Welcome to Beauty School, the corner of Dazed Beauty dedicated to learning. From guides to histories, that is where we make clear past subcultural movements and educate our readers on current trends and various goings-on.

With the assistance of make-up, the body and face have also been used at pivotal moments as mechanisms for protest and dissent. Different beauty practices have helped to foster a way of community and draw global attention to pressing cultural issues. As an example, select artists have recently began to “CV Dazzle”. That is the practice of obscuring key facial expression with geometric make-up to disrupt the algorithms utilized by surveillance cameras with a purpose to render an individual undetectable. Because the variety of cameras is about to go up to 1 for each 11 people in London by 2025, this manner of protest is a way of defiantly demanding privacy in a society that’s becoming increasingly watched.

In the same vein, artists like Cinta Tort Cartró have began to paint their stretch marks with a purpose to regain agency over their very own bodies; women are turning what were once sources of insecurity into artwork. In relation to this, the body positive movement continues to be gaining momentum on Instagram. Users are still circulating images of their bodies with the hashtags #EffYourBeautyStandards and #CelebrateMySize to reject ideas of conformity. Commending naturalness can also be on the centre of the natural hair care movement. Black people have taken to Instagram to share images of themselves rocking afros and braids in a bid to retaliate against the discrimination that they face from various factions of society.

Then there are those that have chosen to partake within the body neutral movement as a substitute. Relatively than specializing in outward looks, persons are selecting to post pictures of themselves performing physical feats like dance or running. The aim is to indicate that bodies facilitate life and that there’s so way more to them than simply what they give the impression of being like. 

For people to make use of their appearance in this fashion is fundamentally personal, so what higher way is there to indicate your deep-rooted passion for a subject? A recurrent theme with regards to protests which have taken place in modern times, here’s a have a look at the manifold ways in which beauty has been used as a vehicle for activism.

SUFFRAGETTES GET LIPPY

Over the course of history, societal opinion surrounding red lipstick has always shifted – especially inside Britain. Through the Elizabethan era, red lippy was believed to ward off death. By the late 18th century, the cosmetic was considered to be utilized by prostitutes only. Actually, the British Parliament threatened to annul the wedding of any woman caught wearing it and acting flirtatiously – oh, and this also got here with the presumption that she was practising witchcraft. 

A few centuries later, red lipstick was still largely seen as taboo and reserved for girls of an “unsavoury” career (read: sex employees). So, the Women’s Social and Political Union founded by Emmeline Pankhurst in 1903 – otherwise generally known as the Suffragettes – used this color of lipstick to convey their subversiveness and intent to wreak political havoc. Between chaining themselves to railings, setting fire to post boxes and happening hunger strikes while imprisoned, the Suffragettes were generally known as a militant faction that refused to be silent. 

Consequently, within the UK and across the pond, a red pout quickly became synonymous with female empowerment. In 1912, beauty mogul Elizabeth Arden famously handed out her signature ‘Red Door’ lipstick to the ladies of NYC marching for suffrage. Later, during World War II, the group even debuted recent shades with names resembling “Fighting Red!” and “Patriot Red!” to maintain morale high when access to cosmetics was relatively low. From that time onwards, the symbolic nature of red lipstick has stayed relatively consistent. From Hollywood starlets of the Fifties to high fashion campaigns of the twenty first century, a red mouth is now largely regarded as an indication of boldness, beauty and independence.

BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL

Within the mid-Twentieth century, large, freshly picked afros were ubiquitous amongst African-Americans who had just begun to wear their hair in its natural state. This was as a consequence of the Civil Rights Movement of the Fifties and Nineteen Sixties being in full swing stateside, where the term “Black is Beautiful” circulated widely as black Americans began to embrace their natural attributes within the name of black pride. This was in direct retaliation to the white influence that had historically been thrust upon them – particularly in regard to beauty. 

Through the era of slavery, black people were made to straighten their hair with a purpose to mimic white hairstyles; there was this Eurocentric concept that straight hair was the paragon of beauty and that some other hair texture was “nappy,” i.e. ugly. To combat this misconception, afros became akin to crowns, as kinks and curls got here to symbolise political activism, communal power and the need to rebel against assimilation. Notable figures of the period resembling Angela Davis, Assata Shakur and Audre Lorde were routinely seen sporting impressive ’fros.

Greater than half a century later, attitudes towards natural black hair are still skewed. Black persons are routinely subject to discrimination from institutions due to their natural hairstyles which are sometimes deemed unacceptable. Consequently, the natural hair movement has had a resurgence throughout the black community – the results of which could be seen across social media. Hashtags resembling #NaturalHairCare and #VoiceOfHair are incessantly utilized by tens of millions of Instagrammers, while pro-black accounts resembling @afropunk recurrently post an “AFRO OF THE DAY.” 

PATRIOTISM IN PUERTO RICO

In Puerto Rico last 12 months, people took to the streets to decry the actions of then-governor Ricardo Roselló. The politician got here under fire for allegations of fraud, money laundering, homophobic and misogynistic conversations happening inside his administration. In response, Puerto Rican women artistically advocated for his resignation by covering their faces and bodies in their very own interpretations of the national flag, perhaps as an indication of ardent patriotism. Whether engulfed in flames, accompanied by political statements or teamed with black tears to potentially symbolise mourning, the collective effect of the looks was extremely powerful. 

On Instagram, users shared images of their handiwork captioned with the hashtags #RickyRenuncia and #RickyVeteYA in an try to go viral and generate global awareness across the governor’s corrupt behaviour – together, the hashtags accrued over 226K posts. Artists even replicated the protesters’ make-up looks to deliver the message to an excellent wider audience. Consequently, publications around the globe picked up on the wonder aspect of the protests – The Recent York Times, Business Insider and Teen Vogue all mentioned how the make-up looks served as a pivotal technique. In July 2019, Roselló stepped down – arguably proving that identical to the pen, the make-up brush could be mightier than the sword. 

CUTTING OFF COSMETICS IN KOREA

In South Korea, women are expected to stick to a certain standard of perfection with regards to beauty. Flawless skin, large eyes, a slender figure and long hair are all hallmarks of this ideal look. Traditionally, South Korean women are also required to spend hours doing their make-up. Nevertheless, a bigger proportion of them have grown bored with this rigidity birthed from patriarchal beliefs and have chosen to fight back against their nation’s unrealistic beauty standards. 

The “Escape the Corset” movement emerged in 2018 and is centred around going make-up-free and rocking short hair to visibly rebel against the misogynistic constraints that South Korean women are subjected to. For instance, the prospect of securing a job is usually based on a lady’s level of beauty and being attractive enough to be married before 30 is a significant societal expectation. 

South Korean photographer Jeon Bora has made it her mission to document this manner of revolutionary feminism and has displayed her work several times. Bora held an exhibition for a female-only audience in Gangnam early last 12 months, and she or he explained to NPR: “I wanted this exhibition to destroy the socially defined idea of a lady.” 

After all, the movement has also been largely recorded on Instagram. Accompanied by the hashtag #escapethecorset which has over 500 posts, South Korean women proceed to upload pictures and videos of their shorn hair and smashed make-up palettes to indicate defiance – yet one more example of conflating beauty with social media to stay it to the person. From ABC to The Guardian, the movement has gathered enough traction to grow to be pressing global news. 

TIKTOK TAKEDOWNS

At the top of last 12 months, American 17-year-old Feroza Aziz made headlines for uploading a TikTok make-up tutorial which had a hidden agenda. What at first seemed to be a quick lesson on using eyelash curlers, quickly was a public political announcement in regards to the discriminatory treatment of Uighur Muslims in China. 

Aziz’s broadcast immediately went viral, even though it was speedily taken down by the Chinese-owned platform (allegedly, for non-political reasons). Nonetheless, she’s a part of a growing variety of TikTok users proving that each one you would like is make-up to make a stand. User Sofia Porzio (@sofiastillspams) could be seen attempting to do as much make-up as she will in 60 seconds while talking about gun reform within the US. Similarly, TikTokers can watch Meera Sahu (@meerasahu29) paint different sections of her face in various colors to symbolise different skin tones with a purpose to address racial equality. In brief, the youngsters are getting crafty with regards to beauty-lead activism on the app. 

Often heralded because the “woke” generation, today’s teens are arguably drawn to using TikTok, particularly, to air their grievances due to its time constraints. Videos are permitted to be between 15-60 seconds in length — meaning that with regards to creating content for this platform, the more creative, the higher. Although protest-based TikTok posts of this nature are still a comparatively recent development, they’re an interesting approach to address socio-political topics amongst Gen-Zers and beyond. 

A GESTURE FROM THE JOKER

This 12 months, protesters the world over have adopted the identical look: a white face, oversized red grin and blue diamonds painted across the eyes. The influence behind this startling make-up selection stems from Todd Philip’s film Joker (2019) – an origin story wherein Joaquin Phoenix depicts the infamous character’s evolution from downtrodden misfit to spokesman for the disadvantaged of Gotham City. 

For a lot of, the clown’s guise has come to symbolise rebelliousness – a shared outlook amongst protesters whose agendas differ from country to country. In Hong Kong, people have been wearing Joker masks or painting their faces along with his likeness to defy a government ban on face coverings during public gatherings. In Beirut, Lebanon, the road art collective Ashekman have created posters with their rendition of the Joker holding a petroleum bomb and plastered them everywhere in the city. The intent is to supply the oppressed in society with an emblem of defiance within the face of the elite, as Mohammad Kabbani, one half of Ashekman, explained to CNN. 

Contrarily, British people have treated the so-called enemy to the Joker’s look as a substitute. Posters bearing the photoshopped face of Prime Minister Boris Johnson within the clown’s make-up are getting used to represent feelings of discontentment towards his leadership. On this sense, the Joker’s image is synonymous with villainy slightly than valiant behaviour.

BRAIDS AS BALACLAVAS

Regular demonstrations in Hong Kong began in June 2019 after the federal government announced that there have been plans to permit extradition to mainland China. As a former British colony that was returned to China in 1997, Hong Kong has been allowed certain liberties for this reason unique setup. Due to this fact, this transformation in law has caused concerns based on the liberty and safety for its residents.

Although the bill was withdrawn in September, the people of Hong Kong at the moment are demanding increased democracy. Protests have turned violent, with buildings being vandalised, petrol bombs being thrown on the police and officers firing live ammunition. As an try to crack down on this activity, the federal government has introduced a ban on face coverings at public events. 

Except for the aforementioned Joker make-up and masks, women, particularly, have been using their hair to hide their faces. Tutorials, just like the one shared by DW News journalist Cherie Chan on Twitter, show viewers the best way to flip their hair forward to create a braid that enables the eyes to be seen and nothing else. These how-to videos have been circulating on messaging platform Telegram, encouraging protestors to go DIY with their dissidence.