Lipstick, Heels, Makeup, Et al. - Why Are They Considered Girlish?

Why are things such as makeup, heels, dresses, etc. perceived as girlish/womanly/etc. ? Why are men basically indoctrinated to stay away from the above? It appears to be a superficial issue, but is it really? What do you think?

reply to post by vaevictis


I find it strange considering in the animal kingdom, the males have the brighter plumage and in some instances have to fight for a right to 'court' any female.

In ancient Egypt men regularly wore kohl and tribal and aboriginal cultures have men who wear war paint etc. so perhaps this came about as a result of raising the male as the more dominant or ruling sex and making females compete via wearing makeup and restrictive or enhancing garments.

I personally think that a lot of men look great in eyeliner--you guys almost always have such long lashes too while I need an eyelash curler and 18 coats of mascara.

Originally posted by vaevictis
Why are things such as makeup, heels, dresses, etc. perceived as girlish/womanly/etc. ? Why are men basically indoctrinated to stay away from the above?

Makeup runs with sweat. Heels are dangerous while using forklifts or insulating steam pipes 250 feet above a concrete pad. Dresses are not cool on ladders of any kind.

Women don't use these items when working in such jobs either, but men have traditionally done this kind of work.

When a man sits at the reception desk of a major corporation, he too should be allowed to wear makeup, dresses and high heels.

reply to post by vaevictis


Women like to beautify themselves with things that attract mens attention. We can see their pretty lips but when they gots the lipstick on it pulls our attention to their lips faster. Women wear heels mm mm mm and when you catch them walking in them and see the beautiful muscle structure displayed in their legs calf muscles all the way up its attractive. Make up is just designed to enhance their natural beauty to attract their opposite sex and it works well except I dont like when the ladies put a massive amount of make up on their faces because it makes them look too synthetic. This femal behavior is more less associated with the femals having more free time why the males were out gathering and hunting. Taking interest in things related like weapons, heavy gear, big shoes and boots to traverse terrain. NO need for make up because it would only wear off in the field. Lipstick and make up may scare their game ect. So basically men DONT... hi ladies

reply to post by vaevictis


Women have been taught since ancient times to do everything she can to make herself appear more beautiful for the man. It's just another sexist practice, IMO.

Roman philosopher Plautus (254-184 BC) wrote, "A woman without paint is like food without salt."

www.authorsden.com...

Also, women aren't the only ones who have indulged in make up:

When women started wearing makeup, men typically used cosmetics as well. Both genders used a variety of substances to bring out their eyes, and many wore lipstick and rouge as well. Historically, many societies have also used various materials to lighten their skin,

www.wisegeek.com...

It's mostly a fashion statement, but underneath it all is the desire to be attractive for men.

LOL @ this not applying to hollywood men
UM JUST SAYEN

reply to post by vaevictis

Explanation: S&F!

Possibly because they are products that are marketed specifically at the female demographic and generally that raises an eyebrow and several mental flags as it is not expected to be encountered in ones everyday macho existence and therefor when it is cognitive dissonance occurs. Being dumbfounded offends their suddenly [in their own eyes ] dimminished macho status and they project this internal disgust at themselves outwards and blame the nearest scapegoat for their own foibles becoming self realized, this is usually and unfortunately the Drag-Queen/ crossdresser who by no fault of their own legally accepted form of attire and by shear presence alone just happens to be in proximity to those who effeminantly question ones fashion sense and then sookishly sulk and chuck a tantrum... Uhm it is women who mainly think about fashion sense isn't it? Isn't that what womens magazines are for?

Personal Disclosure: I wonder if any male astronauts have worn their wifes nickers/panties to space and back for a laugh!

Personally, I don't see why anyone wears that junk.

You do realize when someone puts on mascara that they're applying guano aka bat crap to their eyes?

Makeup comes down to two things ultimately. Vanity and insecurity.

But hey, whatever floats your boat! =D

I always think it's funny when I pick on women for it and they respond. "I just like it.." They might as well say "Without it, I don't like myself." Good thing makeup exists though! It's a good early warning sign to jump ship early on in a relationship if they answer that way. lol If you get up and put makeup on before you make coffee on a Sunday morning, you gotta go!

reply to post by PayMeh


I agree. I don't wear it and my husband doesn't like it. I don't wear heels and fancy clothes, either. I don't understand women who feel they NEED to have makeup on and their hair a certain way before they leave the house. I'm just not into it.

Because these items are almost univerally worn by women rather than men.

Unless you're in a Rock Band, with the whole make up thing

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reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


+1 for you and your husband then!

Personally, everyone I've dated looked their best with their hair in a mess and sleep in their eyes.
Unfortunately, a few you could take pictures with and without makeup and most would think it were two different people.

If you wanted to psychoanalyze, I've found that there are two distinct personalities with/without in every woman I've encountered. The makeup tends to truly be a mask many hide behind. It seems to give them a degree of anonymity and detachment from their actions. It's hard enough dealing with one woman, much less two trapped in the same body!

Originally posted by vaevictis
Why are things such as makeup, heels, dresses, etc. perceived as girlish/womanly/etc. ? Why are men basically indoctrinated to stay away from the above? It appears to be a superficial issue, but is it really? What do you think?

As others have mentioned, women do this to accentuate their attractiveness to men or to provoke a man to look at her in a sexual manner ( not that we need too much encouragement with this ).

Each one of those tends to help showcase a woman's femininity, and because the different sexes are attracted to different traits in each other, then there would be no point in a man utilising most of the above.

Do you find transvestite men attractive ?

We can argue about how much of this is down to social pressure, but ultimately men and women are biologically attracted to each other in different ways, with men being very visually orientated - so, it makes sense for a woman to try and be as physically attractive as possible.

I would say that make-up would probably be the most useful thing for men to wear, as it helps to draw attention and exaggerate someone's best physical features - which would work for men too.

In fact, make-up is very common among men in some cultures throughout the world, such as the Wodaabe people of West Africa, whose menfolk put on all sorts of elaborate make-up before they go on ceremony, attempting to attract the eye of the women !




I think that men avoiding make-up in our culture is entirely down to our social customs.


Personally speaking, I prefer women with long hair, but I'm not really too fussed about how they dress, or whether they wear make-up. And I think that high heels are just ludicrous and totally impractical !

It's only a fairly recent phenomenon that men don't dress up to impress, before the 1900's men used to dress up as much as girls.
Make-up and Heels though are specifically designed to accentuate the sexual bits of a female, raising the buttocks and making it look like there is more blood flow to the face as if they are blushing and sexually excited.
Men certainly used to be "peacocks" though

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reply to post by davespanners


I think that a lot of the idea behind men dressing up in days gone by, was to convey the image of wealth.

Wealth, or the impression of it, is very attractive to a woman, and that's probably the reason why some men pay ridiculous amounts of money for designer labels nowadays.

Let's not forget, as well, that a tie is a useless piece of attire that men still regularly wear, which is ultimately meant to attract women ( we can all see where it's pointing towards ! ).

reply to post by Sherlock Holmes


Tie's as far as I know come from a garment that used to be worn by Croatian mercenaries (The original name Cravat is taken from the word Crabat / Croatian) in the 1600's that was then adopted by the French and it spread to the British Isles where it developed into the modern tie

Lipstick accentuates the lips, making them looked flushed and full. It is primate signalling for the upright primate, where you cannot see sexual organs.

Flushing across the cleavage is a natural substitute for buttocks colouring signalling. But accentuating the lips is intentional signalling which is reminescent of vulva. Far more suggestive.

High heels can have more than one possibility - one is accentuating the way the hips are thrust forward making them more obvious and therefore showcasing fertility, and further accentuating a feminine fertility feature by making you wiggle more prominently when you walk.

It also makes it far more difficult to get away.

Which you may think doesn't mean anything, and is feminist pandering - but the biggest crime in any culture that a woman can commit is to be unavailable. Even in cultures where women are utterly covered, the covering suggests availability. The inability to get away is a literal version of advertizing availability.

High heels and lotus feet are on the same spectrum of sexual submissiveness signalling with lotus feet being far more extreme.

For those who don't like that - you may reference "The Gift of Fear" by Gavin de Becker. A male and a security expert who actually explains this in his book. If you still doubt it consider this - when men discuss horrible women behaviour she could rob a store, smash your car, kill your children and you'd be angry and you'd say bad things about her in a group. But nothing beats the angry outpouring from men when a woman they want walks into a room and makes an entire room full of men aware right away that she has no interest in any of them. The vehmenence and language used to describe that woman makes smashing your car up seem like a favour.