White women try to "reclaim power" through #vanillagirl and #cleangirl beauty posts??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a 41 year old white woman, who is a makeup and skincare junkie, and chronically online. Everyone in this thread should take a look at the muacirclejerk and muacjdiscussion subs on reddit. There was just a great discussion about cosmetic conspiracy theories.

Here's what I believe:
- the "clean girl" aesthetic is inherently racist
- "clean beauty" is a really successful marketing gimmick to have products go bad quickly and thus sell more products
- "coastal grandmother" is inherently racist
- tiktok is literally empowering POC creators and it's great that racism in the beauty industry is being discussed
- the cosmetic industry is driven by white men capitalizing on women's insecurities
- it's interesting that from my skimming of this thread, no one has brought up the "hemline index" and the effects it can have on the cosmetics industry
- white women in the middle of the country are a legit problem and mostly have massive amounts of internalized misogyny that wreaks havoc on the country
- pale women need to stop whining about being able to find foundations light enough for them

Lol this is a list of opinions with absolutely no backing whatsoever. Either explain your arguments or go away. No one cares that you are chronically online and no, I'm not going to go read a couple subreddits (what, in their entirety?) to understand your point. Either make your point or not.

Possibly you need to get OFFLINE and actually think through some of this stuff instead of just spouting bullet points you learned from TikTok and Reddit. Because saying stuff like "white women in the middle of the country are a legit problem" is completely unhelpful. It's this precise broad-brush painting that is the issue. ALL white women in the middle of the country? Why just the middle of the country, are white women on the coasts magically absolved of white supremacy and internalized misogyny because of their proximity to public transit? Do women of color never have internalized misogyny? I mean, just THINK before you say stuff like this out of context. You might have a point to make (emphasis on "might") but you aren't making it because you want me to just trust that you know what you are talking about because you obsessively scroll online content. This does not impress me! Put together a cohesive thought, friend.

Also, if a pale woman wants to complain about being unable to find foundation that matches her skin tone, what's it to you? That's just a consumer complaining about lack of viable choices, it's not a social movement. Calm down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a 41 year old white woman, who is a makeup and skincare junkie, and chronically online. Everyone in this thread should take a look at the muacirclejerk and muacjdiscussion subs on reddit. There was just a great discussion about cosmetic conspiracy theories.

Here's what I believe:
- the "clean girl" aesthetic is inherently racist
- "clean beauty" is a really successful marketing gimmick to have products go bad quickly and thus sell more products
- "coastal grandmother" is inherently racist
- tiktok is literally empowering POC creators and it's great that racism in the beauty industry is being discussed
- the cosmetic industry is driven by white men capitalizing on women's insecurities
- it's interesting that from my skimming of this thread, no one has brought up the "hemline index" and the effects it can have on the cosmetics industry
- white women in the middle of the country are a legit problem and mostly have massive amounts of internalized misogyny that wreaks havoc on the country
- pale women need to stop whining about being able to find foundations light enough for them

But why? I understand clean girl to be based around excellent skin care and light, dewy, fresh looking makeup. Genuinely wondering how it is perceived as racist.

I would also say internalized misogyny is not just an issue with white women in flyover states. Plenty of woc and “progressive” women on the coasts perpetuate misogyny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a 41 year old white woman, who is a makeup and skincare junkie, and chronically online. Everyone in this thread should take a look at the muacirclejerk and muacjdiscussion subs on reddit. There was just a great discussion about cosmetic conspiracy theories.

Here's what I believe:
- the "clean girl" aesthetic is inherently racist
- "clean beauty" is a really successful marketing gimmick to have products go bad quickly and thus sell more products
- "coastal grandmother" is inherently racist
- tiktok is literally empowering POC creators and it's great that racism in the beauty industry is being discussed
- the cosmetic industry is driven by white men capitalizing on women's insecurities
- it's interesting that from my skimming of this thread, no one has brought up the "hemline index" and the effects it can have on the cosmetics industry
- white women in the middle of the country are a legit problem and mostly have massive amounts of internalized misogyny that wreaks havoc on the country
- pale women need to stop whining about being able to find foundations light enough for them

You maybe need to be online less.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn’t admit to being a 41 year old quite woman who was chronically online on extremely niche sections of Reddit like it’s a good thing. It just makes you very insular in a certain subculture and out of touch with 99.5% of mainstream people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t admit to being a 41 year old quite woman who was chronically online on extremely niche sections of Reddit like it’s a good thing. It just makes you very insular in a certain subculture and out of touch with 99.5% of mainstream people.

m

Anyone who wants to delude themselves into pinning misogyny onto white women in the Midwest is so idiotic that they should be ignored.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t admit to being a 41 year old quite woman who was chronically online on extremely niche sections of Reddit like it’s a good thing. It just makes you very insular in a certain subculture and out of touch with 99.5% of mainstream people.

It's good she admits to it if it's true but unfortunately she thinks it makes her an authority instead of what she actually is -- a sad person with both makeup and internet addictions. But yes, it is "white women in the middle of the country" who are the "legit problem" here.

[Anonymous]

I don’t know when the left collectively decided to absolve itself and especially its white men from any and all misogyny but it is remarkable to see the self-delusion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a 41 year old white woman, who is a makeup and skincare junkie, and chronically online. Everyone in this thread should take a look at the muacirclejerk and muacjdiscussion subs on reddit. There was just a great discussion about cosmetic conspiracy theories.

Here's what I believe:
- the "clean girl" aesthetic is inherently racist
- "clean beauty" is a really successful marketing gimmick to have products go bad quickly and thus sell more products
- "coastal grandmother" is inherently racist
- tiktok is literally empowering POC creators and it's great that racism in the beauty industry is being discussed
- the cosmetic industry is driven by white men capitalizing on women's insecurities
- it's interesting that from my skimming of this thread, no one has brought up the "hemline index" and the effects it can have on the cosmetics industry
- white women in the middle of the country are a legit problem and mostly have massive amounts of internalized misogyny that wreaks havoc on the country
- pale women need to stop whining about being able to find foundations light enough for them

But why? I understand clean girl to be based around excellent skin care and light, dewy, fresh looking makeup. Genuinely wondering how it is perceived as racist.

I would also say internalized misogyny is not just an issue with white women in flyover states. Plenty of woc and “progressive” women on the coasts perpetuate misogyny.

I think the implication, which I do happen to agree with, is that the concept of cleanliness and purity in beauty can be traced to explicitly racist tropes about how pale skin is always more attractive than darker skin (a concept that is both racist AND classist, because only wealthy women who could afford to stay inside and out of streets and fields, and avoid hard labor that might impact their skin, could ever accomplish the goal of having pale, perfect, unblemished skin). There's also a ton of colorism inherent in this, where even in cultures where in theory everyone has darker skin, lighter skinned women are considered more beautiful (skin lightening products have been around for a long time in India and other parts of Asia, and you also see rampant colorism in black communities that is often linked to class as well). It's not really about "excellent skin care", it's about having clear, light skin. Which is racist.

HOWEVER I agree with you about the idea that only white women in flyover states have internalized misogyny or are racist. I also don't think every woman who subscribes to "clean girl" or "coastal grandmother" aesthetics is racist -- these aesthetics prey on everyone's internalized misogyny and racism. The entire beauty industry preys on internalized misogyny and racism, that's the whole point. It's an industry that has an explicit goal of making women feel less than, however it can, and then convincing you that if you just buy this product or service, you won't feel that way anymore. If you think of it this way, it is absurd on it's face to blame average consumers for the problems in the industry. Sure, some influencers and people like Gwyneth Paltrow are profiting and can be held accountable, but the average person subscribing to "clean girl" is just a woman desperately trying to look better because she's been told that if she doesn't, she's failed. That deserved empathy, not an indictment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know when the left collectively decided to absolve itself and especially its white men from any and all misogyny but it is remarkable to see the self-delusion.

Middle class, middle aged soccer moms from the midwest secretly run the left, didn't you hear?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a 41 year old white woman, who is a makeup and skincare junkie, and chronically online. Everyone in this thread should take a look at the muacirclejerk and muacjdiscussion subs on reddit. There was just a great discussion about cosmetic conspiracy theories.

Here's what I believe:
- the "clean girl" aesthetic is inherently racist
- "clean beauty" is a really successful marketing gimmick to have products go bad quickly and thus sell more products
- "coastal grandmother" is inherently racist
- tiktok is literally empowering POC creators and it's great that racism in the beauty industry is being discussed
- the cosmetic industry is driven by white men capitalizing on women's insecurities
- it's interesting that from my skimming of this thread, no one has brought up the "hemline index" and the effects it can have on the cosmetics industry
- white women in the middle of the country are a legit problem and mostly have massive amounts of internalized misogyny that wreaks havoc on the country
- pale women need to stop whining about being able to find foundations light enough for them

Do you have nice skin? Would you attribute it to nature or nurture? Any recommendations?

[Anonymous]

Without mentioning some accomplished celebrity, what "look" or styles seem empowering and/or NOT misogynistic?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a 41 year old white woman, who is a makeup and skincare junkie, and chronically online. Everyone in this thread should take a look at the muacirclejerk and muacjdiscussion subs on reddit. There was just a great discussion about cosmetic conspiracy theories.

Here's what I believe:
- the "clean girl" aesthetic is inherently racist
- "clean beauty" is a really successful marketing gimmick to have products go bad quickly and thus sell more products
- "coastal grandmother" is inherently racist
- tiktok is literally empowering POC creators and it's great that racism in the beauty industry is being discussed
- the cosmetic industry is driven by white men capitalizing on women's insecurities
- it's interesting that from my skimming of this thread, no one has brought up the "hemline index" and the effects it can have on the cosmetics industry
- white women in the middle of the country are a legit problem and mostly have massive amounts of internalized misogyny that wreaks havoc on the country
- pale women need to stop whining about being able to find foundations light enough for them

But why? I understand clean girl to be based around excellent skin care and light, dewy, fresh looking makeup. Genuinely wondering how it is perceived as racist.

I would also say internalized misogyny is not just an issue with white women in flyover states. Plenty of woc and “progressive” women on the coasts perpetuate misogyny.

I think the implication, which I do happen to agree with, is that the concept of cleanliness and purity in beauty can be traced to explicitly racist tropes about how pale skin is always more attractive than darker skin (a concept that is both racist AND classist, because only wealthy women who could afford to stay inside and out of streets and fields, and avoid hard labor that might impact their skin, could ever accomplish the goal of having pale, perfect, unblemished skin). There's also a ton of colorism inherent in this, where even in cultures where in theory everyone has darker skin, lighter skinned women are considered more beautiful (skin lightening products have been around for a long time in India and other parts of Asia, and you also see rampant colorism in black communities that is often linked to class as well). It's not really about "excellent skin care", it's about having clear, light skin. Which is racist.

HOWEVER I agree with you about the idea that only white women in flyover states have internalized misogyny or are racist. I also don't think every woman who subscribes to "clean girl" or "coastal grandmother" aesthetics is racist -- these aesthetics prey on everyone's internalized misogyny and racism. The entire beauty industry preys on internalized misogyny and racism, that's the whole point. It's an industry that has an explicit goal of making women feel less than, however it can, and then convincing you that if you just buy this product or service, you won't feel that way anymore. If you think of it this way, it is absurd on it's face to blame average consumers for the problems in the industry. Sure, some influencers and people like Gwyneth Paltrow are profiting and can be held accountable, but the average person subscribing to "clean girl" is just a woman desperately trying to look better because she's been told that if she doesn't, she's failed. That deserved empathy, not an indictment.

This does not track with my basic white suburban upbringing at all. Nobody wanted to be pale. We lived to tan, faces included. I think the prevalence of skin cancer is a way bigger contributor to pale being “in” for white women than some made up racist trope.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t admit to being a 41 year old quite woman who was chronically online on extremely niche sections of Reddit like it’s a good thing. It just makes you very insular in a certain subculture and out of touch with 99.5% of mainstream people.

And here you are, discussing cosmetics on a website for parents who live in DC.

[Anonymous]

Why is “coastal grandmother” racist lol? There is totally a Black version of coastal grandmother.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know when the left collectively decided to absolve itself and especially its white men from any and all misogyny but it is remarkable to see the self-delusion.

Middle class, middle aged soccer moms from the midwest secretly run the left, didn't you hear?

It is certainly easier for our chronically online friend to blame midwestern middle aged white women for all problems than to look critically at how she is wholeheartedly embracing misogyny and the patriarchy herself.