AS I recall the good days of my childhood, there’s a small detail I would often remember from my mother and grandmother.
It is a red lipstick. Now, this might not be an atypical thing to remember, but its significance is the reason why I often do it. This is not necessarily a column on beauty tips, but hear me out as I try to explain. My grandmother often mentioned that she loves red lipstick for its boldness. She wore it almost every time she went out. She wore it at formal occasions and even to church. That very lipstick is similar to her personality—she was perhaps the “red lipstick” of her peers. She was unapologetic, confident and, of course, bold until her very last day on earth. I loved that trait about her very much.
My mother, on the other hand, wore red lipstick to prove a point further. First, there’s a misconception that women of colour cannot wear red lipstick. I’m not sure who made that “rule” up, but my mother is always determined to prove that this is simply not true or right. In fact, when my father first met my mother, he met her with red lipstick on. That is a detail he always pointed out. To this very day, my mother still wears red lipstick, and that trademark has been passed down to me.
You see, I was once bullied in high school for wearing makeup. I was made fun of because my skills were less than amateur level. In fact, I was always told, “you don’t need makeup”. Comments like that no woman ever wants to hear. We know we don’t need makeup, yet we still wear it because we want to.
My mother and grandmother inspired me to not listen to others and their opinions.
Those small details of rebellion against the “norm” motivated me to wear red lipstick from time to time. There is a powerful symbol in these acts of defiance toward beauty standards, and I urge you all to wear whatever makeup or accessories you’d like to—despite what the majority says. We’ve come a long way from the Stone Ages to still act as if we aren’t an advanced society. In reality, everyone has their own type of “red lipstick” symbolism. It may not necessarily be lipstick, but whatever it is—I hope you understand the power your “red lipstick” holds to make a statement.
