Red Lipstick: From Anti-Hitler Statement to Feminist Symbol

Why Adolf Hitler hated red lipstick?

As Taylor Swift says in her song, ‘Vigilante Shit,’ ‘draw the cat eye sharp enough to kill a man.’ Women in the 1900s took this a little too seriously and their makeup, particularly their bold red lipsticks was seen as a symbol of feminist resistance and rebellion. So, wearing lipstick red enough to rebel got on the nerves of patriarchal individuals.

In particular, Adolf Hitler. Seriously, this dude had a lot of unresolved issues so it is not even surprising to see him feel threatened by red lipsticks.

Historically, red lipstick is such a subtle yet destructive power move. For centuries now, women wore it to express themselves and their resistance to constricting patriarchal norms of society.

The lipstick stays constant but its shade varies to convey playfulness, sensuality, power, courage, and strength. To such an extent, the famous American vedette Dita Von Teese was once recorded saying that lipstick and heels would put the god in people. And that is exactly what Adolf Hitler feared most of all; the people whom he thought to be weak to feel empowered.

Men Shocked, Feminists Rocked!

The streets of America were filled with countless suffragettes championing feminist causes and condemning the persecution of women in the 1900s.

Some of the bold advocates of the movement like Elizabeth Stanton and Charlotte Gilman wore red lipsticks to these protests and soon enough this fashion statement was adopted by everyone else.

This was because red lipstick had been associated by men with sinful, impolite, or sexually amoral women. So, in World War 2 when women wore it, it was a symbol of taking charge of their social narrative.

One interesting fact you would be surprised to hear is that this incident of wearing red lipstick at protests happened almost by accident when the protestors marched in front of Elizabeth Arden’s support.

Yes, the founder of the famous makeup brand by the same name. Elizabeth distributed tubes of bright red lipstick. The effect of thousands of women shouting slogans wearing ‘provocative’ lipstick was quite impressive and powerful.

After all, what is more, gorgeous than a strong woman sporting a bold lip in the middle of a war? Women’s pride and independence grew and with it, Hitler’s ire and anger.

According to Rachel Felder, the author of ‘Red Lipstick; An Ode to Beauty Icons’ Adolf Hitler famously abhorred and hated red lipstick.

This same idea is reinforced and elaborated in further detail by Madelaine Marsh, the author of ‘Compacts and Cosmetics’.

She mentions how visitors to Hitler’s country retreats were actually given a list of do’s and don’ts, specifically a list focused on things they must avoid at all costs. This included; excessive makeup must be avoided, women must not wear red lipstick, and under no circumstances were they to color their nails.

Allied women wore it to defy all these ridiculous sanctions and restrictions imposed by Hitler. During that time, cosmetic companies also started creating and marketing red lipsticks in the shade ‘Victory red’.

In Britain, prime minister Winston Churchill even encouraged the use of red lipstick. A special blush, lipstick, and varnish were created for and marketed to military women in the United States.

Similarly, cosmetics brands have set ‘military’ names for their shades of red lipsticks, for instance, combatant, victorious, etc.

So, when during the wartime, there were sanctions being placed on the trade of goods, but cosmetics remained largely untouched by these restrictive policies. The food ministry of the time claimed that cosmetics supply for women was as important as supplies of tobacco for men.

Lipsticks as important as Production of Weapons

As women started working in factories, they usually had to wear protective suits over their clothes, special glasses, and scarves to cover their heads.

So, in all this they obviously had to find a way to stay stylish. Hence, red lipstick became even more popular since it was the only way for them to express their femininity.

Sometimes, managers would distribute tubes of lipstick among their female employees to raise morale even. Since they believed women got more pleasure from receiving lipsticks than they did from receiving cash.

This, I don’t think should have been thought because however much empowering lipstick may be, cash was still needed for survival. What do you think?

Red Lipstick Defeated Nazism!

With Hitler’s rise to power as the chancellor, his nazi party decided that the perfect German woman wore no makeup. Hitler especially hated lipstick since he was vegetarian and lipsticks in those times were made of animal fat.

One could say he did not have the stomach for it. His allies shared this sentiment. The Information Minister of Britain exploited this information to their own advantage and slogans like ‘beauty is our duty!’ ‘Lipstick is your beauty’ became common chants.

They do seem a bit sexist today but back then they were pretty powerful. Soon, the lipstick became a symbol of disobedience even in European territories occupied by the Nazis.

Crazily enough red lipstick became mandatory for women who joined the US army. Elizabeth Arden came up with the shade Montezuma red that matched the red trimming of the uniform.

Mind Over Makeup

So, which of these facts did you find the craziest? Did you know that the history of makeup is rooted in women's empowerment and feminism and that it was used as a symbol of disobedience and rebellion during World War II and essentially brought down Nazism?

In all, I really admire women for keeping their sense of style even when fighting for their rights. In fact, even turned the objects that made them thought of as frivolous into symbols of power.

So, next time when you wear lipstick, know that the spirit of thousands of strong women accompanies and empowers you too.

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