10 Ways the Beauty Industry Tells You Being Beautiful Means Being White August 30, 2019 by Maisha Z. Johnson 1 Comment Note: This article originally appeared on EverydayFeminism and is reprinted by permission. I have to cringe when I think about my early days of putting on makeup. First, my mom wouldn’t let me touch the stuff until high school -- which I can understand, knowing what I know now about how girls can be pressured to grow up too fast. But I was lagging behind other girls who … [Read more...]
Finding New Ways to Talk About My “Bad” Skin August 27, 2018 by Katie Tastrom Leave a Comment I have "bad" skin. It’s not as bad as it used to be, but I still have holes, pits, scars, blackheads, pimples. It’s hard for me to even write those words, and for reasons I can’t fully understand I feel shame – or maybe embarrassment is a better word. As a fat activist for over two decades you would think that I could talk about my skin with the ease I talk about my fat. … [Read more...]
Why I Don’t Wear Makeup August 23, 2018 by Aabye-Gayle Francis-Favilla 2 Comments At an early age, I learned to associate cosmetics with performance — pretending, dancing, or acting. As an aspiring ballerina at Miss Janet’s Dance Studio, I wore makeup for the annual recital. My mother, who never wore makeup, would spread shadow on my eyelids and apply lipstick to my lips and cheeks. I saw cosmetics as being another part of my costume. The makeup was for my … [Read more...]
Going Gray: Learning to Love My Changing Body April 3, 2018 by Aabye-Gayle Francis-Favilla Leave a Comment Each of my grandmothers has reached an age when the price they must pay for passage into a new year of life has grown almost insurmountable. They are bedridden, spending their days unable to fully enjoy the beautiful island on which they live, the sensation of the hot Caribbean sun, or the temperate ocean waters upon their skin. They do not go for leisurely walks or quickly run … [Read more...]
