make-up.

spring 2012, living room. i was on my computer on the couch, one of my housemates (housemate a) was at the table, also on a computer. this is after all the age we living, everyone always attached to one device or another. but i digress:

enter the third housemate (housemate b) and a friend. this friend was chronically unemployed and she was talking about an interview she'd gone on the week before for a temp position. she was explaining how, as someone who's been a "full-time" temp for years, she is familiar with the process and the rules and, most importantly, the dress. in other words, she had a wardrobe full of business formal-wear. but the woman who interviewed her specifically commented on what she was wearing, suggesting that there was something... wrong with it.

she walked out the interview room deeply confused. what was wrong with what she was wearing? she could not figure it out.

at this point, housemate a spoke up. "she wants you to wear make-up," she explained; the critique had been code.

"so she wants you to look like a hooker?" asked housemate b.

"no," housemate a demurred before going on to elaborate about standards of beauty and something about women of a certain age.


i never said anything. but listening as they discussed the apparent arbitrariness of the situation, the implications were obvious to me:

a man would never in a million years be obliquely criticized for not wearing make-up. the mere idea is laughably absurd. and yet the expectation that women wear make-up is so deeply ingrained that she can lose serious points in a job interview for not adequately adhering to the standard

that this is a form of discrimination is irrefutable, but it's far subtler than many forms of discrimination women experience on the workforce. it would be near impossible to legislate against it (especially considering our current congress' inability to legislate anything). we live in a world where we learn that women are to be looked at so of course it's only natural that women be properly beautiful in the in the office. never mind that what she looks like has no impact on how well she does her job (except perhaps inasmuch as men harass her for being too attractive or not attractive enough; it's a lose-lose situation)

but if she denies the cult of beauty she is dying a cornerstone of cultural existence in the united states. and in a capitalist society that makes billions selling women the "essence of beauty" we just can't have that, can we.