Why No Makeup Today? - Fox News Fake Free Friday?

Okay so after now 50 emails and tweets about the makeup thing I promised to explain in the next couple of hours, and here it is. Last minute decision so no explanation ahead of time. I've sent this to a few fox anchor buddies too - hoping you will join me in a Fox fake-free Friday after you read this! We will do a lot of young women and girls a great service.

When you do a lot of TV spots you get all sorts of email - from wacky to a bit convoluted to incredibly kind to downright rude (particularly if you appear on Hannity's show LOL). But I've been noticing a trend, particularly from women and teens/college kids, and mostly in the past 2 months (maybe as summer approaches and women scrutinize their bodies more? We can thank the lighting in swimsuit stores for that!)

If a viewer wants to know "how did you land your first TV spot" or "what is it like on TV", they usually begin by asking that simple question. I've noticed most of the men tend to drop it once they have the answer they wanted that will help them, but many times (my guestimate would be more than 75%) if a female writes (particularly a young female), there is a comment like "I always wanted to do that too but I am not pretty enough" that leads to several follow up emails.

I remember growing up being the kid that looked so skinny people thought I had anorexia, the kid that had the oddball family that ate Pop Tarts for dinner and had a messy house, and the hard core tech nerd with bad teeth and thick glasses that paid for the family car when she was 10. Those images can create a feeling of NEVER being hot enough, pretty enough or any other word you want to choose to describe that feeling of inadequacy women feel when they don't feel like a knockout.

Quite frankly those emails kill me inside because trust me, if you were walking down the hall or sitting at the desk at Fox, CNN or any other network you'd see that there is nothing special about even the hottest of people on TV. For some people the camera makes them look worse - but believe it or not, for most they look far better.

Worse though is the dismissal, particularly for females, of their capabilities simply because they "aren't pretty enough" (or whatever synonym that individual used for pretty) for television. I think we need less pretty on TV and more intelligence, and if you have both fine - but intelligence and articulation should matter more. Men don't have that issue. I haven't heard one man complain he wasn't pretty enough for TV. Women need to follow this model.

The idea today behind wearing no makeup (sans lipgloss, the lighest shade I could find out of purely a need for something to be able to talk for 2 hours and not have the lips dry out) was to show people that without the makeup, we're all exactly the same and looks aren't an obstacle. The intent was to show these young women and teens what you look like refusing studio make up, and doing none yourself either (my partner had more makeup on than I did.. sorry John LOL - he knew I'd give him shit for that one! LOL). The fact is, that is the norm. Male or female, they cake it on you. At CNN this week, a makeup artist tried to make me "tanless". Huh? Men in studios are basically drenched in powder and thick concealer (and one quite popular host that gets great ratings told me he can't "wait to scrub this crap off" it is THAT much "stuff"; so trust me, their skin isn't flawless either. In person you can see the caked on stuff - on the television? It just looks like flawless skin. It isn't! The most imperfect skin can look flawless with the right camera lighting and makeup person.

So ladies take this seriously - I don't think (maybe I'm an idiot) that not wearing makeup today took away from anything I said. If you think so, you are a shallow bastard and so really you need to go away anyway (but I'd like to hear your comments). You aren't any less valuable if you aren't pretty. You aren't any less capable of getting on television if your style isn't cutting edge or your lips as big as Angelina's. I work with these people - I can think of maybe 1 or 2 that is attractive without make up, and that might be a stretch.

So far the comments I've had today (note this is from FRIENDS and FAMILY plus randomers! LOL) include:

1. Your skin and your body are two different colors (eek who wants that)
2. Your eyes look tired (I dont sleep much, so no kidding - they are!)
3. Your face has uneven complexion (duh)
4. Nice shirt (in otherwords, you didnt look good but your shirt did LOL) (oh and nice hair LOL)
5. You have big lips in person, but they were invisible on the TV
And my favorite from my family
6. You looked ugly today (no Im not joking - yes it was that blunt!)

The only nice comments were from random people and my Gramps, who never has anything mean to say (arent grandfathers the best?) :)

LOL - I laugh, quite seriously, because I don't care! These 6 comments made my point, which is that people will say things even with the best intentions if you don't look like what they think you should look like. But, it doesn't make you any less capable of going on air for 2 hours, doing your thing and giving people important information that will make their lives better. (I forgot my notes too, so I was a bit freaked for 5 minutes)

I say we need a full week of every Fox anchor getting on board and banning makeup (but that won't happen I'm sure) - let people see that you don't have to be gorgeous to help other people on a mass scale.

Fox Anchors and other guests- please join me.. at least one day, a Fox fake free Friday. Let's help young girls and women see that not being flawless doesnt stop them from a career they love.

Dani