Two months of summer isn’t a lot of time for a teenager to change. Yet, it seems like the girls in my grade had the longest summer this year.

Not only has their mental faculty matured, but so have their looks. Their makeup, the subtle touches here and there or even none at all, has evolved into a more obvious and bold style. They are using more eyeliner; their eyelashes are curlier; eyebrows darker; and, on occasion, I could even spot some lipstick. Their fashion, now more ‘up-to-date’, even bares some traces of their fashion magazines such as the tall heels, flamboyant accessories and much more daring and revealing clothes.

These changes, however, are often met with the cynical opinions of many adults. One parent quoted, “Children look the prettiest when they look like children. So all this makeup, it isn’t really necessary”. Some of the more conservative adults even emphasized that students should focus more on studying and less on their looks.

Many of my male friends stand on the same side: “makeup is like a mask over their faces, it is fake and it hides girls’ true nature” a boy quoted, “and they do these things probably because they want specific people to notice them. Boys I guess.” Even some of the quieter ones contributed: “I think it’s got to do with what they see in the media which implants the wrong idea of ‘beauty’. And sometimes it’s just too much, either too much makeup or their clothes are too revealing and I can’t take them seriously.”

The girls also tell their sides of the story: “I felt conscious about my friends as they started caring so much about fashion and all that stuff, which probably caused me to do it myself.” Others added, showing a slight bit of frustration towards the adults who disapprove of their changes, “We’re always told to express ourselves. And we do, through our makeup and clothing.” Some have also admitted that they feel confident not only because they look more attractive, but because they can identify with the other girls.

I think it’s neither one. It’s not the boys’ ideas, nor is it the girls’. It isn’t even the “materialistic superficial beauty” that some say is the one thing that motivates girls to wear high heels and make up. In fact, the reason may lie in a combination of all these things. Boys have become, not only the subject whom girls want to impress, but are also those whom girls want to differentiate from. Girls have become the subject with whom other girls identify and the media simply provides them with the medium to create this relationship. We have grown up from the kids who used to label certain colors ‘girly’ and avoided being different from the rest. Now, like many other current teenagers, we seek to be ‘hipsters’. The girls have matured to embody those different aspects that are unique to their gender and make it their own special charm.

So, try not to judge a girl’s appearance as signs of adulteration and depravity. Instead, see them as signs of maturity and a creative expression of themselves. After all, some light touches of eyeliner and mascara, some roseate lips, some sophisticated clothing styles that cost girls some extra minutes of their morning are only some of the factors which define the uniqueness of the female gender.

Editor’s Note: Moby Dick is a mysterious student columnist for The Flame who has chosen to keep his/her identity confidential. The opinions contained within these pieces reflect the writer’s opinion and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Flame student newspaper as a whole.