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[scriver]

But gee, doesn't the beauty industry benefit from gender inequality?

They benefit to some degree from the beauty culture that was produced by said inequality. Even that, however, overstates the case. While women do have a strong "look good" acculturation, that isn't inherently an obsolete "your only value is getting a man" concept, and the beauty companies make a mint off of "look good and feel good for YOU" campaigns.

Those words are just cover, though. "Looking good for yourself" isn't actually a thing. People want to look good for others. This isn't just women. There's no difference for men in this matter (only a difference in how they act on it). Men aren't spending half an hour every day making their hair look the perfect "just got out of bed no care in the world" ruffle and giving themselves the perfect mm length shadow stubble, clean shave, or beard prune because it makes themselves feel good. They do it because they want others to think they look good.

The whole "look good to feel good yourself" is a "pro-women" "empowering" facade that, behind the mask, just plays on the same old biases and norms that they've always made money off. It's a masquerade that allows companies to claim that they feminist and activist, nothing else.

And sure, it's very effective, both financially and rethorically. By appropriating the language of empowerment, they can also claim that people who see through the ruse want to disempower women and are anti-feminist. Now, isn't of just making people feel guilty for not looking good enough, they can also guilt those doesn't buy into the "good looks for myself" narrative for not feeling empowered by trying to look good for others. Guilt if you do, guilt if you don't.

[Il Palazzo]

Men aren't spending half an hour every day making their hair look the perfect "just got out of bed no care in the world" ruffle and giving themselves the perfect mm length shadow stubble, clean shave, or beard prune because it makes themselves feel good. They do it because they want others to think they look good.

Counterargument: you live in metrosexual hedonistic consumerist corporate-ruled dystopia. Real men don't wash or shave and gain status by ritualistically beating each other's faces to a pulp.

[Maximum Spin]

Men aren't spending half an hour every day making their hair look the perfect "just got out of bed no care in the world" ruffle and giving themselves the perfect mm length shadow stubble, clean shave, or beard prune because it makes themselves feel good. They do it because they want others to think they look good.

Counterargument: you live in metrosexual hedonistic consumerist corporate-ruled dystopia. Real men don't wash or shave and gain status by ritualistically beating each other's faces to a pulp.

Yes, and, where I come from, women also do that.

[Il Palazzo]

Seriously? How then can you know it's a woman if she doesn't shave?

[ChairmanPoo]

Seriously? How then can you know it's a woman if she doesn't shave?

You might find this hard to believe but in many countries women do not in fact have bushlike facial hair. Crazy I know.

[MrRoboto75]