This woman took to Twitter to explain femininity and the makeup industry in a span of about 30 minutes and it's everything.
It starts out quite innocently.
Many of these conversations about men disliking make up have me thinking about the "Threat of Femininity" Allow me a few tweets to explain
But then she digs in 👏
If we consider the historical implications of femininity, as in the presentation of womanhood for consumption of men, we can begin there
Femininity is supposed to serve the purpose of presenting a woman as a viable incubator for progeny. Attraction = value in that way.
When a woman presents as "femme" she is considered a prime choice for reproduction and support of male interests
And you slowly start finding yourself saying "yasss honey!"
However she is not supposed to consider her looks to be valuable beyond their ability to attract men who deem her worthy of legitimacy
And by that I mean legitimized through marriage and motherhood, the two things that validate womanhood
*Whispers under breath*: "true"
You slowly find yourself getting really into this thread.
This is why we see some men have strong negative reactions to women who embrace and herald their own beauty.
Women arent supposed to know that they are beautiful unless a man determines that they are. Anything else is considered arrogance or conceit
YASSS.
Once a woman acknowledges and promotes the value of her beauty it means that she can wield a certain power over men
All the power please.
Okay, please go on.
This is where the talk of deception comes in. Many men feel threatened by women who seek to enhance the appearance of their femininity.
To those men, those women are tricksters who are simply plotting to get the best man they can using feminine wiles on their own terms
Some find it hard to reconcile beauty as presented through the "Femme" as being compatible with intelligence and capability
I see, I see do continue.
This is why incorporate spaces you often see women tone down there make up or cut their hair to appear less feminine so they can compete
In many ways, men feel threatened by women who use "feminine wiles" to get ahead because they cannot conceive of beautiful intelligence
So rather then have ppl assume they got ahead because the wielded the power of femininity, many women will scale back to prove intelligence
In some ways what these men are saying is that they don't want women who wear make up because they don't want to be deceived
Ugh women, always deceiving men (she said with heaps of sarcasm).
They don't want to be tricked or manipulated by femininity bc they feel it takes away their power as men. The "femme" acts as distraction
Rarely do you hear men say they were trapped or caught up by a woman's intelligence. That "trap" narrative is often linked to her looks
By rejecting one of the ways women play up their femininity i.e. make up these men can protect themselves from deception and manipulation
There is also the disconnect in accepting a woman's physical beauty and her intelligence/capability that men still struggle with
👏👏👏
Studies show that men prefer women either be beautiful OR intelligent. They're threatened by women who are both&see them as flight risks
They show that a man will accept a larger woman if she is really intelligent but he still doesn't feel threatened by her leaving bc...fat
They show that men are threatened by a beautiful, less intelligent woman because they don't think she can survive without their smarts
PREACH IT GIRL.
Femininity, then, becomes a threat then because it's all about whether or not a man can retain possession and control over a woman
And if he is already insecure he definitely will struggle with a woman who presents in a way that makes her more attractive to other men
Please keep going I beg of you.
It also speaks to how many men don't really value women for who they are more than how they look.
The research has already shown that many men are threatened by incredibly beautiful women. Beautiful by society standards.
This is fear rooted in patriarchy bc they believe the more beautiful she is the more competition they have&the more battles they will incur
By denying women the right to wear make up however and whenever they want they are in many ways minimizing their risk for battle
Fascinating how patriarchy works isn't it?
DOWN WITH THE PATRIARCHY.
Take all the jokes about light skin women not returning DM's or texts. The assumption is that those women are inundated with male attention
These jokes are rooted in an insecurity that they cannot secure the attention of a woman who is considered more beautiful than others
So the attacks happen and the beauty of those women becomes rejected outwardly as a way of feeling better about not possessing one
As lighter skinned women are considered inherently more beautiful the threat of femininity then becomes about competition
I find it interesting this increase in the rejection of make up on women. It speaks in my opinion to the true insecurity of so many men
Sorry Twitter, but its true.
Let's be honest Twitter is a haven for some of the most insecure people. It's a big draw for the insecure bc they can build community here
So these conversations happen in echo chambers basically reflecting the insecurities of a small section of people but they sound louder
I just find it interesting how the ideas of femininity and womanhood are shifting among people who seek to mate with women
If I am optimistic I would say that gender constructions are falling by the wayside as ppl become more open to the fluidity of womanhood
🙌🙌👏👏
But I am not optimistic because you motherfuckers ain't that smart. Most of you are ignorant as hell and content to live that way
So why you lack the capacity to process how deeply rooted patriarchy is in your navigation of the world and interaction with women...
Preach 👏 it 👏 girl 👏
You stick to the basic "I prefer women who don't wear make up" not even understanding how deeply embedded in your psyche this whole thing is
The "Threat of Femininity" puzzles me so because achieving femme presentation is a multibillion dollar industry
There is no way a majority of men hate make up so much that they reject it when the industry continues to thrive as it does
You want a woman's beauty on your terms to serve your purposes and minimize your risk as a man navigating a competitive male dominated world
And seeing the way some of you lash out so petulantly against women who are deemed beautiful and intelligent it shows me that you're trapped
"Poor little tink tink"
Poor little tink tink
And while some people have voiced their disagreement, many people have shown their support.
@FeministaJones here she comes. *takes a seat, pulls out notebook*
@FeministaJones I'm finna pass this thread out like a mixtape! #yes !!!
@FeministaJones dammm...church came a day early (for me). Thank you, so many light bulbs went off as I read your thread.
@FeministaJones Perfect thread. Facts on facts.
And all we have to say is:
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