lifestyle

My mom, dad, and I were watching TV when a dolled up woman appeared on the screen. Hair curled, full face of makeup, nails painted, and a coordinated outfit. My dad said, “Look at that woman! Geez, isn’t she high maintenance.” I thought she looked nice. I looked at her again; I could see how a man would think she looked overdone. I realized my dad was expecting me to agree with me.

“Every woman wants to be high maintenance, it just depends on if she has had a lifestyle that allows her to keep taking care of herself.” He looked at me blankly; he had expected me to agree with him. “Dad! Don’t you think I would want my nails done all the time, have my hair blown out? Why would I not want that?” He shrugged as he started to back pedal. “Yeah, I mean, I guess.”

Expecting women to maintain themselves but not look high maintenance is comical. There can be no evidence that time was spent getting on ready. No matter the amount of makeup or other effort, most men feel the only acceptable end result is a natural look.

I looked over at my mom, who was still watching the woman on the screen.