Missglammygirl
Lexy
In my opinion, the use of the word oppressive is incorrect in this case. I think of the word oppressive/oppress has more to do with actually being controlled and put down by another group. That could be the majority, the authorities etc. I think this has more to do with the pressure to be perfect. The media puts as high price on being perfect and the reality is that most people don't fit into the mold of a skinny girl. I have always struggled with my weight. I've never been skinny and a size 0 like my cousin. Growing up, I was compared to the skinnier, prettier, smarter older cousin. Around 7-8th grade, I went on a crazy diet and dropped down to a size 5. I wasn't happy. I barely ate, was always grumpy and I never felt perfect enough. Around my junior year of high school, I quit caring about my weight, and I have gained more weight since then. I'm around a size 9 now. But I'm happy the way I am. I watch what I eat, but I don't restrict myself. If I'm craving a cookie, I'll eat the cookie. And I also realized the grass isn't greener on the other side. My cousin isn't as smart and perfect the way she is. She can barely keep up her grades in college because she prefers to model and she barely eats and is so concerned with her body she has had her boobs done at least twice. And she's only 20. Me, well I'm 19, overweight, have a goo paying part time job,and I'm college in the process of getting my bachelor's in political science with the hope of becoming a lawyer someday. I don't care if anyone thinks I'm overweight or not as pretty. I'm happy the way I am.
Do I wear makeup? Yes I love makeup. Do I wear it because I feel that I have too? No. I choose to wear makeup because I have some hyper pigmentation and very dark circles that are genetic. I've tried a ton of eye creams to help with the dark circles and I have tried some of the serums that claim to help even out skin but none of them have really worked. So I use makeup to cover up those things. I do go out in public without makeup, but most of the time I prefer to wear something on my face. It's not really a societal pressure, but more of a routine for me. I'm used to doing things a certain way, so unless I make the decision not to wear makeup, I tend to do it just out of habit. I do it because I want to.
My love for makeup came about because I grew up in the catholic school system. The schools I attended had a strict policy that did not allow for their students to color their hair, wear any makeup or paint their nails. I could tell you countless stories where they would do uniform inspections and If you had makeup on, they would make you take it off immediately and schedule a parent-teacher or sometimes principal conference to discuss this. After feeling controlled, I chose to attend a public high school for more
freedom. I would say that my example is more of an accurate use of the term oppressed. But at the same time, I didn't feel oppressed. I believe you felt more of a societal pressure to be perfect.
I really don't care for the way in which you generalize. I too am a California native, and grew up and still live in the San Francisco bay area. Living in a big city, you get a lot of pressure to be perfect, but the majority of the people you see are not the ideal perfect people. The reality is no one is perfect. We all strive to be in some ways, but no one really achieves this. Also, please don't generalize about wealth. I find that Canada is pretty similar to the U.S. I spent a lot of time in the Vancouver area growing up. Visiting family typically. And from what I've seen, there are people just as ostentatious as there is here in the U.S. The difference is that say LA and NYC are hubs for people around the world to show their wealth.
/emoticons/
