Jessica, I love your work so much. It has single-handedly given me the wherewithal to cut my spending on "beauty" dramatically in the past year or so. Keep being the voice of reason—my hope is that the rest of the world will become so fatigued by the relentless whirligig of capitalism that it will finally catch up someday. BTW, do you have any sense of when your book will come out? (Yes, thirsty over here, ha ha.) Can't wait!
Dec 24, 2021·edited Dec 24, 2021Liked by Jessica DeFino
Jess, we need more writers like you. We need more people telling women they are fine just the way we are. We don't need to chase these ridiculous standards.
This is spot on. I’ve been thinking a lot about my own self-imposed oppression. The ways I assume I should be and act based on what I have learned throughout my life. There is a lot of freedom within our reach and yet there are def consequences to rejecting these ideas (but imho these are outweighed by the benefits).
100%! I feel like there's this overwhelming sense of "I can't divest from beauty culture, it will have horrible consequences"... but I think that's because beauty culture & even most mainstream beauty critique usually focuses on the material benefits of participating (social, financial, cultural capital) rather than the devastating downsides that come with participating, too (anxiety, depression, dysmorphia, dissociation, etc)
@Stacy, yes, I wish this was something that most femme-identified and -socialized people could talk about with greater transparency. Admittedly, something about turning 40 felt like it released a little pressure for me around the need to squeeze myself into prefabricated boxes and standards, but I also understand that that pressure can mount for lots of women, too. And as you've said, there is certainly a price to pay for rejecting, say, the mandates of big beauty, but like you, I enjoy the experience of breathing a bit easier (for me, anyway).
I would be really interested in how the whole "not like the other girls" thing plays into beauty culture as it strikes me as the other side of the coin...
Oh for sure. Beauty being dismissed as "frivolous" and "feminine" is a huge factor in why its role in our lives/culture/society hasn't been explored or questioned nearly enough!
…and, on Christmas Eve, she delivers the gift of wokeness! If yr brain is broke, I hope it never gets fixed. Brilliant analysis as always.
Ha! Thank you as always ;)
Jessica, I love your work so much. It has single-handedly given me the wherewithal to cut my spending on "beauty" dramatically in the past year or so. Keep being the voice of reason—my hope is that the rest of the world will become so fatigued by the relentless whirligig of capitalism that it will finally catch up someday. BTW, do you have any sense of when your book will come out? (Yes, thirsty over here, ha ha.) Can't wait!
Ahh thank you so much! Sadly my book won't be out for a while — probably not until early 2023. It's such a long process!
Jess, we need more writers like you. We need more people telling women they are fine just the way we are. We don't need to chase these ridiculous standards.
<3 <3 <3
This is spot on. I’ve been thinking a lot about my own self-imposed oppression. The ways I assume I should be and act based on what I have learned throughout my life. There is a lot of freedom within our reach and yet there are def consequences to rejecting these ideas (but imho these are outweighed by the benefits).
100%! I feel like there's this overwhelming sense of "I can't divest from beauty culture, it will have horrible consequences"... but I think that's because beauty culture & even most mainstream beauty critique usually focuses on the material benefits of participating (social, financial, cultural capital) rather than the devastating downsides that come with participating, too (anxiety, depression, dysmorphia, dissociation, etc)
@Stacy, yes, I wish this was something that most femme-identified and -socialized people could talk about with greater transparency. Admittedly, something about turning 40 felt like it released a little pressure for me around the need to squeeze myself into prefabricated boxes and standards, but I also understand that that pressure can mount for lots of women, too. And as you've said, there is certainly a price to pay for rejecting, say, the mandates of big beauty, but like you, I enjoy the experience of breathing a bit easier (for me, anyway).
The best one yet
Thank you :) I'm glad someone thinks so because I lost 40 subscribers for this!! Lolllll
I would be really interested in how the whole "not like the other girls" thing plays into beauty culture as it strikes me as the other side of the coin...
Oh for sure. Beauty being dismissed as "frivolous" and "feminine" is a huge factor in why its role in our lives/culture/society hasn't been explored or questioned nearly enough!