The actor and animal rights activist Pamela Anderson attended this year’s Met Gala wearing a Tony Burch silk gown and a severe bob cut with micro bangs. I didn’t like the dress or the hairdo, but taste is a subjective thing. Celebrities attending this event know their outfits will be scrutinised, so I don’t feel bad about expressing my opinion about these elements of her appearance. India’s very own Shah Rukh Khan felt the brunt of public teasing for a Sabyasachi ensemble that was widely regarded as not having worked. Other style statements were admired, of course. That’s the point for us who watch, or even those of us who scroll without seeking out: the fashion at events like this is always interesting. They can also be fleeting distractions from all that is happening in the world.
So I didn’t care for Pamela Anderson’s style, but what I disliked deeply were the cruel comments about the fact that her face was bare. For some years now, Anderson has chosen to be makeup-free. Everywhere; even when dozens of flashing cameras are on her. It is an unusual choice not just for a celebrity but even for many ordinary women. Societal expectations, and individual preferences which are ultimately a result of conditioning, mean that makeup of some kind is seen as a feminine imperative in many cultures.
In the past, Anderson was often criticised for being an icon of superficiality: for her Barbie doll-like appearance and for her use of plastic surgery, and for being a sex symbol in general. This perception of her was always unfair: in truth, Anderson is a childhood sexual abuse survivor, a survivor of leaked private footage, and a human being in her own right, not merely a pin-up poster and an object of fantasy. Today, she is criticised for refusing to remain glamourous. People claim that she has unrecognisably transformed into a “frumpy” person, which is absurd: anyone who wears cosmetics or knows well someone who does can easily see that she still has the same face she became famous for, just unpainted and older.
While many celebrities occasionally wear their faces natural — for selfies they curate for their online feeds, for instance — a few have embraced this as a lifestyle for significant periods. The musician Alicia Keys is a notable example. She went makeup-free in 2016, although she returned to it by 2023, even launching her own beauty brand. The actor Amy Adams told the press last year that she had eschewed makeup for years, as per her young daughter’s request that she “just be Mom”. Presumably, Adams continued to wear it for work appearances, but avoided it at other times. She has returned to it, and now jokes that her daughter doesn’t like her apparel.
Maybe Anderson will enjoy cosmetics again too, or maybe she will remain happy having embraced its absence. She is 57 years old and has been on a long journey of self-reclamation.
Her current appearance isn’t to please other people, unlike the misuse of her younger self. This is for her, but we’re also offered something: a representation of ways to be seen without being objectified.