Painting my face

I wonder what people think of make-up when they really consider it. Me, I don't have much of a problem with it. It's not distorting the face; it's colouring it, enhancing it, bringing out what's already there. I love putting on a bit of make-up when I go somewhere that's not just the corner shop. It can also become something of an art-form. I have a friend who does the most amazing eyeshadow, all blended colours and beauty. It's incredible and really draws attention.

However, I'm aware that make-up can become too powerful. It can become a mask to hide behind. My younger sister, just about to turn 19, can't stand to leave the house without it. I remember a couple of months ago I dragged her down to the shop at the bottom of her road to get some snacks and she, at first, refused to go because she hadn't done her make-up. I eventually managed to get her down there without even a touch of mascara. She had her hood pulled forward as far as she could to hide her face, but she was still so impressed that she managed to go out without her mask that she phoned our mother to tell her.

It saddens me, because she's a beautiful young woman. Yes, make-up can be fun. It can bring confidence and that is never a bad thing. However, when it means that a person feels the need to hide what they have naturally every day of the week, even to a corner shop where no one will care, it's destructive and bad.

That is why I'm careful how often I use make-up. I don't want to get into that dangerous trap of thinking my own face isn't good enough for society. Just who am I trying to impress? I walk down the street and expect men to look at me when I'm wearing make-up. I'm not even that interested in men; it's just ingrained in my nature. I don't want that.

The issue of burkhas: An admittance of ignorance

I had a discussion with a friend this morning about burkha-wearing women in Islam. I'll admit, I don't know much about it (and it's not easy for me to admit ignorance). I haven't researched it or read anything much on it, and I certainly have never spoken to a women who wears one, which would theoretically be the most authentic way to get some kind of real view on the issues.

This is an incredibly personal thing to me, since I'm aware of my own cultural bias. I know, however, that it is not possible to take these women out of their context and judge them, or even the men around them. Taking things out of context leads to all manner of badness including xenophobia or racism, perhaps sexism too. I don't want this. I want to understand the issues around it.

My friend stands firm in her belief that it's oppressive and disgusting, which I don't want to prescribe to unless the majority of reliable sources provide me with information to think the same. I know my friend is taking it out of context. It's a habit we have in Western society. To remedy my own bias as much as I can, I am going to order some books on the subject.

If you have any recommendations, please let me know.

Become Divine: An Introduction

I have always been a feminist.

I still remember an exchange with my mother on the way home from junior school one afternoon. She was pondering aloud why all three of us in the family - all female - were staring at the ground as we walked. I piped up that it was probably because women had been oppressed for so long and used to have to be meek and subservient, and we had yet to get out of the habit. I remember being confused when she said that probably wasn't the whole reason. I must have been no older than ten.

It is only recently, however, that I have begun to accept how deep the patriarchy and sexism goes into our society. I watched it with a shallow perspective before; overt sexism, the obvious things, were all I really noticed.

Some interesting articles on blogs and LiveJournal got me thinking, and I started reading around the topic.

Since this is an epic journey for me and I've already come so far in these last few months, I have created this blog to document my journey. It won't be easy. I tend to base all my knowledge of the world in academia, so there will be a lot of reviews of books and ideas I have encountered, but feminism goes deeper than that. I'm also quite interested in the history of feminine ideas and will be investigating those at some point.

Welcome to my journey. I hope the ride is bumpy enough to keep me interested.