The #NoMakeup Movement and its role in history

Guests: Juliet Williams, Yaba Blay, Ellensue Gross

The #NoMakeup Movement is building up steam. Singer Alicia Keys penned a critique for an online magazine explaining her negative feelings about makeup, and has since lead the cause. She’s appeared without makeup at major events including the Democratic National Convention and the MTV Video Music Awards. The pressure the Grammy Award-winning singer has long felt to apply mascara and foundation before leaving the house is shared by many women in, and out, of the public spotlight. In this hour, host Mary Cummings-Jordan talks about the anxiety women and girls feel about their appearance and how social media has intensified that pressure. We’ll be joined by JULIET WILLIAMS, a professor in the UCLA Department of Gender Studies and YABA BLAY, a professor, researcher and ethnographer who studies global Black identities and the politics of embodiment, with particular attention given to hair and skin color politics. Also joining us is ELLENSUE GROSS, a Philadelphia artist who painted portraits of 11 older women without makeup, including some who were not pleased with their appearance.