High school bans makeup, removes mirrors to crack down on teen vanity

[cassanova]

TODAYMoms - High school bans makeup, removes mirrors to crack down on teen vanity

Ah, the high school girls' bathroom. Perhaps you remember it well.

Girls jockeying for a spot before the mirror, dabbing concealer on that day’s blemish, checking their blue eyeliner for signs of smudging, swiping their lips with another coat of gloss.

Can you imagine school days without the primping rituals?

That’s what’s happening at a British school, which not only banned makeup for its 13- to 16-year-old students but also temporarily took down the bathroom mirrors.

The no-mirrors policy at Shelley College, a co-ed public school in northern England, came about around May because some girls were spending too much time in the loo, crowding the mirror to touch up their faces, says head teacher John McNally. They were even staying in there to eat lunch, making other girls feel uncomfortable when they had to walk through a crowd, he said.

The makeup ban followed a month or so later because teachers were daily challenging a small number of students - some wearing heavy mascara and thick foundation - for flouting the school’s vague policy allowing “discreet” makeup, says McNally.

“The makeup ban is about getting girls to focus on what’s important in school, which is learning and not being distracted with makeup and wanting to check it all the time,” McNally told TODAY Moms in a phone interview. “The mirror ban is to break a cycle where social groups started to emerge in the bathroom.”

With school back in session, school officials check each girl’s face daily, and offer makeup-removing products if necessary, McNally said. Most girls have accepted the policy, though a few back-to-school faces were challenged, he said.

Though the girls who want to wear makeup typically say they need it to feel confident, McNally believes that’s not true for most students.
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“We’ve had quite a few girls say they feel more confident since the ban’s been introduced,” McNally said, because they don’t feel compelled to compete with other girls in the lipstick and eyeliner department.

And, above all, he feels the school’s rules will lead to better academic performance. “We do think it will help,” he said.

Not all of the girls are happy with the policy.

“Before the ban I’d wear foundation, mascara and eyeliner, now I don’t wear any,” Emily Stonehouse, 14, told the Daily Mail. “It is a bit unfair. I do believe too much make-up can be a distraction but so too can too little.”

What do you think? Is it silly to prevent girls from popping by the bathroom mirror after lunch to check for food in their teeth, or a worthwhile restriction that could boost academic achievement?

Lisa A. Flam is a news and lifestyles reporter in New York.

[jmattbassplaya]

Shoot, even I'd give myself a rundown after lunch everyday to wash my face and make sure I didn't have any dirt or food on my face. Taking down mirrors just seems a little extreme.

[Kwesi]

It definitely sounds extreme but I can't see it being the worst thing ever, either. Consider me on the fence.

[elgecko]

Maybe they were using makeup guns!

[MEKer]

well, a school has no obligation or need to provide a mirror IMO so write me up as "I don't care". Too many kids pay attention to their face over their brains.

[RosieB]

Why not just ban lunch in the bathroom? Seems like overkill.

[jmattbassplaya]

Originally Posted by RosieB

Why not just ban lunch in the bathroom? Seems like overkill.

Because that would be the smart, logical thing to do

[cassanova]

Originally Posted by jmattbassplaya

Because that would be the smart, logical thing to do

This.

Not to mention, it's pretty nasty to eat lunch in the bathroom.

[MatticusMania]

Originally Posted by cassanova

This. Not to mention, it's pretty nasty to eat lunch in the bathroom.

I was always told not to **** where I eat.

[Munjibunga]

[MatticusMania]

^ Id hit it

So long as Im wearing my day-glo!

[MJ5150]

Francis Dolarhyde must be the principal.

-Mike

[vbsurfer3001]

Idiotic, IMHO...... Part of school is learning how to control your impulses and also learning peer interaction, social structure, societal norms, etc. These morons who seek to keep their kids "safe" or "focused" are doing nothing but setting them up to fail when they eventually enter the world... Children grow into adults, along that path the must make mistakes and experience pain or they will grow only physically but not emotionally. Removing the mirrors only makes it easy on the administrator, as they abdicate their role, just as many parents have also done...

[Radical Edward]

I think it's a great idea. 13-16 year olds don't need make-up, anyway, for numerous reasons. I dunno.. I didn't wear make-up before I was 16 and it wasn't like I wasn't allowed to, I just didn't want to look like a skank and I appreciated myself and how I look naturally enough not to do it. The whole mirrors thing seems extreme, but at my high school we weren't allowed to have backpacks in class, and we only have 3 minutes in between classes, regardless of which floor you were on. My point being that within those 3 minutes we didn't have the time to go to the bathroom at all, much less fawn over make-up.
I think these kids might need something a little extreme, such as removing the mirrors, to give them a wake-up call and realize that they can't ignore the rules of the school and to realize that they are indeed doing something wrong.
I hope they value themselves more from all of this, and see that they're beautiful without it.

[Webtroll]

nothing like telling a young woman who is just discovering her sexuality that spending time on her looks is wrong while at the same time idolizing skinny made up adults in movies and magazines. they may have had a problem with the hanging out in the bathrooms, but i'm not sure if i care for the way they're handling it.

[kserg]

Originally Posted by MatticusMania

I was always told not to **** where I eat.

technically, they were not eating where they ****, they were eating where others **** - big difference...

[jmattbassplaya]

Originally Posted by Radical Edward

I think it's a great idea. 13-16 year olds don't need make-up, anyway, for numerous reasons. I dunno.. I didn't wear make-up before I was 16 and it wasn't like I wasn't allowed to, I just didn't want to look like a skank and I appreciated myself and how I look naturally enough not to do it. The whole mirrors thing seems extreme, but at my high school we weren't allowed to have backpacks in class, and we only have 3 minutes in between classes, regardless of which floor you were on. My point being that within those 3 minutes we didn't have the time to go to the bathroom at all, much less fawn over make-up.
I think these kids might need something a little extreme, such as removing the mirrors, to give them a wake-up call and realize that they can't ignore the rules of the school and to realize that they are indeed doing something wrong.
I hope they value themselves more from all of this, and see that they're beautiful without it.

I'll see your post and raise you this:

How to trick people into thinking you're good looking - YouTube

[Kwesi]

Originally Posted by jmattbassplaya

I'll see your post and raise you this:

How to trick people into thinking you're good looking - YouTube

Fawkin' love Jenna Marbles! She's hilarious and hot. Apparently a rare combination on youtube, lol.

What Boys Do On The Internet - YouTube

[Longhair]

Originally Posted by MatticusMania

^ Id hit it

So long as Im wearing my day-glo!

Those are guys.

[PerlNinja]

Ah, the nanny state...