Male Gaze

Product Symbolism

When researching makeup, I came across an interesting ideation around the idea of makeup and women. I learned that makeup was used early on to flaunt people and their wealth to others. Because of this, many started to view makeup as feminine and “devilish” and cast it away as it
was not seen well by others. Vanity became what makeup was all about. Then the idea was presented; To be vain is female, and to be female is weak, which all stems from society and its view of misogyny in the later years. Thinking about my assignment, I wanted to encompass the idea of vanity and the male gaze and the idea that while now, women perform for themselves, they also simultaneously perform for the male gaze as it is a subconscious idea presented to us at a very young age. Recently, I watched a podcast that stated that they believed society hates femininity and hates the idea of vanity and all that encompasses it. They stemmed from the idea that most people hate gay men, not because they are gay, but because they present themselves in a feminine way, which women do as well. This brings me to my idea to conceptualize a packaging and brand identity for a line of makeup that encompasses this dilemma. Makeup brand: Male Gaze: Line of makeup.