#my autistic ass can't handle makeup

[shamebats]

You can be like "isn't it messed up how grooming standards are exempt from the usual laws protecting people from gender discrimination? Your employer can demand that you wear makeup if you're a woman, they can even specify what kind exactly. The monetary and time investment that comes from societal expectations and workplace policies regarding makeup is an undue burden placed exclusively on women. It's a normalized form of gender discrimination which there is barely any pushback against because we've all been so effectively brainwashed by marketing from a very young age" and I can guarantee you that someone will come crawling though your bedroom window to shout at you about how fun and artistically fulfilling wearing lipstick is for them personally.

it’s been said so many times but it IS genuinely depressing to talk about how cosmetics are predatory and meant to make women more consumable and are pushed. but there always has to be someone saying “well i LIKE wearing makeup and look good in it so actually it’s empowering and if you critique this multi-billion dollar industry and its insidious nature you’re anti-feminist/hate women :/” like. We are not getting out of this alive, i fear

[a-dumb-bitch-apparently]

I don't think you're using nuance correctly first of all, and secondly I have experienced the last two. I'm autistic and can't handle the feeling of having body hair. I have depression and sometimes the only thing that can get me out of my rut is makeup. I know people with larger chests that need to use bras to help them get through the day. The guilt that dismantling the patriarchy has developed is harmful. I'm not just pulling these accusations out of my ass, I've experienced them and have seen them happen.

Okay let's talk about how dismantling the patriarchy is ableist (it's also transphobic but I'll make another post about that)

Let's talk about how wearing a bra is "submitting to the patriarchy". What about people who have chests so heavy that they need the support to go about their day? What about people who can't handle the feeling of having loose fabric on their chests because it's overstimulating?

Let's talk about how shaving is "submitting to the patriarchy". What about the people who get overstimulated with the feeling of having body hair? What about the people who, with the only thing to help them get out of their depressive episode, is shaving, because it makes them feel better? What about the people who can't do most things without help, but shaving is one of the things they can do, so it makes them feel independent?

Let's talk about how wearing makeup is "submitting to the patriarchy". What about those people with depressive episodes, and wearing makeup helps them get out of it? What about people who's special interest is makeup? What about people who can't get dressed everyday, but still want to look good, so they do their makeup?

A lot of these people that I'm talking about feel extreme guilt when something they care about is talked about negatively. The people with health issues can't help being the way they are. People with depression already feel bad for things they do (or don't do) every day. People on the autism and add spectrum already get bashed for having special interests.

So yeah let's dismantle the patriarchy. But let's not add the guilt of "submitting to it" either.