Is Makeup Body Negative?!

Hello my darlings!

As some of you may know, I, Gabby of Fudge Perfection, have a problem:
I am a makeup addict.

Now some people (cough, cough, Tumblr misandrists) like to believe that my addiction causes not only a serious dent in my wallet (because it does), but also a serious dent in my credibility.
As if loving makeup and also being body positive could not be true for a single person.
"Hypocrite", I was called. Fake. Liar.

56.63 billion dollars
That was the revenue for the cosmetic industry in 2013 in the US ALONE.
So clearly I am not the only human who uses cosmetics, and looking at those numbers, I statically cannot be the only body positive cosmetics user.

But more than that, I believe, hear me out, that not only is makeup not body negative, but in fact, it can be body positive! Here are my thoughts:

The Smudged Eyeliner Conundrum: 

Many of you will read the last sentence and scoff.
"Makeup is to conceal your flaws, not embrace them".

And perhaps you are right.
I had horrendous acne as a young teen, that's how I got into makeup in the first place, so I understand the conceal, hide, and never show your real face approach to beauty.
But consider this scenario:

A woman (or a man, because believe it or not, men compose a serious portion of the cosmetic profit) wakes up, feels like death, and slaps on some eyeliner to feel a little bit less like death.
Key word here: feel

Anyways, he/she goes to work, and chats up his/her hot coworker, working that charm because he/she feels sexy as all hell, knowing that his/her eyeliner is on fleek.
However, what he/she does not know is that during lunch, his/her eyeliner smudged like hell, and now he/she looks like Pete Wentz circa 2006 (children, google it).

But it doesn't matter you see, because the feeling of confidence, the feeling of beauty is vastly more important than the looking of beauty.
When you feel you look your best, whether you do or not, you accomplish more.
That's the beauty of the smudged eyeliner conundrum.

Self-Expression Eyeshadow

So the previous scenario covers many regular ole folks who use cosmetic products to feel better. YAY!

But some of us take it a step further.
Some of us use it not to feel more beautiful, to look like Megan Fox, no.
Some of us use it to feel more like ourselves.

And that "ourselves" can metamorphose in a variety of ways, depending on the day.

Some days I feel grungy, like Eddie Vedder's 1994 girlfriend (see the flannel).

Others I feel like being a classic pin up beauty, a la Monroe (see that hella winged liner)

And some days I just want to slap everything on and be a colorful bird (see the sunset on my eyes).

For me, on those days, it's not about being the most beautiful.
It's about expressing myself in a creative way, the way painting or dancing helps others express themselves.

Yes, I try to have good lighting, and yes, I take about 18232932 selfies, but at the end of the day, it's not about me. It's about the art.

Powder to the People

Here is my final word on the subject.
I think makeup can be body negative if not used correctly.
But if someone can't leave the house without makeup, it really has nothing to do with the makeup, Rather it's a psychological issue the person (14 year old me) needs to work on.

But it can be body positive because it gives women the power to their own beauty.
Do they glam themselves up? Do they keep it natural?
The power to express themselves, to show the world who they are that day, it's up to them.
It's up to them, and a little bit of powder.

Oh, and by the way, women don't always wear makeup for men.
I rock false lashes alone in my dorm room and wear nothing when I go to the library during finals, surrounded by my male peers. Deal.

xoxo

Gabby

Why I Hate "My 600 Pound Life"

Hello my sweet fudgies,

Let me just talk about something that seriously bothers me.

Last week, I was visiting some American colleges and browsing through TV stations we don't get here in Canada, such as TLC. Now this is not an attack on TLC as a whole, because let me tell you, I live for "Say Yes To The Dress"(crying brides and pretty dresses? sign me up) But I stumbled upon a rerun of "My 600 pound life".



Don't know what that is? Trust me hon, you're not missing out.
It's basically a documentary, if you dare lower this label to such an trashy degree, that follows the struggles and the subsequent weight loss of a 600 pound-ish human.

Again, nothing wrong with TLC, although it is called the "Learning Channel". I don't know what I'm learning by watching Honey Boo Boo dive in some mud, but that's neither here nor there.
Many other networks produce shows like this all over the globe.
It's a freaking epidemic.
And it infuriates me. Why?
Here are 5 reasons these shows should be burned at the TV stake:

1. It portrays the obese population as less than human, as animals: 
Watch as Human A eats an entire box of chocolates in its regular sofa habitat. How gross. 
Wow! She ate that all in 15 minutes! That's insane, but that's how they do it in their house. 
...

Doesn't that sound a bit like an episode of Animal Kingdom?
The way they observe and dissect and judge their behaviours, like we would tigers and whales, changing their status from a simply overweight person to an entirely different creature.

Would they make a TV show about a human who eats a lot?
No, that's not good television. It's too moral, it's too boring?
But making a TV show about a gross fascinating creature? Now that's showbiz.

2. It's purpose is to make others feel better about themselves

Now I must admit, I was once guilty of this action.
I would watch Teen Mom when my life wasn't so great and think to myself: "well at least I'm not pregnant".

But the problem here is that this is the same destructive concept as bullying:
to boost yourself up, you tear others down

So when viewers see these overweight people on TV, they cannot help but enjoy the feeling of superiority. "Well at least I'm not 600 pounds", they think. No wonder these shows are uber popular; it's an instant pick-me-up!

But here's the catch: not being pregnant or not being obese doesn't make you better.
It gives you a false sense of entitlement. Unfortunately, most carry that feeling into the real world, judging and shaming others who are different to feel that same rush of superiority.
Welcome to how regular folks become a-holes, my loves.

3. It puts the emphasis of their existence solely on their weight

The title really says it all: my 600 pound life.
Their life is reduced to their weight.
That is all they are, all they ever have been, all they ever will be.

Only towards the end when they lose the weight can you see a diversity of life scenarios, a complex and intricate life, like "regular people" live.
How. Rude.

Being overweight is not all a person can be.
They have jobs, families, friends, hobbies.
They are human before they are fat, you know, TLC.
or WORLD, really, because few seem to understand.

-----------------------------

These shows can have dangerous consequences on the human psyche, ones that can control the way you see others different than you for the rest of your life.
Sure, these shows can be good entertainement, but at what body negative cost?

xoxo

Gabby