Beauty

Beauty norms are societal standards that dictate ideal physical appearance and vary across cultures and history. Despite being unrealistic, norms are instilled in women from a young age, harming those who feel they do not fit the mold.

‘Beauty Is a Labor Issue’: The Ms. Q&A with Arabelle Sicardi

PUBLISHED 10/14/2025 by

Since the start of their career, Arabelle Sicardi has worked to carve out a niche as a beauty writer who takes the industry to task. In an industry that thrives on affiliate links, and where publications near universally get commissions for the products they recommend, it’s a hard angle to take: Critiquing the system, let alone exposing the inequality that goes on behind the scenes, can put you in a vulnerable position.

Sicardi sat down with Ms. to discuss beauty under fascism, the labor issues at play in the beauty industry, and finding community and connection in an industry that’s fraught with violence.

The Size of Discrimination: Racism and Bias in the Fight Against the ‘Obesity Epidemic’

PUBLISHED 10/11/2024 by , and

The thread of social stigmatizing and racism has long woven through the fabrics of science and medicine. Sarah Baartman, an indigenous South African woman born in 1789, was subjected to profound cruelties, specifically associated with her body size and shape—placed at first in a cage alongside a rhinoceros, and later in circuses and so-called “freak-shows” throughout Europe under the name Hottentot Venus.

To this day, women experience weight discrimination at significantly higher rates than male peers.

Saie Relaunches ‘The Every Body Campaign’ in Support of SisterSong

PUBLISHED 3/4/2024 by

Saie, a clean beauty brand, recently relaunched The Every Body Campaign. The campaign joins together over 60 brands to raise awareness and funds for reproductive justice. As the largest beauty industry-backed reproductive justice initiative in history, the campaign is projected to raise over $300,000 to support services for birthing people, mothers and funding for abortion care in Georgia, North Carolina and Kentucky. 

The Return of Essence Festival of Culture: ‘It’s the Black Joy for Me’

PUBLISHED 7/17/2022 by

After an in-person hiatus of two years, Essence Festival of Culture returned to New Orleans for its annual festival dedicated to celebrating and uplifting Black women.

The return of Essence Festival in person during this critical social moment was vital. With the theme “It’s the Black Joy For Me,” it was a moment for Black women to take time for themselves and each other, despite what’s currently happening in the world.

July 2022 Reads for the Rest of Us

PUBLISHED 7/5/2022 by

Books provide us not only with necessary information but also with the respite we need from the constant labor of securing our rights and humanity in all the ways they are under attack. 

I hope of the 33 books here, you’ll find one that inspires, relaxes or distracts you for a little while. 

Sha’Carri Richardson Isn’t Just Breaking Records—She’s Breaking Glass Ceilings

PUBLISHED 7/2/2021 by

While we wait with bated breath as USA Track & Field makes their final decision about Richardson’s 2021 Olympic fate, there is another story based on a double standard that needs to be told here.

Remember there are young women who aren’t in Vogue, The New York Times or People Magazine but still sport long orange hair, voluminous lashes, tattoos and colorful long nails—and they need us rooting for them to win the way we are for Sha’Carri Richardson.

Growing Gray

PUBLISHED 3/10/2020 by

“I’m now 52, and I see the gift of my gray hair having been more empowering than any container of Le Conte: that owning one’s self is not simply noble, or fiercely courageous—but beautiful.”

Sick and Tired: Why Fragrance is a Feminist Issue

PUBLISHED 11/11/2019 by

I’ve been on eight planes, 10 rideshare cars and two rental cars in the last three weeks—and in 50 percent of them, my head began to thump, the glad in the left side of my throat began to swell, my sinuses filled with mucus and I became hazy within minutes because someone was wearing perfume or cologne.

Strutting Her Stuff

PUBLISHED 10/18/2019 by

Noor Aldayeh had around 2,000 followers on Instagram when she first decided to share her story about struggling with bulimia. Today, she has over 40,000.