Inspired by a magazine article on celebrities without makeup, a Desperate Housewives episode and some blog posts about the impression given by photos used on personal blogs and cosmetic-free public appearances by celebrities, Australian mother and blogger Jodie Ansted started thinking about why she and others felt it was necessary to use their most glamorous, cosmetics or Photoshop-enhanced photos for their blogs and Twitter avatars.
Ansted reflects on the message about body image and self-esteem she was giving her three sons at her blog Mummy Mayhem. She concludes the post by declaring Friday, 14th May 2010 Bloggers Without Makeup Day and inviting bloggers and Twitter users to join her in posting a photo on their blog and/or changing their Twitter avatar to a make-up free photo for the day.
Bloggers Without Makeup Day 2010
Launching Bloggers Without Makeup Day on her own blog, Ansted invited bloggers and tweeps to join her in showing themselves sans makeup for one day. Ansted confesses that when she first conceived the idea she thought that maybe one of two of her blogging friends might join her out of sympathy, but the response has been anything but lukewarm with Bloggers Without Makeup Day even capturing the attention of MSNBC's Today in 2 Minutes.
“I’m really surprised at how the Bloggers Without Makeup idea has taken off”, Ansted commented from her Sydney home. “It has been so exciting to not only see women sharing their true selves with each other for the day but also to see the number of encouraging comments being left on blogs by other women.”
Ansted shares that the highlight for her has been the excitement with which the Bloggers Without Makeup idea has been embraced. “One person commented on Twitter that Thursday evening felt like Christmas Eve as they were preparing for their Bloggers Without Makeup Day reveal on their blog. It has been fantastic to be part of something so positive and exciting.”
Over 160 blogs have already provided links to their Bloggers Without Makeup Day posts at Anstead’s blog, with US and UK bloggers now following their Australian counterparts in the makeup free revolution. Further links have been given on Twitter using the #BloggersWithoutMakeup tag to enable other users to keep track of the ongoing excitement caused by the event.
Twitter and Bloggers Without Makeup Day
The response on Twitter has been enthusiastic, with blog posts retweeted and users encouraging each other and praising the initiative and efforts of Jodie Ansted (@JodieAnsted). Even popular US blogger and tweeter The Bloggess (@TheBloggess) has joined in, sharing her make-up free blog post link with her 46,000+ followers.
Many women have tweeted links to blog posts that explain how intimidated they were by the request to show themselves without makeup. Some have struggled with revealing flaws that they usually hide with cosmetics offering explanations that they have overcome their fears by focusing on offering their children a positive message about being comfortable with who they are and simply being proud to be themselves.
The overall Twitter response to Bloggers Without Makeup Day can perhaps best be summarized by Sydney tweep @MrsKypo: ‘You’re changing views of ourselves all over the world. Thank you.:)’
Future Plans for Bloggers Without Makeup Day
There have been several requests that Ansted make Bloggers Without Makeup Day a regular event. “Quite a few people have made comments about ‘next time’ or ‘next year’”, she explains. “I never expected the response we have had and didn’t really plan beyond this one day. I would be great to have one day a year where we can celebrate and share our true selves with each other though and I love the idea of making this an annual event.”
The intent of the day was never to promote the idea of rejecting cosmetics forever, but rather to encourage women to be willing to occasionally allow others to see them as they really and to celebrate simply being themselves. The response by bloggers and on Twitter indicates that this idea has struck a chord with many women and it will be interesting to see how this event is embraced in the future.
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