Some days I get so excited with all of the beautiful messages of Empathy, inclusion and body-positivity that I see in my sphere.
And then some days I am reminded about the seemingly monolith of the prevailing beauty industry and how normalized their messages of shame have become that some people barely bat an eye, especially those who become the “gatekeepers of beauty”: the beauty service providers.
Even though it makes me feel uncomfortable, I know it is for the best - I am working to be a light and encourage others who feel the same as me, so I’ll stand up tall for them and thus
I’m getting better about calling out rather un-empathetic beauty when I see it.
Like today on Facebook - a brand of wax that I follow posted a brand new add with some beautifully painted toes with wax being applied by a gloved hand.
I won’t quote the ad word-for-word, but it definitely used the phrase “nobody likes…” in terms of body hair, which is a classic marketing technique to imply separation or feeling like an outsider if you don’t comply to these “universal norms.”
I rolled my eyes.
Then it got worse - the call to action of the post invited the professionals to comment below other tips and tricks they had, and they literally referred to waxing professionals as “#beasttamers” - my stomach turned.
I was the first to comment.
“Just because you sell wax does not mean that you need to shame body hair.”
Some other commenters were confused and said “HUH?” So I went in deeper.
“Calling someone with body hair a “beast” is implying they are animal-like and therefore not-human. Do you call your clients beasts? How would you like to be called a beast?”
Then someone else replied “Ur being too sensitive.”
Eventually the wax brand came on and replied that they were just having fun that we need to have a sense of humor and “If it weren’t shameful, then there wouldn’t be anything to remove.”
I thanked them for allowing me to see clearly how their brand is not in line with my values, and I “unliked” their page.
