‘Feminist Makeup Tutorial’ Sparks Disagreement Online

Online makeup tutorials have become a big hit on YouTube, as people look for DIY how-to tips for everything from cat-eyes to perfect lipstick application. Watching "Feminist Makeup Tutorial," you might think that it is simply another guide. But actually, the video mixes legitimate techniques with some very strong statements concerning women's empowerment. The combination has made it a hit, though its subject matter is the source of much debate in the comments section.

The video contains wording like "Make sure you give every part of your face a fair and equal amount of representation, unlike the government and prime-time network television." The uploader, known as tadelesmith, added a disclaimer for the video once debate in the comments started picking up. In it, she made clear that "this video is supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek parody on some of society's crazy stereotypes of feminists."

People on many sides of the issue of feminism have chimed in with varying levels of agreement, adoration and sometimes complete vehement opposition. Some wrote things like "this is hilarious," while others decided that this forum would be the place to air their reservations about feminism in general. They wrote things like "The definition of feminism is the belief that women should be treated higher than men. What ever happened to equal rights for women and s---? I liked that idea better." Some of the arguments even got a little bit nasty, but hey, what do you expect from the Internet, anyway? The video shows that while "feminism" is not a dirty word, it sure gets treated that way online.