Marked by Life

Too much makeup= you're trying too hard
Not enough makeup= you're straight up lazy

So how can you win?  According to Deborah Tannen, if you are a woman, you can't.  EVERYTHING about a women is marked; "hair, clothing, makeup, and accessories"  (Tannen).  But for men "they ha[ve] the option of being unmarked".  This is not fair.  This is also not true.  Men are not judged by their choices of appearance, but by what they can't control.  In the last piece we read, "Just walk on by" by Brent Staples, he talked about how he and the people who were scared of him were the victims of their own stereotypes.  Due to his "inheritance"  people were naturally scared of him the second they laid eyes on him.  He didn't choose to be marked as a threatening person, yet because of how he looks, he is.




Too buff= Intimidating, threatening
Not enough muscle= Nerdy, scrawny

Men can't win either.  Tannen claims that men can determine if they wish to be marked or unmarked.  Both men and women alike are being judged no matter what they do.  Some may argue that women have it better because they can choose how they want to be marked.  Maybe one day a women decides she wants to be perceived as lazy so she wheres sweat pants and a t-shirt.  Men, on the other hand, can't wake up one day and decide they want to be perceived as nerdy and scrawny when they are built like "The Rock".
Men aren't automatically marked by what appearance they choose.  However, they are marked by the appearance they can't choose.  Women are marked no matter how they dress or act.  Neither fact is fair.  But, unfortunately, I don't see either changing anytime soon.