Elizabeth Davies says school balls offer parents the perfect chance to teach their kids to work within a realistic budget

By Elizabeth Davies

Meeting the beauty standard expected of young women these days is a depressingly costly affair.

I’m a far cry from a high maintenance female, but even I feel the pinch and acknowledge just how much more money women are expected to spend on their appearance in order to be ‘presentable’.

The dollar signs start adding up from a young age, you only have to take a fleeting glance at school ball season to realise just how much people are willing to spend in order to look good and fit in.

A school ball isn’t just the cost of the ticket anymore. There’s the pre-ball, the ball, the dress, the shoes, the hair, the makeup, the jewellery, the clutch, the spray tan, the waxing, the manicure and the hummer limo - a pricey list for which you will sacrifice your bank balance at the altar of ‘cool’.

Ball goers are being compared to bride-to-bes in terms of their expectations and budgets. Those who fall short of physical and social perfection will surely be left ostracised and dateless. Parents who consent to their daughter’s every ball related demand are spending $1500+.

Surely this is the perfect opportunity to teach your child to work within a budget, prioritise her needs and rule out the ridiculous.

Unfortunately this pressure to meet a certain level of beauty doesn’t die with adolescence; it follows women throughout their entire lives.

A friend in her early twenties just started her first ‘real’ job. Her boss quickly suggested she invest more money in her clothing and recommended she get her hair done. Another was told she should really get a manicure at least once every two weeks. Women are frequently told they are expected to wear high heeled shoes in corporate environments.

None of these things are a matter of looking professional, or formal enough, they are all about looking physically more attractive – a subject which is very rarely brought up with male employees.

All of these things send a pretty negative message to women. From school balls to work environments our society is telling us that if we want to be accepted, liked, taken seriously, we must do what we can to make ourselves more physically attractive, and we must spend money doing so.

Women who choose to ignore the beauty standard, by not wearing high heels, designer clothing, not spending money on expensive beauty treatments, or god forbid not wearing makeup, are labelled feminists, man haters, lesbians.

Sometimes I wear makeup, sometimes I don’t, sometimes I wear heels, most of the time I don’t. My point is that choice is mine and mine alone.

If someone demands I meet a particular standard of beauty and maintenance, then by all means they can pay for it. I can’t afford to.

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Elizabeth Davies is a 24 year-old graduate of the Auckland University of Technology post graduate journalism course. She lives with her partner in Epsom and spends her free time refurbishing vintage furniture and attempting to bake while fighting a daily battle against her bank balance. She writes a weekly article for interest.co.nz on money matters and financial struggles from a young person's perspective.