Does insinuating that a woman looks good without makeup constitute as an insult?

2013-09-23T00:23:09+00:00

The top commenter is obviously deranged.

saint2e · 2013-09-23T03:55:03+00:00

Kind of an awkward way to put it, but based on commenters from that thread, it seems that the ability to put on make-up is something that is important to people, and they can take "you look better without make-up" to mean "you're crap at putting on make-up".

I wouldn't have made that leap, but I'm not a woman, and I don't use make-up, nor do I have a "make-up addiction". My wife does not wear make-up, and when it has come up in the past I have said "You don't need to wear make-up", implying that she is beautiful the way she is.

Perhaps that would've been a better way to convey what I assume was supposed to be a compliment.

TheOtherBono · 2013-09-23T06:35:17+00:00

holy fuck that was like opening the lost ark from Raiders! That kind of crazy takes some real delusion.

'You're perfect the way you are' is being taken as an insult?? The fuck

FarmSimulator · 2013-09-23T06:56:50+00:00

It was worded poorly, but not so poorly it deserved the response of sending a YouTube video of fart sounds.

SpiritofJames · 2013-09-23T10:57:54+00:00

Letting my Lit degree do some talking here...

All communication implicitly has an audience. Sometimes that audience is obvious, sometimes not. When I write you a personal letter, it's obvious that you are the audience. But what about when I write in my diary?

If you didn't have an intended audience, you wouldn't write: you'd only have to think if you wanted to communicate strictly with yourself. There are at least two likely audiences for you diary entries. One would be your future self, while others might be your family, friends, or any other people that you expect/hope will read it in the future. Additionally, you might imagine it being read by someone you like, a famous author, God, etc.

What's all this have to do with this makeup nonsense? Well, define public display and body language as forms of communication and you can see the connection.

Even when someone is putting makeup on, or working out for, "themselves," they actually have an intended audience for that communication. I think most people wouldn't find it implausible that, in general, guys work out and girls make themselves up because their intended and/or ideal or imaginary audience will find them more physically or sexually attractive. They feel better about themselves, in part at least, in knowing they are prepared for that audience.

giegerwasright · 2013-09-23T02:31:17+00:00

How the fuck could it possibly be an insult?

2013-09-22T23:57:19+00:00

Depends on the context and the woman.

Some people look for reasons to choose to be offended--they're just waiting for chances to express their outrage.

HolySchmoly · 2013-09-23T04:23:06+00:00

It's about power. Women use make-up to control when they want to be attractive to men and when they don't. If you tell a woman she looks better without it she feels powerless to control how attractive she is. Nobody likes feeling powerless. That's why this woman, and many others, feel strangely bedangled when men say they look better au naturel.

Vtwinman · 2013-09-23T01:44:46+00:00

Only if you are in a stable relationship with her.

2013-09-23T00:35:08+00:00

this has nothing to do with men's rights, this is more to do with people who are shit at hitting on girls

bossross · 2013-09-22T23:46:04+00:00

Sorry if this post doesnt belong in this subreddit, it seemed like the best one. I just wanted to point out some misconceptions that some women make when men try to pay them a compliment.

I am not the person who made the comment, but it annoyed me by the reaction of the people who responded.

StoicSophist · 2013-09-23T00:21:03+00:00

Saying that someone "really shouldn't wear makeup" is a lot more than just an insinuation they look good without it. It comes off as you telling the person what they should do, and implies that they are wearing makeup for your benefit. There's also the implied insult that they don't look good in makeup.

If all you want to say is that a person looks good without makeup, say "you look good without makeup".

Swolebrah · 2013-09-23T01:38:37+00:00

I'd consider it a backhanded compliment

Title	Does insinuating that a woman looks good without makeup constitute as an insult?
Author	bossross
Upvotes	13
Comments	14
Date	September 22, 2013 11:45 PM UTC (12 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/1mxat9/does_insinuating_that_a_woman_looks_good_without/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/does-insinuating-that-a-woman-looks-good-without.1163183 https://theredarchive.com/post/1163183

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