This Is Why I Have Trust Issues
Image by Marinell Pancho
Written by Marinell Pancho and Esmeralda Vasquez
In the article “The Color of Slavery and Conquest,” Margaret L. Hunter states, “Beauty is a crucial resource for women. In fact, beauty operates at the level of social capital for women [and men] in that it is transformable into other types of capital, such as economic capital or money” (27). Beauty can serve as a confidence boost in the work force. FEM Magazine writer Esmeralda shares her story about going to work without applying any makeup:
“I realized that my self-esteem was lower than a city river channel, while I felt everyone was on ground level. The one day I decided to not wear makeup, my co-workers asked me if I was hung-over. Keep in mind, the only makeup that I wore at this time was a cat-eye eye liner. I never wore foundation, did contouring, or had a full face of makeup on. A person should not be subjected into feeling that they have to wear makeup; it should be irrelevant. Unfortunately, this is not true at every work place. On a separate occasion, I was late to work one day because I could not find my liquid eyeliner. I was crying hysterically thinking about the possible questions my coworkers were going to ask me. I was wondering if they were going to ask me if I was hungover again. Since I did not want to be interrogated about my all-natural face, I decided to hurry to the nearest makeup store to buy a new liquid eyeliner. Once I put on my cat-eye eye liner, I felt a sense of relief and confidence. ”
Makeup can be very powerful tool. It gives many people that extra boost of confidence that they need. However, makeup can also be the source of hurtful comments. A while ago, the internet “meme” sensation created a new picture that includes a person’s before and after makeup transformation, with the caption stating “this is why I have trust issues”. Most of the time makeup experts on social media post before and after pictures of their makeup transformations. Often, the transformations can be quite drastic, but that is the power of makeup.
The “this is why I have trust issues” memes are hurtful and demeaning towards people. Everyone has flaws and they are entitled to take care of those flaws through their own means. Some people use concealer to conceal their visible eye bags, some contour their nose to make it appear the way they please, and some use makeup products to fill in their sparse eyebrows. Everyone has their own reason as to why they apply makeup on, but misleading people or giving them trust issues is not one of the reasons.
Makeup can be used to express creativity, enhance features, and overall make people feel more confident. As makeup enthusiasts, we use makeup products to make ourselves feel more confident. With our eyebrows on fleek, we feel like we can conquer the world.
