Catherine
Whilst choosing my interviewees, I had a very specific spectrum I wanted to encompass. Catherine is a relatively petite person but she wears make up daily (not that there is anything wrong with that; I wear make up daily as well). She cares about her appearances and I was curious as to if there were any correlation with this and her view on her personal body image.
I interviewed her through FaceTime because she is a friend from back home. I asked her right off the bat the reason why she wore make up. She said it was to conceal her blemishes. Then, I asked if there was a significant difference in how pretty she felt before applying makeup and after. And she said, "Yes! I look scary without it."
Even with slight exaggeration, I couldn't help but be troubled by this statement. Who would determine if a person looked scary or not? Society. Society has set standards to determine whether or not a person is considered pretty or ugly or even scary. Before the interview had even commence full throttle, Catherine had already fallen under the '96%' from the Dove statistic.
Then, I jokingly asked if she felt self-conscious without make up.
"Of course. Then I complain to my friends and boyfriend, oh my gosh especially to my boyfriend, and make them tell me I'm not. That makes me feel better" she said with a laugh.
"You're ridiculous" I replied with laugh. "When I'm feeling self-conscious, I don't think I've ever tried that."
"You don't have to be self-conscious! You're already skinny!"
"And you're not? You're a flyer, Cat. You HAVE to be in shape."
"Yeah, but a few pounds wouldn't kill me."
After my FaceTime session, I have concluded that for her, there was a correlation with her care for appearance and her view on her personal body image. Cosmetics form a type of beauty mask that allows her to face the world confidently. The amount of make up on the face seems to be inversely proportional to your self-esteem. The lower the self-esteem, there more caked on make up there is. An exception would include a person that truly finds joy in applying beauty products but can confidently walk out of the house without a trace of it on their face. Albeit exceptions, this was the general correlation I drew from this interview.
I interviewed her through FaceTime because she is a friend from back home. I asked her right off the bat the reason why she wore make up. She said it was to conceal her blemishes. Then, I asked if there was a significant difference in how pretty she felt before applying makeup and after. And she said, "Yes! I look scary without it."
Even with slight exaggeration, I couldn't help but be troubled by this statement. Who would determine if a person looked scary or not? Society. Society has set standards to determine whether or not a person is considered pretty or ugly or even scary. Before the interview had even commence full throttle, Catherine had already fallen under the '96%' from the Dove statistic.
Then, I jokingly asked if she felt self-conscious without make up.
"Of course. Then I complain to my friends and boyfriend, oh my gosh especially to my boyfriend, and make them tell me I'm not. That makes me feel better" she said with a laugh.
"You're ridiculous" I replied with laugh. "When I'm feeling self-conscious, I don't think I've ever tried that."
"You don't have to be self-conscious! You're already skinny!"
"And you're not? You're a flyer, Cat. You HAVE to be in shape."
"Yeah, but a few pounds wouldn't kill me."
After my FaceTime session, I have concluded that for her, there was a correlation with her care for appearance and her view on her personal body image. Cosmetics form a type of beauty mask that allows her to face the world confidently. The amount of make up on the face seems to be inversely proportional to your self-esteem. The lower the self-esteem, there more caked on make up there is. An exception would include a person that truly finds joy in applying beauty products but can confidently walk out of the house without a trace of it on their face. Albeit exceptions, this was the general correlation I drew from this interview.