Thread: Why do Women put their Best Face forward?

I've believed for a long time, since the Fred Flintstone and Barney Series anyway, That the origin of beautification of the Female presentation is the exact opposite to the reason that their male counterpart put war paint on. Men had to look ferocious. Be brave in defending the Group against those who would over run them. Now women, on the other hand, are very resourceful. They realised early on in mans emergence into wandering Tribal and Family Groups that to be able to survive to Mother more Children, they needed to be prepared in the event of their menfolk being killed and their villages burnt. Their resorcefullness? Look desirable. So that the Winning side may select some of them for breeding purposes and wash the dishes. westwind.

I think you're overlooking the fact that it's just as common, if not more common, for men to be the ones with the fancy presentation rather than the women - just as it is in most other animal species.

Men’s Regency Fashion | Austen Authors

Dear adelady. Guess your not going to be selected then. But if you could produce a great smelling stew at the right moment, then there's every possibility that the Chief of the winning Warriors would select you. adelady, are you infering that blood thirsty cut throat attila the Huns type people would fancy a little Homophilia? There was nothing gay involved in sharing the victory spoils. AAhhh, adelady, I have had second thoughts about sharing the spoils. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending how you look at it, some boys also could be put into service with the victors. westwind.

The history of makeup is really quite fascinating:

The earliest historical record of makeup comes from the 1st Dynasty of Egypt (c.3100-2907 BC). Tombs from this era have revealed unguent jars, which in later periods were scented. Unguent was a substance extensively used by men and women to keep their skin hydrated and supple and to avoid wrinkles from the dry heat. The women of Egypt also decorated their eyes by applying dark green color to the under lid and blackening the lashes and the upper lid with kohl, which was made from antimony (a metallic element) or soot. It is believed that the Jews adopted the use of makeup from the Egyptians, since references to the painting of faces appear in the New Testament section of the Bible.

In many cultures and eras, makeup was associated with different social classes and there were rules which mandated who could wear what colors and styles. Women (and also men) are constantly at war with each other in a competition for mates, companions and resources no matter the sexual orientation. Proper turnout and deportment has always been a matter of station and it was the advent of Hollywood film that brought makeup to the attention of the masses and the names Maybelline (1910) and Max Factor (1914) are prominent on North American cosmetic displays even today.

The History of Makeup (article) by Christy Tillery French on AuthorsDen

While make up has been used by men, it is generally the aristocracy, who have to advertise their status.

However, women of all social classes have always been obsessed with anything that will make them look better.

The true comparison with the male of the species is status. Men, and especially young men, will do damn near anything if it might raise their level of status. Every male wants to be the guy that other guys look up to. For good reason. Young (and hence fertile) women are strongly attracted to men with status (and the ability to provide for a mate, money or prowess - which is correlated with status). So evolution strongly drives the male desire for more and more status. Such men father more children.

Female beauty is the same thing for women. A physically good looking woman is far more likely to land the most desirable mate, and end up more successfully reproducing. Remember that the most desirable male partner is the one who is better at providing for a family. So a woman who is obsessed with looking good will be more likely to successfully reproduce than a woman who is prepared to look unattractive.

Dear skeptic. Thanks for Posting. It was never my intention to get a thrill out of this Thread, but bugger me, Ive come over all clucky. Please interpret this with a broad mind. Haven't felt this useful in a long time. Looking back to when I selected the woman who was to become my long suffering Wife, I remember she stood out from the crowd. Just the right shade of lipstick etc etc.. Her rememberance goes something like this QUOTE "" POMPOUS LITTLE JUMPED UP TWERP, still my favourite dance number so lets get on with it. END QUOTE. I certainly wasn't the most desirable mate at the dance, and I feel now my luck was in and we have a fine Family.

Of course my Thread was along the Time Frame of 25,000/ 40,000 years ago. The original reason to make oneself attractive or useful. westwind.

Female beauty is the same thing for women.

Historically speaking, that's more true for the upper classes - the more-or-less idle rich. For peasants, physical strength and stamina was a lot more important for women. Especially for people too poor to set animals aside as beasts of burden.

In many areas, it was the women who did the heavy carrying and other work - much as you see poor people in Africa and India nowadays. It's the women who fetch and carry water and firewood and cultivate fields by hand. For European peasants with little land, it was the women who did the milking, churned the butter, preserved most of the winter supplies, threshed the grain - the men might kill the stock and butcher the carcass but it was principally women's work in most regions to make sausage and other preserved meats.

A woman too weak to pull her weight wasn't much of a wifely prospect for a peasant farmer regardless of how conventionally pretty she might be. If she compounded the problem by spending too much time on her appearance that would be a double strike against her.

Adelady

Partly true.

Even peasant men like a good looking woman. Even peasant women like to look good.

Even peasant women like to look good.

True. But that's something for high days, holidays and other celebrations. Not something to waste time and effort on every day.

Originally Posted by westwind

...they needed to be prepared in the event of their menfolk being killed and their villages burnt. Their resorcefullness? Look desirable. So that the Winning side may select some of them for breeding purposes and wash the dishes.

No, the women of Afghanistan take strong measures to the contrary. Let's not presume to know better what they should do.

***

An alternate cause for women to beautify themselves, is for their children's benefit. A woman who is clearly recognized and engaging, with well-defined and expressive features, is a more effective parent.

Originally Posted by adelady

Female beauty is the same thing for women.

Historically speaking, that's more true for the upper classes - the more-or-less idle rich. For peasants, physical strength and stamina was a lot more important for women. Especially for people too poor to set animals aside as beasts of burden.

In many areas, it was the women who did the heavy carrying and other work - much as you see poor people in Africa and India nowadays. It's the women who fetch and carry water and firewood and cultivate fields by hand. For European peasants with little land, it was the women who did the milking, churned the butter, preserved most of the winter supplies, threshed the grain - the men might kill the stock and butcher the carcass but it was principally women's work in most regions to make sausage and other preserved meats.

A woman too weak to pull her weight wasn't much of a wifely prospect for a peasant farmer regardless of how conventionally pretty she might be. If she compounded the problem by spending too much time on her appearance that would be a double strike against her.

I quite agree with this assessment. The keeping, butchering and preparation of fowl and rabbits often fell to the woman as well.

The wise man selects a mate that is strong and healthy and looks to be a viable option for producing and rearing his children. The criteria for selecting same are similar to that for selecting a good horse, lol. Good teeth, good bone and good conformation, plus a willing attitude are most desirable for long term relationship and reproductive purposes. Child bearing hips AND the face of a princess? Bonus!

As mentioned in my earlier post, there is a subtle game of competition underway at all times as the men strive for status and the potential partners use make-up, attire or mannerism to stand out in the crowd.

Originally Posted by Pong

An alternate cause for women to beautify themselves, is for their children's benefit. A woman who is clearly recognized and engaging, with well-defined and expressive features, is a more effective parent.

That aspect had not occurred to me, yet it makes a lot of sense. We use a great deal of facial expression and body language in our communication and the newborn infant has limitations in their range of vision and focus.

Very interesting point.

the potential partners use make-up, attire or mannerism to stand out in the crowd.

And never forget that traditionally one of the "mannerisms" a woman should adopt should be that of modesty and virtue if she wanted to attract a 'decent' husband. She couldn't afford, even accidentally, to give an impression of being too interested in anything except domestic matters. And it's not just Orthodox Jews and Muslims who impose strict restrictions on women's dress. An old-fashioned Methodist or Presbyterian church community could be just as prescriptive. Vanity was often regarded as a severe character flaw - even though modern people probably couldn't detect how a woman might have failed in this way - maybe a new ribbon on a hat when the old one was still perfectly serviceable?

I read an interesting account recently, of the behaviour of women in Saudi Arabia. These women walk out in the all covering burkha, so that only their eyes are visible. But in the privacy of their own homes, when the burkha is shed, they use make up, and put on fashion clothing, and make themselves as beautiful as possible.

The desire among women, and especially young women, to look beautiful, is powerful. In the west, it has spawned a trillion dollar plus industry, with cosmetics, fashions, shoes, hairdressers, cosmetic surgeons and many more. Young women often spend more than half their income on simply looking good. Such women become 'shopaholics' searching for the next item to improve their looks. It is a genuine obsession.

Of course, the male obsession with status is just as strong. Especially young men. These behaviours, male and female, exist life long but are much more potent in youth when sex hormones are at their strongest. Young men frequently engage in energetic, painful, and even life threatening risky pursuits just in order to get a lift in status.

These behaviours are for the opposite gender, even when we are not fully aware of that fact. A woman may spend massive amounts of time, energy, money and even pain in order to make herself look good, and say : "This is purely to make me feel good about myself", which it does. But underneath is the instinct to impress the male. A guy may engage in a risky sport, and put enormous time, money, energy, and even pain into efforts to make himself shine at that sport, and think it is for himself. But underneath it is to impress the female.

It is simple evolution. To make oneself more attractive to the opposite gender is to improve one's chances of successful reproduction. Evolution selects such traits.

I'm absolutly Gob- Smacked ( whatever that means ), at the Postes being forwarded to this Thread. Relevant, to the point, revealing, informative, and indicating the true basic role of Humans, even in this day and age, where other distractions are on hand right and left. ie; I Pods....IPhones etc. westwind.

I dont know if i understand the thread, but make up is in great part a purely cultural phenomenon.

Also remember a beautiful woman can impart status on a man who doesn't have as much as he wants. In that manner beautiful women wielded power, at least if they were able to position themselves right in society. If they didn't, they might end up as prostitutes or something like that, and never gain any power at all.

In the old world, possession really was 9/10th's of ownership. The greatest warrior could achieve possession of whatever he wanted. Women usually weren't the greatest warriors. However, they could make themselves into valuable possessions, and then so long as they could always maintain at least partial control over that possession, they could bargain with the powerful warriors and make them fight for them.

What is true power? To be a great warrior? Or to control great warriors?

A thread about makeup would be incomplete without some pictures of world reknown women posing with and without makeup.
Makeup can be utilized to conceal flaws and blemishes as well as to enhance our best features and it is interesting to talk to men
about their opinion on the topic for there are a lot of fellows who prefer the natural look of a woman, sans cosmetics.

30 Shocking Photos of Supermodels Without Makeup | Complex

Perhaps, as with other art forms, modern woman has mastered the art of make-up to present how they see and advertise themselves.

Sophisticated ceremonial make-up has existed a long time. Kabuki is expressed facially as well as by gestures. But IMO western women have been very successful in capturing purely erotic messages in make-up.....

Cosmetics employs more chemists than any coatings industry. In the medical field, cosmetic surgery has become an entire branch of surgery. The clothing industry is geared toward fashion. Billions of dollars are spent on cosmetics and fashion. It's an important aspect of societies everywhere on earth.