You would have thought that people would have reacted to the grass roots Cancer awareness campaigns known by their hash tags of #nomakeupselfie and #manupandmakeup either by joining in, or by thinking it’s a bit silly and ignoring it. But no, someone has to miss the point and run off at a tangent.
Now it’s possible that what she writes about women wearing makeup is true … I’m not qualified to judge, although it’s interesting to note that men and women have both been wearing makeup for thousands of years. There’s no signs that women or men started first.
Oh! And just for the record, if a woman pops down the shops early in the morning without wearing makeup and happens to look like a zombie that’s been that way for three weeks, men do not stop, gawk, and then run off down the street shouting “The zombie apocalypse is here”.
But what I do have to take exception to is the idea that the men behind (and in front) of #manupandmakeup are mocking femininity. I don’t think femininity was in their heads at the time, except when looking at a #nomakeupselfi picture and wondering “how can I get involved”.
Because it’s self evident that a campaign that involves taking off your makeup is somewhat tricky for most men to get involved with. Making the switch from taking makeup off to putting makeup on, is a simple and indeed brilliant way of changing that.
If there is any mocking involved, it’s self-mockery. Men are deliberately making themselves look ridiculous to make a point.
And just for the record, it’s noticeable just how many #nomakeupselfie pics come complete with a statement along the lines of “nothing you haven’t seen before”.