John Lewis has cancelled a “back to school” make up class for girls aged 12 and up – but we’re astonished it was signed off in the first place.
The retailer was advertising a MAC make up tutorial for children that was due to be held at the John Lewis store at Bluewater Shopping Centre in Kent.
The event, which was advertised on Facebook and has since been removed, told girls they could “learn how to make the best of [their] skin and brows before the new term”, according to The Telegraph. Because there’s nothing like telling children they need to change the way that they look.
Unsurprisingly, the mind-boggling session received criticism from parents, who called the concept “disappointing” and “disgusting”. In response, John Lewis said the event was organised by the team at a local MAC counter and that the company was investigating the issue.
One primary school teacher and mum-of-two commented on the event to say she is already seeing “the heartbreaking reality of the pressure girls feel at younger and younger ages over their appearance”.
“Why would you feed in to this? They don’t need tips on make up from the age of 12. And certainly not marketed as a back to school thing,” she said, according to The Mirror.
“Whoever came up with this idea seriously needs to assess their moral compass. A way to make money from little girls’ insecurities. Disappointing and, quite frankly, disgusting.”
Another parent added: “At such a young age they are vulnerable to pressure and this will make them feel that being natural (as a young girl should be) is not good enough.”
The parents’ comments come after research conducted by the Mental Health Foundation found body image concerns are rife among British teens. More than a third (35%) of teenagers surveyed said they worried about how their bodies looked “often” or “every day”, and 37% felt upset and ashamed about their body image.
In a statement issued on behalf of both John Lewis and Mac, a spokesperson said the planned session was an “isolated event organised at a local MAC counter”.
“As a brand MAC does not market to anyone under 16 so this event should not have been arranged. It has been cancelled and we are very sorry for any upset caused,” they said. “We’re looking into how it happened to make sure that this type of event doesn’t take place again. ”