Great Lash in the Desert: Is it sexist to give women soldiers makeup?

So, I’m a bit torn on this:  Feministing had a post about the USO putting together care packages of pink camo makeup bags filled with Maybelline products, tampons, Lady Speed Sticks,  facial soap, and Cosmo magazines for women soldiers deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Jill Biden, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and beauty industry people gathered in photo-op splendor to fill the bags o’ tampons and other “lady” stuff.  Feministing had this to say about it:

It’s a whole wink-wink-nudge-nudge moment that tells people even though these women are in the military, they’re still feminine….we promise!

My initial reaction to this was:  What’s so wrong with pink, wearing makeup, and reading Cosmo for the sex secrets you’ve known since eigth grade?  As a self-described feminist who really loves spending her hard-earned money at Sephora, I’m slightly bothered by the implication that being feminine and strong must be mutually exclusive.   You know, I could totally deconstruct what I just said, but my second question was whether these items were practical items women really asked for and not just a way for Maybelline to create a class of veteran consumers.

The original story via the St. Petersburg Times’ website says that the items were packed along with gender neutral items such as toothbrushes, raisins, and beef jerky (really?).  USO spokeswoman Patrice Cameau said her organization was getting tons of requests from female service members for the personal products.

I liked this quote from Navy enlistee Rachel Clayton:

“When I put on makeup in the morning, it gives me some confidence,” she said. “I don’t need it to be a strong woman, but it gives me a boost. If that helps a servicewoman feel better about herself and gives her that extra kick in the rear, then she should be able to do it.”

I’m not sure if stressing the feminine in this sense is the real problem.  Maybe it’s as simple as showing some appreciation to brave women.  Feministing does make the good point that women servicemembers have serious issues to contend with beyond nice eyelashes like rape and sexual harassment.  I hope that Biden and Pelosi are working on ways to eradicate those problems.  In the meantime there are a bunch of organizations that fulfill servicemember requests.  Go to AnySoldier.com,  www.give2thetroops.org, or www.soldiersangels.com if you want to find out how you can put together a care package for a soldier, female or male.