Beauty’s Double Bind

Talking about beauty is often controversial. Brands and people alike have tried again and again. Some judge women for wearing too much makeup, and others for not wearing enough. Opposing arguments draw on the idea of feminism in contradictory ways. Some criticize the choice to spend time and effort on makeup and other forms of presentation as catering to the patriarchy. At other times, however, these same actions are hailed as feminist wins by both individuals and brands such as Dove and Covergirl, which use feminism to market their beauty products. This turns beauty into a moral dilemma that places women and feminine-presenting people in a futile double bind. 

One one hand, refusing to adhere to beauty standards can be a difficult but rewarding feat. In doing so, women can potentially free themselves from punishing expectations and accept their natural appearances. They can escape outside pressures which force adherence to beauty standards as a belittling form of social control. 

However, this kind of healing is extremely difficult because refusing to conform to beauty standards means refusing the social benefits that make them so appealing in the first place. Beautiful people tend to receive preference in terms of employment, interpersonal interactions, and media representation. This is particularly true for women, whose appearances are constantly overvalued. Of course, beauty does not guarantee respect and raises the additional double bind of judgement when a woman is too good-looking. Still, a desirable appearance is overall very advantageous.

Thus, women are faced with a predicament. They can offer up the time, money, and mental strain of buying products and procedures that earn “beauty,” granting them some amount of respect and social power. On the flip side, they can retain the personal power of rejecting these things, but potentially forgo social advantages in the process. 

This catch-22 is exhausting and unproductive. Different situations may compel women and feminine-presenting people to make different choices regarding their presentation; many or most of them don’t have an ideological motivation. Generally, decisions about beauty have more to do with self-preservation than feminism, which isn’t a bad thing. Framing the decision to wear makeup as a moral one, whether good or bad, merely adds a new dimension to the already-excessive cultural emphasis on appearance. In reality, no choice is shameful, except for the choice to force beauty standards onto others.