#bearface #heroic

No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.

No.

It is not.

I could probably end it there, but I feel like I really should explain. Children in Need have launched an advert providing helpful 'tips' on how ordinary people can raise money for charity, which every time I've seen I have felt an unstoppable urge rising inside of me, forcing whole body into a frenzy of uncontrollable bouts of violence, my jaw clenching until the grinding turns my entire jaw into bone meal, the anger only quenched and fading once it is expelled in its final moments as a scream, either loudly or internally, leaving behind a hollow shell where once belonged a man, forlorn and frustrated with what was witnessed, yet calm once again.

I am well aware of how this looks. Usually when I choose to moan about something I feel fairly confident that anyone with a fully functioning brain, with at the very least a modest mental capacity, would understand, relate, and most of all share in my frustration. But here, on this occasion, I look like a right miserable sod. I am but that is beside the point. 

What I find so frustrating about this advertisement is not the cause, or its good intentions, or its god awful cheesiness. It is the #bearface bit! Why is that something that should be considered heroic? Good on you ordinary woman for not wearing a product you are expect to wear under intense, and ridiculous, societal pressures. Good on you for showing the world the 'real you', without actually making much of a meaningful attempt to change the appalling and damaging way those products, that you so heroically discarded, are marketed at females. Good on you for listening to Abbey Clancy, a lingerie model who happens to be married to footballer (I was not at all surprised when I searched who the hell was doing the voice-over), for not subscribing to the nonsensical beauty ideal for a brief moment. Somewhat ironic given that she is a large part of its continued existence. Just good for you. You are simply the most heroic person to have walked this planet.

It is at this point when I come to realise I have made myself sound like a complete arse, I am sure that for many 'ditching the make-up' is truly terrifying. I appreciate that. What I do not appreciate is why it should be considered such a feat of bravery and the damaging effects the beauty myth can have upon women. Perpetuating this myth, that beauty is achieved through cosmetics and as such it is brave to 'ditch the make-up', will not help anyone beyond the obvious short-termist goal of raising a few bob for a 'celebrity' charity event. One I suspect is staffed almost entirely by people seeking only publicity and whom have, in all likelihood, contributed very little of their own 'hard-earned' cash.

What the people at Children in Need should be doing, if they had any sense, would be showing the useful ways in which people can contribute to charities and their fundraising. Bake a bloody cake, or do a challenge, as are suggested in the advertisement. Hell even do the tired dressing up to show how 'zany' you are, despite always coming off as a tosser with no imagination and looking like a twat all day. Dare I say it... shock horror... you could even collect money in a truly unique way (at least for these public, celebrity, charity event things)... with dignity and information!!! Crazy! 

Just don't think you are helping anyone in the long-term by listening to Abbey and "ditching the make-up and donning the paw" because ultimately, the idea that not wearing make-up is something abnormal gets enough children to be in need of help as it is. Poor form from Children in Need who raise for, as one of their many supported charities, the anorexia charity beat.

If you want to donate to them do so, just please don't humour the #bearface suggestion.