I like the way I look

It seems the internet has figured out that I’m a girl. For some reason for the last few months, every ad on every site I go to, even male-dominated ones, is for something marketed at women. From romantic comedy banner ads featuring smiling pictures of some actor who was on Grey’s Anatomy, to obviously fake “Before and After” photos plugging some new diet pill or anti-aging product. 

It’s the second set that bothers me most. Every where I go someone tries to sell me something to make me look better. Even in the mall, young women at kiosks accost me trying to sell me lotions and mineral make-up. It seems that almost everything marketed to women has something to do with appearance. Most women have at some point in their lives looked in the mirror and not liked what they saw. Corporations use that feeling to try to sell women products that don’t work and that they don’t need.

It doesn’t have much affect on me anymore because I’ve decided that I like the way I look. I like my body, I like my face, and I like my skin. I don’t need diet pills, I’m skinny enough. I don’t need expensive make-up, I’m young enough. I don’t need Clearasil, my skin is clean enough. In face, I think the vast majority of women don’t need those products. In my experience, diet pills do nothing or at least not enough to be worth your money. There’s a reason they tell you to diet and exercise along with taking the pills. The pills just don’t do that much. They’re hoping you’ll lose weight by living healthier but think it’s because of the pills and keep giving them money. 

In fact, I think the vast majority of beauty products marketed at women don’t work. My mother has tried every anti-aging product on the market and has used many of them for months on end. I’ve never noticed the least bit of difference. It doesn’t matter, her skin is nice and I don’t think she needs to be using that stuff anyway. I think that’s the case with most women who buy all that crap. They’ve convinced themselves that they’re ugly and they’re willing to use anything they can find to make themselves look better. Because, for most of them, the reason they need the product is all in their head, the results will be either all in their head, or completely unrelated to the product in question. 

There must be a real problem with women not liking how they look, or else so much money wouldn’t be made off it. They hardly ever try to sell that sort of crap to men. 

Disclaimer: This post was written by a Feministing Community user and does not necessarily reflect the views of any Feministing columnist, editor, or executive director.

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