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"Men [in the military] are more free to be themselves. Women, not so much," Cepeda told BuzzFeed Life. "I felt like I had to be or act stronger than I actually am. I always had to be on point. There was always attention on me, especially because I was one of few females in my unit," she said. Cepeda explained that women are allowed to wear certain kinds of makeup, so long as it looks natural, but she never saw much point in wearing makeup while she was active in the Marines because it could potentially draw negative attention.