Models Without Makeup Deserve a Round of Applause

By John Aloysius Farrell, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

The most shocking thing I have seen all week showed up, unexpectedly, on the Huffington Post. It was a collage of supermodels--without their makeup.

I am no idiot. I know that models get buffed and painted, from teat to tush, and starve themselves to look good for camera lenses that accentuate flesh. And I realize that I am genetically programmed to be drawn to infantile features; it spurs me to guard the young, and thereby perpetuate the species.

But these girls are seriously freaky looking, when deprived of the arts of their trade. With their big eyes and giant foreheads, they look like Spielbergian aliens. I wouldn't look twice at one on the subway, except maybe to gawk.

My initial reaction is to rebel. Enough! I don't want to know how a magician on stage fools me, or learn about the technology behind Avatar. And I don't want to learn how my appreciation for feminine beauty can be manipulated.

I have met too many Hollywood actresses and actors (barring the lovely Meg Ryan and Paul Newman) who turn out to be teeny people (Madonna, Courteney Cox) that the cameras freakishly love. It's invariably spoiled the illusion. Did you know Robin Williams is a little, shy man?

And so, after seeing the Huffington Post article, I feared that I was doomed to analyze the artistry of each J. Crew catalog, Sports Illustrated bathing suit issue, or Victoria's Secret commercial, instead of drifting off in a pleasant reverie.

Then the dad in me surfaced. There is a reason these young women are stepping out front, wiping off their makeup, and deliberately destroying the illusion. It's the same reason that Britney Spears, of all people, has given us a recent look at how images are faked and edited.

There is a whole generation of girls and young women out there--and horny young lads--who think that the perfect gals of Victoria Secret (did you know they wear makeup on their butts?), or the sluts of Internet porn sites, are the norm. The models are saying, "No, we're not. We're fantasy. Love it. But get real."

And for that I can sacrifice some of my illusions. We all can. Bravo, ladies, bravo.

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