Tuesday, September 1, 2009

the politics of lipstick

so i'm leaving work last night and walking along yonge street when i notice a homeless man sitting by the hard rock cafe with a tim horton's cup. i gave him a little smile because i feel like that's the best i can do without opening my wallet (and oftentimes i'm thanked for smiling), but instead of a "thanks for smiling," i get a "teen hooker." (!!!)

let me first tell you what i was wearing: a plain grey t-shirt (6 for $10 in china town), a beige plaid shirt ($5 at value village), ripped black cheap mondays (gift) and old brown suede fringe sandals.

i'm sorry, but "teen hooker"?! i would understand if he had mistaken me for a fellow hobo friend, but c'mon!


and then i realized. it was the russian red mac lipstick. i'm certain that if i had naked lips, i wouldn't have been verbally abused by this homeless bully. but since when does wearing lipstick make you a hooker? i can see the connotations that lipstick may have, and yes there are sexual ones, however does that make every woman a prostitute if they put a little make-up on? 99% of the population of people who wear lipstick are not hookers.

i don't know how i could've made the ensemble i was wearing any less slutty or revealing or suggestive. it really is beyond me.

now if i ever do resemble anything along the lines of a teen hooker, please do tell, but until then all i have to say is: fuck you, homeless man.

2 comments:

  1. Russian Red is my lipstick color of choice too.
    "dirty slut" is my version of "hooker" name calling

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  2. aw that's not nice:( one time a friend of mine was walking in nyc and her shirt said "i earned these stripes" with a zebra, and a homeless man randomly said to her "you aint earn no stripes. who are you? you a nobody." hahah they can be so mean!

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