19. Cancer, animal cruelty, feminism: So why can’t I quit using makeup?

Megan Mayhew Bergman talks about an issue that she's been grappling with, but applies to other women as well: the urge to use makeup. She writes that people use it for different reasons, from looking younger to simply having fun with it, but she knows that in her case at least, her makeup products are very unnecessary. And, as she points out, the products damage the environment greatly because they're made of materials that aren't biodegradable, and they're cruelly tested beforehand on animals. Then she says that girls tend to use makeup so much because it influences not only how they look, but how they feel. She quotes: "The act of putting on makeup acknowledges that one will be seen, evaluated, even if just by our own eyes when we look in the mirror." She then goes through various cultural reasons for makeup over the course of history, then notes how makeup influences gender roles as well in today's society. She ends by swaying that she probably won't stop using makeup, even though she's more aware of the deception behind it, and won't instinctively buy every single product advertised. 

This article is a bit long, but a nice read. It speaks more to women, but it mentions men as well, who don't have the same "right" to wear makeup. The article raises several moral questions along the way, and the flow depends partly on wherever the author's train of thought heads, and partly on a predetermined list of points she decided to address. The main rhetorical device is the use of rhetorical questions, to get the reader to think through their makeup situation (if they have one) for themselves. The author also uses a number of personal examples and historical examples, which add credibility to her article, and help the female readers relate better to the article. The article is a bit lengthy, however, which is tiring since she often talks about the same point for a long time.

http://www.salon.com/2014/01/04/cancer_animal_cruelty_feminism_so_why_cant_i_quit_using_makeup/