I Wear Red Lipstick So Now I’m a Slut?
Take heed, people, women wear red lipstick because we like the way we look with it, not to seduce every guy out there.
Ladies and gentlemen, I have an important announcement to make: I am obsessed with red gincus.
Gincu is Indonesian for lipstick. I have been obsessed with them ever since the start of the red lipstick trend in Indonesia back when I was in high school. I especially love red lipstick. Red lipstick is still the most popular today, though I didn’t wear them every day when the trend started. I was still self-conscious about using it, but I loved how flattering the color is on me.
However, not everyone was sold by the teenage lipstick culture. Take my old Chemistry teacher. Granted, she’s a traditionalist, and, hey, I have no disrespect for traditionalists. People live by their own principles and as long as they don’t disturb yours, then it’s all good.
My teacher, though, is not that kind of person. One day, she turned her class into a ranting session about the red lipstick trend. Maybe she had the right to talk about it, but I would appreciate more if her criticism was a bit rational. Like, for example, she said lipstick-wearing girls have low IQs, because they’re more invested in their face rather than their studies. If that so, how come a friend of mine who wore red lipstick religiously got into a med school?
I’m normally not one to give a hoot about peoples’ opinions, but it was her last “argument” that I found had crossed the line. Apparently, according to her, if you’re someone who enjoys wearing red lipstick, you’re basically a cheap slut. Did she really have to go that low? Did she really have to slut-shame girls?
But she may not be alone in her opinion. Let’s all be honest. How many of you have been in this certain situation: You see a dolled up girl on the street and you automatically thinks she’s a slut. She must’ve been with a lot of boys – that explains the make-up.” I was like that in the past, way before red lipstick became a thing.
My perspective changed when a person I thought was a “slut” confided in me about a bunch of people who made provocative rumors about her. It was mostly because she chose to put on red lipstick. So I told her, “Maybe you should stop wearing it so that people would stop spreading rumors.”
She looked at me in the eye and said that it’s not fair. She wore red lipstick for herself, because she truly enjoyed it, not to gain unwanted attention. So why did everyone have to make a fuss about it? I mentally slapped myself.
When you call someone a slut, you presume that the person has many casual sexual partners. I for one have no problem if you enjoy having casual sex or not. From the many fan fictions I’ve read, I heard sex is good, so…. Wait, I’m digressing. What really bugs me though are jerks calling other people sluts so casually, turning them into sexual object. So think twice before you call someone a “slut”.
Calling someone a slut also presumes that she wears certain things only to seek attention. “Oh, I paid $50 for this lipstick just to seduce the hell out of boys!” Surprise, surprise! I wear lipstick because it extremely compliments my complexion and it makes me feel beautiful. Wake up, it’s 2016! The only person girls dress to impress, are themselves.
People, please be wiser than my Chemistry teacher. Everyone deserves to express themselves by wearing anything they like.
There is nothing more painful than having our intentions wrongfully judged based on our outer exterior. We started this habit and normalize it, but we also have the power to stop it. It’s all a matter of how we see things. There’s already so much negativity in the world. Let’s not add to it.
Dyah Ayu Larasati is a freshman at Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana, Salatiga.
