Why do we wear
cosmetics?
Evolutionary
theory suggests that the ultimate goal of every species is to
reproduce. I believe that the reason people use cosmetics lies
deep
within this realm. Both men and women desire a physically
attractive
partner. We work out, eat low fat diets and conform to all the
social
norms associated with making our bodies beautiful, including applying
make-up. We generally do all this in hopes of accomplishing the
state of beauty;
we want to be beautiful in order to attract a mate. We want to
get into a
romantic relationship with another person and physical attraction in
our
society is normally a must in order to start a relationship.
Frequently
the first bit of information we gain about a potential romantic partner
is
physical attractiveness. Men place a higher value on having an
attractive
mate than women do. Males are more attracted to physical
characteristics
like youthfulness, thought to be more
associated with
fertility. Women are attracted to similar characteristics but
have a
greater investment in reproduction. They must choose a mate who
can
obtain resources for her and protect her and the offspring.
Attractive
qualities then for a female are muscular and athletic mates.
Correlations
between beauty and mating are deeply rooted in us from the first
societies
created by humans. The greater a persons physical attractiveness
the
better the chances are for that person to reproduce (especially for
women). It has been proven that cosmetics have a positive
beautifying impact on facial attractiveness of Caucasian women (Cash,
Thomas F. et al. 1989) Because make-up's purpose
in our society is to enhance beauty
it's not hard to see why it's so widely used and accepted. Below
is a
bullet point list further breaking down the question, why do we wear
make-up? It also explains the political benefits one recieves
from wearing make-up.
- To look better physically.
- In
all of the scholarly articles I looked at when finding sources of
information for this project none of them made any attempt to find that
wearing make-up has no effect on the a person with in our
society. As a matter of fact, in every study I read the
participants expressed they were more pleased with themselves when
wearing cosmetics than when they were natural. The research shows
that when women wear make-up they are looked upon by their peers,
especially male peers, as more attractive. Findings from one
study suggest that people who seek cosmetic procedures suspect that if
they are more physically attractive they will be seen and treated more
positively. (Sawyer, Magee, Clark pp. 35) This seems to be
the case, people deemed
physically attractive within society are judged more positively by
individuals within that society, and are given preferential treatments
throughout their lifespan. Not only are they given preferential
treatments, but it has been shown that those with sexually attractive
traits use those traits as a function to manage and control social
impressions.
- To feel better mentally.
- Participants
in the studies expressed that when wearing make-up they get elevated
feelings of self worth, self confidence and self image. This is
probably due to the knowledge that when others see them they will be
deemed more attractive. Not only does make-up affect oneself
physically it also has a significant role on users mentally. The
mental awareness of the added beuaty carries that persons internalized
feelings about themself high for the duration of the period s/he wears
it.
- To affect perceived personality
characteristics.
- Make-up
is often used as a tool. Different applications and strengths of
use suggest different meanings with in our society. By using
different types of cosmetics in different combinations and strengths a
user can send a certain message to recipients. Women wearing
cosmetics were associated with greater earning potential and considered
to have a more prestigious job than women with out cosmetics. (Fieldman
et. al. pp. 501)
- To enhance or highlight specific
appearance features or to camouflage less attractive characteristics
- People
who apply make-up often due so to highlight their naturally beautiful
attributes or hide the attributes they believe to be less than
beautiful. There is a type of cosmetic for any application,
including highlighting and camouflaging. Eyeliner and lip liner
are examples of highlights and "cover-up" is an example of a camouflage.
- To turn back the hands of
time
- Youthfulness and facial
attractiveness are highly correlated, with ratings of attractiveness
typically declining with age. Make-up use in older women is
especially used to hide the signs of aging. The more signs of
aging the heavier the user will become in order to effectively battle
the signs.
- Women are rated less feminine as
they age; men's masculinity is not affected. It has even been
suggested that a females youth appearance may be more important with
respect to beauty than a women's chronological age.
Given
the current psychological and socio-cultural impacts the use of
cosmetics and
cosmetic procedures are not surprising. Advertising and technology create
impossible images people in society are then held to as standards of
beauty. Advertising companies have long know the effects of
cosmetic use on members of society. Through thier adds they can
nudge society into directions of beauty. Ads help create or
destroy ideas of fashion and beauty. Those companies with the
most money to spend on their advertising budget will have the most say
in "what is hot and what is not." Advertising companies are not
in a postion of as much control as they are talked up to be, they can't
just come up with any new product they want and sell it. The
ultimate decision is up to the customer to purchase or not, if a
company does a good enough job to make a consumer feel attractive when
wearing their product then a purchase decision will be made. That
is why the impossible images are produced. Ad companies have done
their homework and studied what society considers as beauty and
why. There are even math formulas to calculate the beauty level
of a persons face according the their features. Once an optimum
image is created (regardless of it's feasibility) it's run on a
campaign ad. Potential customers are then made to believe that
wearing this particular brand of make-up will get them to look like the
image on the ad. When in all actuality no one really look like
that.
* Follow these links to see
other parts of my project......
IMPORTANT SUMMARIES
COSMETIC PROCEDURES
WORKS CITED
This project
was
completed for CST 3080 Cultural Contructs of the Human Body, instructed
by Dr. Mitra Emad. My motivation for the project
came to me the day our "big idea" was due. I was out to eat and
over heard a woman describing a procedure she had undergone to a friend
of
hers. The procedure the application of permanent cosmetics to the
lining
of the women’s eye. I had never heard of such a procedure before
and
became interested. I then chose a topic I realized to be far too
broad
after some preliminary research was conducted. From there I
developed the
question........why do people wear makeup?