HW 31 - Exploring Methods of M,M,C,A, & Aggrandizing the Self

Part A
So for my homework, I decided to ask my mom about her method of adorning her face with cosmetics. Below is our conversation, word for word.

So mom, I see that you wear makeup, and you don’t like to leave the house without it. Why is this so?
Because I always wore makeup since I was a teenager, I feel I must always have something on my face otherwise I will feel naked like I’m missing something, like wearing clothes. The other reason is I don’t like the way I look without makeup. Makeup makes me feel presentable in public. I also think without makeup, I look blah.

What do you think makeup does for one’s self-esteem levels?
It builds up one’s self-esteem, it project confident to one’s self. When a person likes the way they look, they will feel better about themselves and that will help them be able to interact with others with confident.

Did you always wear makeup, even when you were younger?
Yes, I started wearing makeup when I was a teenager. At first, it was just playing dress-up, but later it was because I did not have any self confidence and I did not think I was pretty and was plain. So I wore makeup to make myself feel prettier.

Do you think there are certain age groups of people who should not wear makeup?
Yes, I don’t think kids or teens should start wearing too much makeup. When they overdo it, it just makes them look worse than better. Wearing a subtle amount is fine if it make you look natural. Also makeup ruins people’s skin, I also learned that the hard way and it was too late to change that when I figured it out.

Shockingly, my mother did not give me the standard "Because I like it, it's for me, not for others” answer many of us are use too. However, this does not mean she did not tell me something along those lines. She did say that she wore makeup to boost her self-esteem level, which made her feel better about herself. She explained that have a high level of self esteem makes human interactions easier, which plays into the whole “others” part of the above statement. When I heard my mother’s answers to these questions, I was actually surprised. I never thought she wore make up to boost her self-esteem level, I only thought she wore it to impress others. I learned something new about her through these answers.

Another thing my mother’s answer made me think of is the way little kids like to play dress-up in their parents clothing. They are still adorning their bodies with materialistic items, even though they are young and do it for fun. All through our life we are constantly trying to improve our self-image, trying to add or remove items from our body to make us accepted by others. Ever since we were little, our parents dressed us up and showed us off, as a way to impress their friends with their children. Once we got older, and into our teenage years, we developed our own styles and what we believed was cool. Some people got tattoos and piercings, while others spend a ton of money on clothing. Moving past the teenage years, adults also feel the pressure to be accepted by others, while in their companies they work at or by their friends. We always adorn our body in order to impress others, and make ourselves seem “cool” in other’s eyes. We might not realize it, but we all do it.

Part B
After listening to my mother’s answers to my questions, I began to question my own reasons for wearing makeup. As I stated above, people of all ages adorn their body, in order to impress others. I wear eyeliner and lip-gloss because I feel that I am prettier with it. By adorning my body with cosmetics, I am boosting my self-confidence levels (as my mom said), while changing the way others see me. Along with wearing some makeup, I also adorn my body with clothing that if find others will approve of. If I dress the ways others do, or wear the brands others do, I feel that I would be more accepted by others.

As Shakespeare said in As You Like It, “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players”. This quote represents our society today. We all have roles in this world, our role depending on who we are and what we do with our lives. By adorning our bodies, we are creating roles for ourselves in this massive stage. By applying makeup, I am playing the role of the teenage girl who tries to impress her friends and others. By wearing clothes that I feel others will approve of, I am playing the role of a teenage girl who wants to fit in instead of standing out. I am constantly changing my apparel and look because I want to impress the people around me. I know it sounds ridiculous, the whole question of “why do you care what others think” coming into play, but we all care what others think. Some people may be in denial, but every time we get dressed or look in the mirror we think about what others think of us. My methods of adorning my body helps me boost my confidence levels, and makes me feel as if I am more accepted by the people around me.