glittergloss99

The main project I want to do this summer is around hyper femininity and beauty standards. I lean a bit radical in my feminist beliefs but I'm also hyper femme in my style. Even my hair brush is bedazzled. I have 3 lip glosses in my bag at any given time. Two of my biggest fashion inspirations are Ayesha Erotica and 2000s Trisha Paytas. There is a vast chasm between my feelings about hyper-femininity and self-objectification and what I'm actually drawn to and put on my body.

My goal for this project isn't to change myself. I already tried to when I was 19 and first started reading old school feminist literature. It lasted maybe 2 years and that's being generous. However, I do want to turn the criticism of beauty standards inward and reflect on my own practices, where they came from, and how they affect me and other women. I know nothing I do is in a vacuum.  Definitely a little navel gazey but whateverrrr. Not all the written pieces will be about me lol. 

One idea I have for a mini project is to time every beauty practice I do and add it up: makeup, nail polish, whitening strips, hair styling, plucking or shaving around eyebrows, shaving my legs and underarms (very rare)... How much time am I dedicating to this shit? How much do I actually want to do, and how much am I doing because I feel like I have to? 

I'm inspired by this art piece "The Price I Pay ($111.55)" by Winnie Lark published in vol.2 issue.2 of Total Woman Victory because it shows in black and white (kind of lol) how expensive it is to conform to gendered beauty standards. You're confronted with numbers you may already know but try to forget as you crumple up the receipt. Stark reminders like this are what make me pause and reflect. 


The first batch of readings I'm working through