If MeN DoN’t uSe MAKe-uP, Let’S Not uSe It, too

As I read the article, ‘Keep Calm and Wear More Make-up’ (KT, Jan 19) by Sharmistha Khobragade, I wondered how our world would be without layers of prosthetic make-up. It was then that I realised that we do not have to look far to imagine such a world, it already exists in the men around us. We need to look at them only once and know that, well, it would look quite normal.

How do men self-assess their looks, personality and charm? I dare say, they are usually happy and confident, if they are reasonably fit, boast of a good haircut and possess well-tailored clothes. Then, how and why in this era of gender equality and feminism, do women have to carry the extra burden of spending time every day in front of the mirror, putting on, and later taking off chemicals that do not really do much good for the skin.

As a disclaimer, I am prone to using light make-up myself, but only because it has become so ubiquitous that I feel out of place without it. Nevertheless, I have always wished that the tradition never existed, so that I could be relieved of the chore of applying layers of unnecessary and potentially dangerous substances on the sensitive skin on my face.

We women have been forced mindlessly into following a trend for many millennia that really has no practical reason or value except for making us outwardly beautiful. It also succeeds in making life slightly more difficult for those who choose not to indulge in it. If no woman ever used it, there would be no comparing, no judging, no false beauty idols, no impossibly perfect beauty standards to live up to and life as a whole would be better for us all.

Give it up, I say. If it is not good enough for men to use regularly, we should not have to either. — Minu Moosa, Dubai WRITE TO US AT letters@khaleejtimes.com