YouTuber Uses Body Paint To Help Women Protest And Break Free Of 'Damaging' Stereotypes
YouTuber and makeup artist Jordan Hanz has had enough of the stereotypes of women. Similar to celebrity Amber Rose, Hanz uses her recent video to speak out against the damaging effects of certain labels.
“We are complex, complicated creatures, sometimes bound by the box we are shoved into,” Hanz begins her video, called "Unattainable Woman." “If a woman shows confidence, defends herself, shows a differing opinion than what someone else may have, she’s considered a b****. If a woman is emotional and shows her emotions through crying, she is automatically seen as weak, that she can’t handle it — pitiful.”
Some of the other labels Hanz protests are "dirty," "prude," and "asking for it." That last one, Hanz told The Huffington Post, holds personal meaning; she confided that she has been a victim of sexual assault.
"Writing 'asking for it' on myself was very intense and it really hit home to me, but it was very liberating to actually smear the words and completely be taking away the words with paint and making from the words a masterpiece with paint," she said.
The science behind stereotypes is complicated. On the one hand, experts believe stereotypes, however judgmental, shape "how we organize and store information as well as lead our day-to-day lives." But then there are studies that find stereotypes worsen gender inequality and negative self-perception; one study found that fewer women were enrolled as science, technology, engineering, and math majors because of the assumption that women aren't as brilliant as men. And when it comes to weight, negative self-perception, like feeling fat even when women are not, can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. So, Hanz ends her video by telling women to "f***ck the box we are put into."
She adds: "Be who you want to be, and be proud of that."