumbersome, and I don't wear foundation because its function is the antithesis of why I wear makeup - it conceals rather than highlights. There's no showing-off in foundation. Not for me the 'natural' look - I'm all about the brash display. And I have bad skin days like anyone else - sometimes I look great, sometimes tiredness, hormones and lack of sunlight get the better of my youthful elasticity. And sometimes I can't be arsed to wear makeup. Sometimes there's no time, sometimes I'd rather just have a more leisurely breakfast. Whatever. I'm perfectly happy to present myself to the world without it... My mother never wears any, my grandmothers never did, and nor do most of the women in my extended family. But this seems too much for Mantel to believe, swoopingly patronising in her bland assumptions that few women honestly wear no makeup and few men have ever seen these bold creatures. 'Moons on sticks', she calls those of us with the temerity to present unpainted faces to the world. Yer hear that, Mam? That's you, that is... She cites a Grazia survey conducted, encouragingly, among 100 'people' - 'presumably women, but maybe not'. I struggle to understand this aside - are women not people too? I for one am surprised that only 61% of these people claim they'd face the world au naturel for nothing. Not demanding payment for stepping out of doors makeup-free? Duh! Surely this is A Good Thing, Ms Mantel?

Perhaps others read her tone as tongue-in-cheek, and think I'm flailing over nothing. Maybe makeup isn't even an important issue, not worth all this angry verbiage. I don't know - doubtless there are strong counter-arguments. But the reason I take this seriously, over and above any possible flippancy of tone, is the emphasis on construction and contrivance: 'you paint the face of the woman you would like to be, then you stare at it in the mirror, then you go out and imitate her until the job's done.' This not-so-subtle suggestion that makeup-wearers essentially refute or negate their identity somehow perpetuates a damaging conviction that they/we are not beautiful/young/confident/adequate enough to present ourselves to the world as we might want to. People who present the 'natural look' are 'smug'. Well, quite. Who do they think they are? It seems to me that Mantel, however joshingly, is taking shots at people - sorry, women - who behave outside the rules of the gender game. And that's a shame. Makeup is as lively a subject to write on as anything else - it's an art, an aesthetic. It's something people do, not something they are. Let us do (or not do) as we will.

Still, she gave me the idea for my blog name. For that, I thank her.