So today I wanted to touch on a topic of body shaming and the stereotypes that still linger within the beauty industry. This post is near and dear to my heart because I am a plus size girl, my dress size on average is about a 12 / 14 and people can be very cruel when you're working in a industry where you're "supposed to be looked at"
I'm going to talk about a personal experience that I had while working for Estee Lauder.
Basically, we were getting ready to have our Christmas gala. The gala is an event where all of the makeup counters invite their regular clients to come in and stock up on their product, the counters will usually offer a special gift with purchase, as well as coupons, snacks, entertainment, etc. The attire for employees working the gala is supposed to be semi- formal, so a few days before gala night I went and bought a really adorable David Dixon little black dress.
The dress was strapless with a fitted bodice and an A line pleated skirt.
I loved the way the dress fit, it was super cute and gave me the perfect hour glass figure. I thought I looked pretty good, and felt super confident in my LBD, like if every girl should have one, this was totally mine.
I arrived for my shift on the day of the gala wearing my LBD and feeling pretty excited with myself, naturally the counters were swamped, so I was SUPER busy for almost the entire shift.
As I was getting ready to leave for the evening, a woman approached the counter looking for help. I was supposed to be leaving but thought I would stay to give the woman a hand (after I had already punched out).
As it turns out, the lady had a tonne of questions and was looking for an ENTIRE skin care routine, on a budget none the less. I walked her through the products we offered, how to use them, which ones would work best for her and even which ones she could come back for so she didn't break her budget.
Finally she was satisfied, She had her skin care regime, knew how it all worked and how to apply it to herself, so we proceeded to the cash so we could both leave the store.
I was ringing her up, and I could feel her eyes on me when she says, "You've got a really pretty face"
I was about to thank her, when she continued with "you know if you lost a few pounds you'd be beating them off with a stick"
At first I thought that I had heard her wrong, there was no way that this woman just said that to me...
Then it dawned on me, that she definitely said it, and whats worse, she clearly didn't see anything wrong with saying it.
I had no idea how to respond to her, so I just sort of smiled and laughed it off, but she wasn't done yet.
She then told me that she was surprised that the makeup counters would hire me because "You're representing the brand" and "People would be looking at you all day" but "good for me for getting the job"
By this point, I am totally mortified and have no idea how to handle the situation. I've never been so passive aggressively called fat in my entire life, and how rude is this woman.
Then I get angry.
I'm angry at the woman for being so insensitive, but I am also mad at myself.
I realized that I just gave this woman, this complete stranger, total control over me. By allowing her to take away my confidence, I had allowed her to make me feel not only fat, but untalented as well. Like I didn't deserve my job, because I weighed a few extra pounds.
She just got to flounce out of the store with her new purchases, while I stewed the entire way home over how I looked (I swore I would never wear the LBD again), my abilities as a makeup artist and if I could ever make it in the beauty industry.
Whether we like it or not the stereotype seems to exist that if you don't look like a model yourself, then you don't deserve to work in the beauty industry in any capacity - and it's just not right and yet there it is.
I guess the moral of the story is - don't let anyone take away your power, know that you matter and that your talents aren't diminished for all someone can't see beyond the package they're contained within
.
It doesn't matter if you're tall, short, fat, thin, gay, straight, man or woman - Own your body, and don't let anyone take away your confidence ;)
Danielle
PS - I wore my LBD again - to a modeling agency none the less ;D
No comments:
Post a Comment