A few weeks ago, Em Ford, a British beauty blogger, posted a YouTube video titled, "You Look Disgusting." The video shows the comments she received after posting images of herself on social media without makeup. Over 100,000 people negatively commented on these images. Real comments appear in the video. "I can't even look at her." "WTF is wrong with her face." "Seriously.. has she ever washed her face."
Showing how hurt Ford is, she starts applying makeup. By wearing makeup the comments become positive. "You look so stunning." "I love your makeup." "That lipstick is amazing on you." From these comments it is obvious Ford is starting to feel confident.
The comments take a turn when people point out how much makeup she is wearing. "This is why I have trust issues." "You're so ugly that's why you wear makeup." "Trust no f*cking b*tch with makeup." The confidence she once had from the makeup is now gone. Frustrated, she takes off all of her makeup and her true feeling are revealed. She explains how having acne made her feel worthless, how she used to get bullied because of her skin, and how makeup made her feel good. At the end of the video Ford states, "You are beautiful. Don't let anyone tell you differently. Not even yourself."
Em Ford's video has a very powerful message and has been suggested as the cause of the #Don’tJudgeChallenge. In these posts participants record themselves close-up with exaggerated flaws such as drawn in unibrows and red dots mimicking acne. The participants appear unconfident and depressed. They then cover the camera with their hand for several seconds and voila, they are picture perfect. Their eyebrows are waxed, their acne is gone, their confidence is back.
I think there has been some miscommunication with what the hashtag means. When I first saw this hashtag I thought it would help people's self-esteem by spreading the message of not judging. People have interpreted it as encouraging judgment and making fun of those who can't cover the camera and seconds later have clear skin. This fad doesn’t help anyone's self-esteem. It feeds on people’s insecurities, making it seem that makeup cures everything.
We forget that society has set unrealistic standards of beauty that we've surrendered to. These standards are so unrealistic, even supermodels don’t measure up to them.
Personally, I don’t care whether people wear zero makeup or the whole store. It’s not my place nor my face. I have a problem when people wear makeup not for themselves but to try to fit in with society’s definition of what beautiful means.
The definition of beauty society teaches us is, in my opinion, ugly. Beauty does not reflect what size your waistline is or how voluminous your hair is. Beauty has nothing to do with a person’s appearance. For me how you present yourself, treat others and express confidence defines beauty.
Someone once said “Confidence isn’t walking into a room with your nose in the air, and thinking you are better than everyone else. It’s walking into a room and not having to compare yourself to anyone else in the first place.”
