In the wake of the Academy Awards and a great deal of on line chatter about bad plastic surgery and the (perceived) need to look young, author Laura Lippman suggested on Facebook that everyone post photos of their 'real,' un-made up, unretouched selves.
No problem. At seventy one I'm used to who I am and comfortable with it. I haven't worn makeup in a good many years -- I put some lipstick on for an author photo ten years ago and felt like I was wearing a clown face.
In my twenties, I did the whole thing -- foundation, eye make up, etc., etc. -- and I remember how naked I felt without makeup.
Then I got over it. What a pleasure not to spend time 'putting on my face.' (And when you think about it, what a truly weird concept that is.)
I can't remember exactly when I quit using lipstick but I kinda think it was when I read THE NAKED APE by Desmond Morris (1967.) He posited that reddened lips were a (probably subconscious) imitation of the female genitalia which flush red and swell on arousal.
Hmmm. And that would account for Botoxed lips as well.
This whole natural self thing on the Internet isn't meant to put down folks who choose to use makeup, hair color, even plastic surgery. It is meant to suggest that no one should feel compelled to look forever young -- that age is not something to be ashamed of and denied.One of the nicest things about the Internet, I think, is that we get to know people often with no idea of what they look like. One of my favorite friends on Facebook is, if his/her profile picture is to be believed, a mouse.
