Opinions
4
MAKEUP & FEMINISM in today’s society. Nevertheless, voices against the use of makeup are features editor steadily growing in number. Recent no-makeup campaigns Upon entering the first level of and advocates of “natural beauty” ferociously attack the the Macy’s department store, the idea of cosmetic beauty, denouncing makeup to be equivacasual observer can easily be overwhelmed by the rows lent to “face paint.” Critics declare that makeup’s prevalence upon rows of gleaming white countertops fully stocked in society is due to the unfortunate fact that women are with a dizzying array of colorful lipsticks, foundations, no longer comfortable in their own skin and have come to eyeshadows, and more. Throughout the floor level, innurely on makeup as a permanent mask to hide under. This merable cosmetic brands entreat unassuming passersby assumption that makeup is just a guise is dangerously to try on a multitude of beauty products, each product misconceived — the fallacy in the idea lies in the fact that boasting a new and improved formula. Indeed, the prowomen do not wear makeup simply to hide their “true face”. motion and use of cosmetic products is quite ubiquitous Rather, the act of wearing makeup is a personal choice; for many individuals, makeup is even an outlet for creative exTotal market share of of Tot al market share pression. Contrary to what some critics may believe, wearing cosmetics by ca tegory cosmetics by category makeup is in no way an indication that a woman is unhappy with her appearance or just wants to attract PERSONAL CARE CARE the attention of others. Even more so, the act PERSONAL of wearing makeup is not a precursor to carFRAGRANCE FRAGRANCE ing only about vanity and ceasing to care about other aspects in life. The reality is that many womHair care Hair care en love putting on makeup simply because it is a MAKEUPMAKEUP method for experimentation and unique expression. In many ways, makeup is an art; FACIALFACIAL SKIN CARE SKIN CARE instead of a traditional art canvas, the artist’s canvas is her own face. Furthermore, applying makeup is often times enjoyable and not burdensome at the least. For many, achieving the perfect winged eyeliner or the flawless smoky eye look is a feat deserving of pride and joy. While it is true that women may also choose to wear makeup to hide “imperfections”, contempt from critics for such choices is groundless. After all, isn’t it only human to want to look one’s best? Makeup not only enables certain individuals to feel beautiful, but it also assists in building ISABEL LIN
LAURA SHKOURATOFF opinions editor
As the deadly infection quickly spread through a rural area of West Africa, no one seemed to notice. Ebola was infecting hundreds of Africans, but no one knew to report the recent increase in deaths to officials. As the months went on, doctors finally concluded that the biggest Ebola outbreak in the 40 years since it had been discovered was currently sweeping through over five countries. By Sept. 10, 2014, over 4,846 cases were reported, resulting in over 2,375 deaths, though the number is estimated to be much higher due to a lack of citizens reporting potential infections and deaths. From the beginning, it was clear that Ebola was wiping out a large gun amount of the region’s population, yet the helped the disease lack of help received from other countries to spread quickly. The WHO did send a and organizations was, and still is, comsmall number of doctors to help the people pletely underwhelming. of West Africa, yet they were sent with a lack The World Health Organization, of medical supplies that were necessary to commonly abbreviated as the WHO, is actually make a difference in the spread of the an agency of the United Nations which disease. specifically works in international public Doctors Without Borders was originally one health. One of its biggest responsibilities of the only programs actually putting in a large is to help to provide basic global health amount of effort to stop the spread of the discare. However, the WHO was completely ease and to help those who were infected. The unprepared for the outbreak of the Ebola WHO and many countries with the power to virus that occurred. Having recently sufmake a difference completely left the fate of a fered nearly $1 billion in budget cuts for virus with a case fatality rate of over 52% in the the next two years, the WHO only had hands of a nonprofit organization staffed almost enone technical expert on Ebola when the tirely by volunteers and funded by donations. outbreak began. This created a huge hole As an economically stable and medically adin the organization’s immediate medical vanced country, the United States should have been response system for the virus, and the one of the first countries to jump in and attempt to poor, rural regions in which Ebola had bereduce the spread of Ebola. USAID, one of the United
September 24, 2014
confidence. This truth is especially evident in teenage girls who are conscious of self-proclaimed blemishes such as acne. Often times, these girls tend to feel like the eyes of others are on their acne rather than on their actions or words. In this case, cosmetic products like foundation and concealer are sometimes what are necessary for these girls to face life feeling their best and thus to develop as an individual. Makeup does not mask these individuals’ identities but actually fosters the development of personal identities. Those who assert that wearing makeup can transform women into “fakes” are misguided — the obvious reality is that a woman who does not wear makeup isn’t necessarily any more “real” than one who chooses to wear makeup. Another common misconception in today’s society is the notion that feminists are — or should be — against makeup. This fallacy is in part attributed to what much of society perceives feminism to be. Contrary to the beliefs of some, feminism is not an antifamily movement that encourages women to hate men; nor does feminism condemn makeup as a tool for turning women 16 years 13-18 into sexual objects. or older years Feminism, in fact, is essentially about old achieving equality for all genders. An aspect of this involves eradicating the limits on what women can or cannot do. For an independent woman, to be able to wear a sparkly blue eyeshadow and to beautify herself is a personal choice — which is what feminism is all about. Fu n d a m e n t a l l y, wearing makeup is a personal choice that anyone is entitled to have. Critics who perceive women who wear makeup to be “fake” should reflect on their judgement. After all, is it any more “real” to be a judge of someone else’s character based on what he or she looks like?
28%
61%
AGE WOMEN START WEARING MAKEUP
States’ foreign aid programs, is specifically focused on helping to end extreme global poverty. Despite this, they did nothing to help the spread at the start. Although, by August, the program had committed over $12 million to assist in medical response in West Africa, the funds had that been given were too little, and were donated too late. A lack of medical supplies and facilities is still largely evident in every area contaminated with Ebola. The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a U.S. organization, has recently reported that because it took so long for a sufficient amount of medical response to reach the infected areas, Ebola now poses the threat of becoming endemic, meaning that doctors could fail to eradicate the strain, having it constantly be a threat to the world as time goes on. When the Ebola virus had finally been diagnosed, there had already been over 100 deaths from the virus. After that many deaths of innocent civilians, someone should have cared enough to step in, particularly a large organization or country that had the power to shut down the virus from the start. Even if it did not pose the threat of making its way to the American people or those of any other wealthy country, it is still the United States’ responsibility as a world power to step in. Furthermore, if these countries had had a sufficient amount of health care before the initial outbreak, Ebola would have been diagnosed months beforehand. The WHO and other organizations or countries with a large amount of financial support need to be working harder to eliminate poverty worldwide. The largest thing that the outbreak has brought to light is the complete lack of medical care in these developing countries, both connected and unrelated to Ebola patients. It is the responsibility of the worldwide community to step up and prevent deadly outbreaks, one patient at a time.
a despErate cry for help
as ebola sweeps though some of the poorest regions on the planet, no one seems ready to lend a helping hand