Saturday, October 12, 2013
Is wearing make-up a 'betrayal'? One woman's dramatic transformation sparks online backlash
A set of before and after photos that show the dramatic difference between a woman with and without make-up have sparked an internet debate about cosmetics.
Posted by make-up artist Melissa Murphy, the images, simply captioned: 'Make-up. That's it,' show a bare-faced woman with acne scars and shiny skin, and then her transformation after putting on make-up, with thicker eyebrows, flawless looking skin and a seemingly thinner face.
The stark difference between the images has sparked a debate on Reddit, with some internet users labeling make-up in general a 'betrayal' because it hides a woman's true self.
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| Too much make-up? The stark difference between these before-and-after images has sparked a debate on Reddit, with some labeling make-up in general a 'betrayal' because it hides a woman's true self |
Reddit user plokoonismyfave initiated the war of words when he wrote: 'The left is uglier than the right, but beauty is subjective. The right is her wearing a (figurative and literal) mask.'
One person replied that a woman's personality counts more than her make-up routine, writing: 'You only feel "betrayed" because you put too much value on looks.'
In response to this accusation, plokoonismyfave pointed out the fact that a man who artificially altered his appearance would be seen in a negative light, too.
'If a guy wore prosthetic muscles under a long-sleeve shirt (à la Superman costumes), you would likely feel as if you had been deceived, regardless of what you thought of the person,' he wrote.
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| Disguise: One commenter pointed out: 'If a guy wore prosthetic muscles under a long-sleeve shirt, you would likely feel as if you had been deceived, regardless of what you thought of the person' |
He then went on to accuse the woman in the photo of disguising her insecurites with cosmetics.
'The girl in the photo is apparently not satisfied with the way she looks without makeup,' he said, 'and uses makeup to artificially portray a person more people would find attractive.'
Others stayed out of the debate altogether, instead admiring the miraculous transformation made possible by the make-up artist, who also shares her work on Instagram.
'Holy crap! That's amazing,' wrote one fan of the make-over. 'I would've never been able to tell that those two pictures were the same person. If this is your work, you have an amazing talent!'
