Beyond cosmetic use, red lipstick has triumphed as a strong emblem of resilience and resistance to and for women. From the Women's Suffrage Movement in the early 20th century to resisting the Nazi regime in the 1930s and 1940s, red lipstick has seen a long history of its role as rebellion against oppression. A more recent example can be pointed to a case of resistance against political figures with ill-placed ideologies towards women's rights, such as Donald Trump. Red lipstick stands for strength, sovereignty, and resistance.
The Evolution of Red Lipstick: From the Suffrage Movement to Political Defiance
Red is the colour of empowerment and beauty for many. A bold red lipstick enhances the wearer’s beauty and has the overall power to turn heads. The red lip theory by Amayra Kaitlin, a makeup artist based in Abu Dhabi, states, “There is an adage that states lipstick, especially confidently red lipstick, is a woman’s best friend because it enhances her confidence.” Red lipstick is a classic choice for expressing elegance.
Red lipstick boasts an intense cultural and political history. It has enjoyed a good run from the early 1900s, when it emerged as a radicalised beauty staple during women's suffrage, till the 30s and 40s, when it became synonymous with resistance against the Nazi regime and was utilised, more recently, as a bold repudiation of authoritarian approaches toward women's rights by politicians such as Donald Trump. Over the course of history, it has risen from a protest symbol to a tool of empowerment for every other woman across the world as a means of asserting self-sufficient nature and strength.
Red Lipstick and the Women’s Suffrage Movement
As women in the United States and United Kingdom began to fight for the right to vote towards the end of the 20th century, many took up the cause of fashion and beauty as a vehicle through which to express their political dissatisfaction. Women within the suffrage movement adopted bold and conspicuous symbols to raise consciousness against what they viewed as oppressive norms of their time. One symbol of this movement was indeed red lipstick. For suffragists such as Alice Paul, leader of the National Woman's Party, beauty became a form of rebellion. Paul and other suffragists believed that for women, red lipstick was symbolic of freedom, independence, and equality; a way to refute society's determination to impose upon women a passive, submissive role.
As Alice Paul put it:
"I always wanted to be independent. I wanted to be free of restrictions, and I wanted to be a woman who would be an active force in society. It was not just an exercise in trying to look beautiful but one of denying acceptance of relegation into the comfortable roles that society chose for us."
For these women, wearing red lipstick was not merely about cosmetics but a political statement asserting women's right to choose their own appearance, identity, and roles in society.
Red Lipstick as Resistance in Nazi Germany
As the Nazi regime grew strong during World War II, its plans virtually encompassed every aspect of life, appearance being of paramount interest for women. It is well known that Hitler did not approve of the use of makeup by women, as he considered it artificial and a form of femininity that strayed away from what he considered ‘natural.’ Allied women in the US and the UK adopted wearing red lipstick as an act of rebellion against Hitler’s beliefs. To them it was a mark of strength, freedom, and beauty.
Nazi ideals proclaimed a very austere and modest look for women whose primary roles were that of mothers and caretakers, in conformity with the regime's expression of the traditional gender roles. The red lipstick—a sign of glamour and femininity—became a means of defiance. Women under the Nazi regime wore red lipstick ever more, signifying that they would not conform to strict gender norms imposed by the state. It was a truly strong act of pride and independence.
While not all women under the Nazis wore red lipstick as an act of protest, for many it was regarded as a form of resistance, a declaration of their character during a time of intense oppression. Women were actively regaining possession of their beauty, power, and individuality in an imprisoning system that forced total control over them.
Red Lipstick as Feminist Empowerment
Red lipstick symbolised empowerment for feminists in the 1960s and 1970s. Feminists began to think of red lipstick not so much as a cosmetic but as a gesture of claiming femininity from around the imaginations of feminist resistance. By declaring that beauty is not synonymous with submission or oppression, feminists began the process of integrating red lipstick into the experience of strength, confidence, and autonomy: a way of enabling women to reclaim their bodies and their identities from objectification.
Germaine Greer blossomed as one of the crucial facets of the feminist movement when she indicated:
"Red lipstick is a symbol of rebellion, a weapon wielded by the feminist. It boldly states to the world: I will not conform to the passive, docile image that society has imposed upon me."
In the feminist movements of the 1960s and 1970s, women wore red lipstick as a powerful way to assert that they could embrace their femininity without being confined to traditional roles. Red lipstick became both a direct act of resistance against patriarchal expectations and a symbol of self-expression.
Red Lipstick and Resistance Towards Donald Trump
In a more recent framework, red lipstick has again reared up as one of the most politically charged symbols of resistance, especially around Donald Trump’s presidency. His words and actions, coupled with negative attitudes towards women’s rights, gender equality, and immigration, stoked widespread protests. For many women, wearing red lipstick became sheer political defiance. The signature red lipstick became the visual emblem for solidarity and resistance during the Women’s March of 2017. Donning red lipstick was an open attack on what they believed was a regressive political environment, doing nothing but harm to women's rights.
For feminist figures throughout their history, like Emma Gonzalez, a survivor of the Parkland shooting and activist for gun control, it became a means to make their presence and strength known at protests and speeches. In Gonzalez’s statement look of a black eyeliner and a red lipstick resides a bold stylistic statement of resilience, revolution, activism, and empowerment.
The Legacy of Red Lipstick Continues
Today, as red lipstick crosses a demi-genre boundary from beauty product to a sign of empowerment, disobedience, and independence, it has come to symbolise women's fight for freedom and the right to choose their identity. It has done so historically as an assertive declaration of individuality in protest against oppression.
From the Nazi totalitarianism to its revival against authority radiating from those constituted by Trump's allies, the Red Lipstick movement has been a symbol of empowerment and a bold political statement of opposition by feminists. While red lipstick has always been reduced to a mere cosmetic product, it stands tall as a sophisticated yet bold tool of agitation and resentment, especially by women and cosmetic lovers who use it as a way of expressing their discontentment and resistance to oppression.
Ritika is a student pursuing MA Political science from Jamia Millia Islamia.
Edited By: Sidra Aman
