It was not a philosophical book or paper that prompted me to write this paper, but rather a conversation among some women philosophers. They commented on their women students in philosophy of feminism courses. Some women began coming without make-up. Some women reported that they didn’t wear make-up to class but wore it at week-ends. The attitude of the women students, an attitude expressed in other feminist group discussions and writings, seemed to be that women who are aware of the oppression of women, including their being treated as sex objects, and who are roused to counter it, could not consistently wear make-up. More generally the principle seems to be that enlightened women wouldn’t tart themselves up in ways prescribed by our culture since that culture is sexist and the intent of the personal adornment is to attract favorable attention to appearance and body, to invite being viewed as female sex object. One acquiesces in being a sex object by making oneself as sexually attractive, as sexy, as possible, in accordance with the views of manufacturers, advertisers, and all those who stand to profit economically or sexually from women’s concern with being sexy. If a woman comes to see herself as a person with other aspects as least as valuable as her physical appearance, she may think she is asserting herself and rejecting sexism and exploitation by not wearing make-up, by not concerning herself with clothes or other kinds of self-beautification. Rumpled clothes that don’t fit too closely, undone hair, unmade face, etc. may all be seen by a feminist as defiance of a sexist and exploitative attitude toward women in our society. Closely related is a widespread attitude that an interest in self-beautification is frivolous. This common view has it that if a person shows anything more than a minimal interest in presenting a pleasing appearance, s/he will be judged to be less serious about intellectual matters or occupational competence than if s/he did not. When I was an undergraduate, I was around a number of men who