Joanna Fortune: My teen daughter wears high heels and makeup. Why does she try so hard? 

Because this is not a shared interest for you, be careful you are not projecting your opinions about women who dress up or wear makeup onto her. She sounds like a happy, healthy, typically developing teenager

Teenagers usually go through a phase in their development in which they focus on fashion, music, interests, or friends, that establish themselves as 'other' than their parents. Picture: iStock 

My 16-year-old daughter is very sociable and loves nothing more than getting dressed up and going out on the town with her friends. It’s great to see her so happy, but I worry when I see her heading out the door in six-inch heels, micro minis, and low-cut tops. She also wears a lot of makeup. I don’t know why she has to try so hard. She certainly didn’t pick it up from me — I’ve never been into fashion or beauty.

I wonder why you are conflating your daughter’s interest in fashion and makeup with “trying so hard”?