Dita von Teese, You Have Got to be Kidding Me
via dita.net
Dita von Teese is known for being a beautiful bombshell with boobs and hips and a fabulous ass, who is comfortable with her body, who is glamourous and put-together, sexy and sexual in a way that is supposed to be inspiring, or at least make her a lot of money.
I’ve always admired her for the way that in every situation and at every possible angle, she looks so perfectly put-together, so neat and classy and charming and dressed up. If you’ve got to be dressed inappropriately for a situation, I have always thought, it is better to be overdressed than under-. You may stick out a bit, but at least you stick out for being fabulous and confident and gorgeous.
But I think–and maybe I’m crazy, here–I think that there’s a point where you can go a little too far. The gym is for serious work, lots of heavy lifting, focus and concentration and looking very intense and determined and maybe a little bit severe. I’m not advocating that you show up in a ratty dog-vomit t-shirt and elastic-ankled sweats with the butt blown out, but you show up looking ready for sweating. Dita von Teese, however, shows up at the gym in full make-up.
I understand that she’s got a very, very particular image to project and protect, that she banks on being the bombshell, that a sweaty ponytail and chapstick isn’t “Dita,” but this seems like it is going a little too far. Like her makeup has become armor, like she is not confident in her ability to still be gorgeous and sexy with, maybe, a swipe of waterproof mascara, that she’s afraid to be seen with a naked face. It makes me sad that someone I think of as so confident in her skin and her gorgeousness is maybe not entirely as confident as I thought she was. Or maybe she’s just a little nuts.
Posted by jenfu
Filed under: Celebrities, Exercise, Gossip
Email us
Oh yea, I saw that picture of her “working out” somewhere, they teased that she probably didn’t even sweat, just glistened or something like that. I can’t imagine being able to concentrate on working out with that much make up on.
Honestly? I’ve known a few women in the Burlesque scene, and a lot of them are like that. It’s a lifestyle for them (or at least, the ones i’ve known). I think the reasons will vary from person to person. Maybe for some of them it’s a self-esteem issue, and for some of them it’s just because they like looking like that All The Time.
I never dress up. Like, the only thing i would get dressed up for anymore is to go to the opera (and honestly i’d just as soon go to a dress rehearsal in my black jeans and a nice shirt). And someone could look at me and ask the same questions: am i hiding behind my baggy clothes? Am i afraid to be seen as conventionally attractive? Am i lacking in the confidence it takes to wear a certain style?
The answer for me is that i value my physical comfort over anyone else’s social comfort. I can’t answer the question for Dita, because i’m not Dita. I’d speculate that she’s just personally not comfortable being seen as Less Than Her Best, and i imagine if i were in the spotlight as she was, i would probably feel the same way. Good thing i’m not, or i’d never leave the house. :D
Why not work out in full makeup and done hair? Obviously she enjoys wearing makeup, and it in no way interferes with being able to work out. Sure, you may sweat on it (lots of makeup withstands sweat), and you may wash it all off and have to redo it later (obviously doing her face isn’t a hassle to her), but it doesn’t interfere with the practical parts of a workout, especially pilates as she was seen doing here.
Sorry, but this is just another way of judging a woman’s choice. There is no imperative reason that a woman SHOULDN’T wear makeup at the gym, so even if it isn’t the most practical choice – well neither is wearing heels everywhere, now is it?
Support women’s choices with their bodies, even if they aren’t the choices you would make.
No big deal. When I lived in Memphis, I knew lots of women who went to aerobics class with a full face of warpaint. One told me, “I don’t feel dressed without my false eyelashes.”
She’s often said how much she leaves wearing her makeup and costum-y clothes. I don’t think that makes her insecure at all. For some people, like myself, getting up and putting on makeup isn’t because we feel unsecure with our unmakeup’ed selves. For me it’s because I LOVE makeup. It’s a way to express myself every day, and it’s downright fun. I have a feeling that’s how Dita is too…not insecure.
Plus, she’s making millions off her image. If you were banking like that, would you want to mess with it?
Considering that there are women out there who have given birth in full makeup, women who go to bed with makeup (saw this on the intro to Wife Swap last week), and women like my mom, who do not feel complete going into Wal-Mart without applyinjg lipstick and fixing their hair, this is hardly something to get upset about.
If she is comfortable always being seen in full glam, more power to her. I’ve always found her fascinating, because of her retro glam look, in a time when celebrities pair a evening cocktail dress with leggings and call that fashion.
@Bree – “Considering that there are women out there who have given birth in full makeup…”
Hee, like my mom? When my little sister was born she was the only woman in the natal ward in full makeup. And a few years later when she was whisked away for an emergency hysterectomy, her barely-conscious instructions as they loaded her into the ambulance were, “Bring my makeup to the hospital!” She doesn’t do the gym, but if she did, there would be makeup.
As for me, I can’t even be arsed to brush my teeth first.
As for Dita, my main question is how she sweats in all that makeup and doesn’t have insane acne flareups like I would.
Considering how many of those “Stars Without Makeup” articles and TV specials exist, I don’t blame Dita one bit.
Yes, it’s weird. Yes, it’s impractical. But so was marrying Marilyn Manson.
As Linda pointed out, this isn’t all that uncommon here in the South :)
Maybe she just likes it. I don’t own a pair of jeans, except for some that are really ancient from before I stopped wearing clothes that I don’t feel comfortable in. Most of my clothes are frilly and girly and people always tell me that I don’t have to dress up but the thing is…I kind of just want to? I don’t wear makeup because it takes too long to put on and it makes me break out if I wear it too often. I would probably wear a skirt to the gym (with shorts underneath) if I bothered to go, because I just don’t like pants.
This post seems a bit testy and a LOT petty for this site. Is BFD strictly about WEIGHT acceptance? Because I kinda thought it was about tolerance, in general. So WHAT if Dita likes to work out in makeup – that makes her “just a little nuts”? It that’s all it takes to be a little nuts, then I must be freakin’ LOONY!
Frankly, I’m a little shocked at the strong reaction to something that seems quite trivial, to me. Can’t we all just get along?
Hmmm… I didn’t expect to see such a post on BFD. So what if she works out in full makeup? I know several people at my gym who do the same – the little extra attention they pay to themselves to brighten up their face before hitting the machines has them going into their workout feeling awesome. I don’t like wearing makeup when I workout, but it’s none of my business if someone else does.
I agree with Babs. I also want to point out that we live in a time, where there are 24 hour or 16 hour cosmetics. I’ve tried them, and I’m serious, it will not come off through almost everything. I imagine what Dita wears to the gym, is this kind of stick-it-out-through-everything makeup.
I think I’m the only person on the planet who doesn’t think this is odd *for the person in question*. This is her image all the time. She doesn’t just dress that way when she leaves the house. She doesn’t even wear jeans at home! This is who she is, as a person. I’d more surprised if she showed up at the gym without makeup.
The more i think about this post, the more it bothers the hell out of me.
Seeing this sort of thing on an FA blog is bad enough.
Seeing this sort of thing on an FA blog that has represented Fat Acceptance on telly and in newsprint, it makes me feel more than a little nauseated.
Seeing this on any blog that’s supposed to be about any kind of acceptance? Makes me think perhaps we have different definitions of the word.
i understand the image thing, but seriously? that is totally not necessary to show up at the gym fully made up. that’s totally a PR ploy.
Would it be my thing? No.
Then again, I’m a (visually) anonymous blogger. Nobody would know if Twistie failed to wear makeup in public. And if they did, chances are they wouldn’t much care. I live in an area where bare faces are fairly common among women, even in more formal settings than the gym. Who I am and where I am both make it unlikely that I would wear makeup to the gym.
Dita vonTease, however, is a public figure whose look is a substantial part of her fame. I can’t imagine anyone who’s seen a couple ‘Celebs Sans Makeup’ features on magazines in grocery store check out stands wouldn’t understand why some women (particularly well-known ones who are largely famous for looking fabulous in all circumstances) would choose to keep up the image in less-than-ideal circumstances.
Even if she weren’t famous, it would be entirely her decision. If it makes her feel better to wear makeup to the gym, well, then it makes her feel better. I see no need to pathologize her decision…particularly in light of her career choice and status as a public figure.
“Why not work out in full makeup and done hair?”
*shrugs*
‘Cause it’ll block your pores when you sweat – excuse me, glisten – and eventually ruin your skin?
Girlfriend has money. Why can’t she, like, build a small gym at/buy equipment for her house? Then she can have it both ways.
I mean, that was one of the reasons I did it. I hated having people look at me at the gym (and also it’s lots easier if you can just roll out of bed and do whatever than have to run across town, even a little way).
I’m not saying everyone should do what I did; it just strikes me as odd that someone with her particular persona would not have considered that as an option.
I am often really confused about the intersection of feminism with the fact that I love to wear high heels and fancy dresses and, yes, makeup. I go back and forth about whether this means I support things I think I don’t, and what not.
Nudemuse (who’s on the Fatosphere Reader), had a great moment in a post the other day that helped resolve it for me. It’s her site I link to here, not mine.
She said:
When I was first introduced to feminism, the women who introduced me to it were kinda nuts. They hen pecked bits of dogma until they had this collection of bits that made me feel icky. They told me all the time that the boys I enjoyed sleeping with at the time were raping me, they told me that my girlfriend and I having kinky sex was a betrayal etc etc.
I spent a lot of time really sad and miserable and feeling guilty like every time I spanked my girlfriend or she spanked me we were turncoats to the cause.
I got a bit older and realized that wasn’t the case.
I think I agree with that. Yes, I may be suspicious of makeup and stereotypically girly things that have been used to mark women off as separate and inferior. But I like what I like, and it’s OK for me to do that, too.
Hope that’s good food for thought?
I’m glad others have said what’s the big deal because that was my reaction but I didn’t have time to comment earlier.
I really don’t know what the problem is. As others have said, this is her image and it may not be what we would do but why shouldn’t she if she wants to? Also, just taking a gander here, that sweating in full makeup isn’t really outside the norm for someone that is a burlesque dancer. Why would pilates be any different for her?
I sweat more sticking one toe outside the door in July here in the midwest and that doesn’t stop me from putting on the makeup.
“Support women’s choices with their bodies, even if they aren’t the choices you would make.”
Exactly. I feel that feminism and SA are about letting women make choices THEY want to make without scrutiny. In my opinion, it doesn’t matter why she wears makeup at the gym– it’s her body and her choice. I feel like selectively/arbitrarily defining what is “ok” for a woman to do and what is “weird” for a woman to do is nothing more than cherry-picking. Women should have equality, but, when you think about it, criticizing a woman for wearing makeup/being a housewife/etc. is just as bad as the people who want to keep women and/or fat people conveniently unequal.
littlem, why should Dita von Teese hide in her home if she wants to work out with wearing makeup on her face? Is this something she should be ashamed about? It’s not like she’s running on a treadmill while wearing stiletto heels — her makeup doesn’t impede her ability to work out.
And a lot of women work out while wearing some makeup. So how much is too much? When does it become necessary to hide?
Put me down as another woman who doesn’t get the finger-pointing and judgmental attitude towards Dita for the “shameful, crazy” act of wearing dark red lipstick while doing pilates.
“‘Cause it’ll block your pores when you sweat – excuse me, glisten – and eventually ruin your skin?”
Certainly no more than wearing it on a daily basis if you keep an otherwise excellent skin care regiment.
I also want to add that I personally feel more positive about myself and enjoy my workout more when I wear clothes that I feel attractive in, my skin looks nice, I have some mascara on, and my hair looks good. It’s WAY more fun to look in the mirror then! :)
I gotta say I do totally understand it. From what I hear alot of celebs will not even go to fill their car with gas without spending time on their looks and appearance because the chances they get caught on camera are high. She has an image to uphold and I for one always feel just a bit more “together” with my fave shade of lipstick on even if I am going to the store.
She has every right to wear whatever she wants when working out, I may raise an eyebrow if she was photographed working out in a clown suit but once again .. whatever makes her happy, I don’t want people talking about what I work out in, or judging me by appearance in any situation really, I don’t see the need to do that to her either.
She may really not sweat, and so make-up isn’t an issue for her. I know several people who just aren’t sweaters. Me? I sweat just thinking about being hot, but not everyone is the same.
While I understand where you’re coming from, as many women use make-up as a cover, maybe we’re all just jumping to conclusions when we see things like this. Maybe it isn’t just about an image, and instead is just Dita being Dita.
I don’t know if it’s just me, but it seems like there have been more negative posts on this blog recently than positive ones. This reads as another negative one – judging a woman for working out with make-up on rather than celebrating the fact that she’s at the gym trying to be healthy in the first place. The posts are annoying and make me feel uncomfortable and a little angry. Is everyone feeling okay? Is there a reason for the snarky, negative attitude? Because the “voice” of this blog seems to have changed, and I’m wondering why.
Let me get this straight.
Judging you because you’re fat = wrong.
Judging someone else because she’s too made up for the gym = A-OK.
I like wearing make up. NOT TO HIDE FROM PEOPLE BECAUSE I HAVE LOW SELF ESTEEM! I like it because makeup is fun, and some form of art I can produce everyday.
I usually sweat all of it off when I’m working out though because I sweat buckets.
I didn’t think when I saw those photos that “Ohhh Dita must have such low self esteem to not exercise comfortably without makeup.”
This is a very disappointing article. :(
I wear makeup everyday.
I don’t leave the house often without it, and when I do, I feel under-done.
When I was in college, I worked out in full makeup. Now I workout in a naked face.
For me, makeup is a bizarre ritual. I love the way it makes me look, but I also use it to “make up” for being fat. It’s a sort of apology/atonement for me. If I were thinner and prettier, I’d go without much more often than I do.
I would say she’s a bit nuts, but that’s my perspective. Given that I have to be forced into makeup, and that I work in a hot, steamy kitchen (and wearing makeup in that? sounds absolutely, face-meltingly, horrifying). In short, make up is not my thing. So, yeah, I think Dita is a bit weird.
But it is quite possible that Dita von Teese thinks that people who don’t wear make-up are lazy, or afraid of looking pretty, or something else.
I didn’t think that this post was overly negative, but that’s a matter of my perspective (because as a non-makeup user, I do kind of spluh at makeup at the gym). And jenfu’s perspective may have been tainted by her feelings and biases on makeup (because for her, makeup might be a shield).
I don’t really know where I’m going with this, I think I need to get some sleep before I make comments on blogs!
Count me among those who don’t see what the big deal is. When I was in college (the only time my poverty stricken ass has ever had access to a gym), fully half the women at the gym would have a full face of makeup. It’s not like it restricts their movements or anything, so who cares? As long as they have a good skin care routine, it won’t hurt them.
Plus, like others have said, Dita’s famous. She’s got the stalkerazzi just waiting to catch a glimse of her without makeup so people can mock her in magazines and on TV for it. I wouldn’t go out without makeup either, if I had to worry about that.
I never wear make up – but then I don’t have paparazzi shots of me at the gymn posted up on discussion boards so people can discuss my appearance in great depth.
What I think we should be worried about is why in our society women get professionally stalked so their private life can be sold to magazines.
Brittney, yeah. It’s really a shame to see such blatant judging of women here. She’s just wearing makeup, it’s not a crime.
I am not sure what Jen’s intention was in making the post – though I’m not sure her intent was as strong as some of the comments indicate. I think I feel more equivocal about it than the rest of the people posted here. I don’t think any of us – likely including Jen, though I’m not as familiar with her stance on things as I am Mo – are saying that we should castigate any woman – or any one – for her (his) appearance, whether it be because of fat or makeup or anything else.
But I do find myself troubled by the intersection of feminism with certain traditional/stereotypical female behaviors. I like the way I look when I wear makeup, and I like to wear it – but when I do, I am always conscious of the fact that men do not (or do so quite rarely) and that when I go to certain events I am expected to wear makeup to satisfy the visual preferences of others. I wonder what this disparity means, and is it antifeminist, does it contribute to women being judged on appearance rather than other contributions more than we could be? Should I contribute to it by wearing makeup?
Many commenters seem quite angry at the post. And I can understand the point – as I said above – of not judging anyone on appearances. I don’t want to anger anyone. But for me, this is a real issue I go back and forth on. Because I don’t think we can deny that makeup is part of what makes women’s appearances different from men’s, and expectations of women and how they should look and how and if they wear makeup and what that means – these things are all inextricably intertwined with how our society views and treats women.
Nudemuse’s post helped me a lot – but not completely. Is it really just Jen and I who have worried about this one? I was hoping to hear more thoughtful analysis from a feminist perspective.
My 2 cents: it is IMPOSSIBLE to be a woman in L.A., let alone a performer, and have absolute confidence in your appearance. It’s almost a plague. Every woman I know who moved to L.A. from somewhere else, women who never had manybody issues before, had them after living in Los Angeles.
Add to that a bunch of paparazzi who are waiting to tear you down, and you can kiss your confidence goodbye.
haven’t read other comments. But why do we feel the need to question other women choices? And how critizing this is any different to criticize how she looks in general or what she eats in public or how much she weights? It’s her life, her body, her face and her right to do whatever she wants without someone questioning her choices
I have seen The Rock (ahem, Dwayne Johnson) and several members of the Lakers at my gym. Hi, I’m totally going to wear concealer, lip gloss and mascara on the treadmill! There’s also a woman at my gym who wear a TUBE TOP while working out. Haha, no harm, no foul.
Reminds me of the Golden Age of Television, when Donna Reed & her ilk spent part of each weekly sitcom episode cleaning house in crispy shirtdress, pearls & heels. So what? Can also remember interviewing a fairly well-known actress in the late 1960s: the lady let me watch her doing her bed-time (full-face) make-up job – whatever works. As for combining war paint & workouts, one of my best friends goes off to sweat at least twice a week in ballet classes and wouldn’t dream of doing so without a fully applied face job. It’s a VERY personal thing, and each of us must be able to do it in her own way without any sniping from the peanut gallery.
Okay. The intent of this post was basically that von Teese’s full face of makeup made me think about things that this blog talks about–self acceptance, feminism, the intersection of the idea of makeup as a specific feminist choice versus a requirement imposed upon women who want to be properly beautiful. How the role she’s chosen for herself as a glamorous sex symbol might mean that she’s kind of trapped herself in a very specific box related to her appearance. I thought they were all very interesting questions to bring up.
This was not meant to be a negative post, and it wasn’t meant to suggest that I don’t accept her choice–she can make whatever choice she likes! I accept that she wears makeup while she does pilates. I accept that maybe she does it because she likes it! I postulate that maybe there are other reasons she does it, which are interesting to think about and I thought would open up larger questions. And I am allowed to think that working out in makeup sounds uncomfortable and messy and a highway to the breakout zone.
Anyway. I clearly didn’t make my intent quite as clear as I had supposed, and I apologize if I have made anyone very sad.
I do get worried that women are supposed to look a certain way – and a certain way all the time. I’ve seen so many movies where we see an actress wake up in bed fully and immaculately made up. And paparazzis shots are the ultimate example of this, where any recognisable women are excoriated for daring to appear less perfect and madeup then they would in a film shoot – all those “stars without makeup” specials where humans are excoriated for actually looking human. And I can see that this post was trying to question that, so sorry if I was narky.
But I really think its bad to use these kind of images of a specific individual especially when she clearly thought she was in a private situation and her image wasn’t up for general consumption. It feeds into that whole concept that woman’s appearance is up for judgement all the time. And its a bit creepy looking at an image of a women who clearly didn’t realise that a fellow stretcher was taking secret shots at her from behind the posture balls.
I totally agree with you–those kinds of surveillance photos shouldn’t be taken. But that’s kind of the whole point, isn’t it? One of the reasons she’s wearing the makeup to the gym might very well be in response to the unceasing judgment and observation she is constantly under, right?
mei, I didn’t say she had to hide.
I work out at home; I don’t consider it hiding.
I don’t think you read all of my comment – I concluded by wondering why someone in her position wouldn’t consider the choice – but you do seem to be spoiling for an argument, so can we let it go at that?
Aside from the excellent points made by other commenters, did it occur to you that she did anything else that day? That perhaps she’s come straight from lunch, or shopping, or a meeting or interview or photo shoot? That perhaps she didn’t ‘put on her face’ purely to go to the gym…?
I know I don’t wash my face before working out… afterwards, yes.
If going to the gym (or the market or the mall) meant that there was a good chance my picture would end up on newstands and web sites, you can bet your bippy that I’d be rocking the mascara. If heavy make-up was a part of my image, even more so.
I don’t see this as a big deal, personally. Some people buy fancy gym clothes, some don’t. Some “dress up” to work out and some don’t. I don’t think it’s a shield people hide behind — it’s just personal preference!
I’m delurking to echo mccn’s point that the post could–and from my standpoint, should–be read as a meditation on why women wear makeup at all. I find it disingenuous to suggest that we doll up, or not, solely out of personal comfort. I belong to a women-only gym and have noticed, over the past decade and out of a broad array of women, only two working out in full makeup, both of whom, incidentally, appear to be over 60. The question of “why”–one way or the other–is worth asking.
How we as women present ourselves to the world definitely fits into the ongoing discussion of fat & body acceptance. No one is above scrutiny, though every opinion is not of equal merit. That said, an act isn’t feminist just because a woman does it.
I have several things to comment on.
First of all, Dita’s line of work is physically challenging. Being fully corseted on huge high heels wearing full makeup in front of HOT stage lights all day is pretty challenging, but she also probably found a way to avoid making her makeup run? Or maybe that was the problem, she was testing a new kind of makeup?
My best explanation for this was she had to work out fast, and didn’t have time to remove all of her makeup before working out, because maybe she had an appointment and was gonna shower anyway, so who cares?
There are pictures available where Dita has no makeup on, and it’s not a ‘Stars Without Makeup’ shoot either. She is smiling at the camera, without makeup. If she were really that uncomfortable, she wouldn’t be able to do that.
This is just one picture where it happened, it’s not like she’s acting nuts all the time, or even like she’s acting nuts then. I don’t see what the BFD is.
I find this article very pretentious, Dita’s quite classy and put together in comparison to many other stars, and it doesn’t have everything to do with her looks either.