Piper Jassem 2016-17

The Europeans had made their beauty standards from their beliefs. They had believe that the Africans, Powhatans and anyone else with a darker skin tone than them were a lesser society and deserve to punished just because of what they looked like. Many of these requirements blended beauty and racism together. Suntans and darker skin tones were not considered fashionable and a lot of their fashions had encouraged that. Women would wear mitts and masks to block themselves from the wind and cold but also to keep the sun away from their arms and faces so they could stay a pale, pristine white. Having white skin showed a sign of status and was practically a beauty standard. Some makeup products really increased racism in the 18th century because the story behind the products was that were used to increase beauty but the products were only made for white skinned people. That’s the Europeans and Americans saying that only white people can be beautiful. It’s really unfair that having pale, white skin gave a lot of social recognition. This gave the Africans a completely closed door to being able to have any status on the social hierarchy. Another bigger problem connecting to cosmetics and fashion was sexism.

Grace Burns 2016-17

Women were constantly judged by society and by men. Women in the Colonial era were dehumanized and used as trophies, not like the strong independent people we’ve become. Clothing separates women into racial groups. Clothing and social standing was an unfair ranking of wealth. Women were influenced by society to spend money on new “fashionable” clothes to elevate their social standing. Social standing today is still a ranking of wealth. Today women are pressured by the media too look like the women in magazines and dress like celebrities. Women should be confident in their jobs, wealth, clothing, and in their own bodies. If we learned anything from Colonial America, it is that women shouldn’t be treated like objects and they shouldn’t have to impress anyone.