“Because as easy as it is to say that any choice that we make as marginalized people is automatically feminist (because look! I’m making a decision for myself in a world that tries to make decisions for me!), the truth is that we don’t make choices in a vacuum.

What that means for me is that while I authentically enjoy makeup, I also have to recognize that it’s impossible to know if I would still like it if I hadn’t been socialized to believe that I had to. It means understanding that the choices that I make are dependent on the choices that are offered to me. So while I’m empowered to decide that I want to wear makeup, I’m equally disempowered by a system that sells that to me as the “right” choice to make.”