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

[Anonymous]

^ Wintour, I know it's Wintour, my computer doesn't know who that is though.

[Anonymous]

Everybody seems to hate everyone else - even when their heart is in the right place.

Its starting to look like this whole “melting pot” experiment isn’t working. Maybe its time to give this thing back to the native americans and everyone else go home and sit in their corners.

I guess I have to go somewhere around Czechloslovakia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Holy crap, just read the Steffi Cao essay that the piece was predicated on, and... wow.

"The white girl’s soft power is in victimhood. And without it, they are unable to afford the luxuries of committing violence under the guise of it, as they have done for decades."

I, uh, am struggling with my allyship in this moment.

I'm not white and I think this kind of constant criticism of anything that white ppl do is bad for everyone.

It's also fascinating to me how hard this criticism goes on young white women. You'd think random 25 yr old white women on Instagram were the locus of global power the way some of this criticism reads. Or 45 year old suburban soccer moms on Facebook.

Like have you noticed how rarely this kind of broad-brush criticism of white women focuses on actually powerful white women? Rich white women from generational wealth who are in positions to influence politics and culture? Like here's a lengthy conversation about soft power in the beauty industry that doesn't mention Anna Winter? Aerin Lauder is a billionaire who inherited a beauty empire, but the real enemy is a nameless 20-something influencer hawking Coastal Grandmother aesthetic from a studio apartment in Costa Mesa, California? Ok, I guess if your goal is clicks and not substantive change, that makes sense.

It’s because the white men in power in the beauty industry are incredibly jealous of young teens, sometimes in completely inappropriate ways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Simple makeup and beauty aesthetics have always been the default - it's not a trend. It's not new. Women of every color have embraced this look for generations. Gen Z just "discovered" this look after a decade of drag queen over-the-top make up clownry and suddenly it's new. Gen Z is so damn insufferable. They have no knowledge of history and they think they are special and inventive just by hashtagging a timeless beauty aesthetic.

Also extremely weird to indict low key hair and makeup when white women do it when it's arguable that they are following a trend for natural hairstyles and embracing natural beauty initiated by women of color. It's actually weirdly narrow to act like the primary aesthetic of black women or women of color is all contouring and extensions and plastic surgery. I know lots of women of color and while some of them love a strong lip color, it's mostly natural hair, minimal makeup, and definitely no BBLs. Not all black women are aspiring to a rap video aesthetic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like they posted their April Fool's podcast early.

+100

OP - your first mistake was listening to NPR.

[Anonymous]

So, I'm going to be honest here. I'm a middle aged white gal. Don't do Tik-Tok (unless my dd shows me something). I do personally happen to have a plain, clean presentation I guess. Little to no makeup, long straight hair, minimalist.

It has nothing to do with power or not power or culture or any of that. Truth is, I don't have time or desire for all kinds of makeup/nails, my work environment isn't condusive to it, and I just could care less about that stuff.

That's it. That's my whole reason for being vanilla or whatever!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everybody seems to hate everyone else - even when their heart is in the right place.

Its starting to look like this whole “melting pot” experiment isn’t working. Maybe its time to give this thing back to the native americans and everyone else go home and sit in their corners.

I guess I have to go somewhere around Czechloslovakia.

What's happened in recent years is that as a society we are giving a substantial amount of cultural and political power to the grievance industry. People are now defining themselves by their grievance and this applies across the board, politically. BLM and MAGA have more in common than they'd like. When grievance is promoted, it acquires a status, and as with all statuses, it develops a pecking order.

It's easy to dismiss MAGA as uneducated fools but the staggering amount of grievance politics and revisionist history being pushed and promoted by cultural, political and educational institutions does make me think long and hard what educated and intelligence really mean. Because one thing that is increasingly clear, it has only divided people and pulled Americans apart and it's been horrible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Holy crap, just read the Steffi Cao essay that the piece was predicated on, and... wow.

"The white girl’s soft power is in victimhood. And without it, they are unable to afford the luxuries of committing violence under the guise of it, as they have done for decades."

I, uh, am struggling with my allyship in this moment.

I'm not white and I think this kind of constant criticism of anything that white ppl do is bad for everyone.

It's also fascinating to me how hard this criticism goes on young white women. You'd think random 25 yr old white women on Instagram were the locus of global power the way some of this criticism reads. Or 45 year old suburban soccer moms on Facebook.

Like have you noticed how rarely this kind of broad-brush criticism of white women focuses on actually powerful white women? Rich white women from generational wealth who are in positions to influence politics and culture? Like here's a lengthy conversation about soft power in the beauty industry that doesn't mention Anna Winter? Aerin Lauder is a billionaire who inherited a beauty empire, but the real enemy is a nameless 20-something influencer hawking Coastal Grandmother aesthetic from a studio apartment in Costa Mesa, California? Ok, I guess if your goal is clicks and not substantive change, that makes sense.

When you realize that these are the same people who brought you the Balanciaga child pornography advertising, it starts to make more sense.

[Anonymous]

Whatever. Always trying to stay relevant. Can’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whatever. Always trying to stay relevant. Can’t.

NPR is really struggling these days. True.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Holy crap, just read the Steffi Cao essay that the piece was predicated on, and... wow.

"The white girl’s soft power is in victimhood. And without it, they are unable to afford the luxuries of committing violence under the guise of it, as they have done for decades."

I, uh, am struggling with my allyship in this moment.

I'm not white and I think this kind of constant criticism of anything that white ppl do is bad for everyone.

It's also fascinating to me how hard this criticism goes on young white women. You'd think random 25 yr old white women on Instagram were the locus of global power the way some of this criticism reads. Or 45 year old suburban soccer moms on Facebook.

Like have you noticed how rarely this kind of broad-brush criticism of white women focuses on actually powerful white women? Rich white women from generational wealth who are in positions to influence politics and culture? Like here's a lengthy conversation about soft power in the beauty industry that doesn't mention Anna Winter? Aerin Lauder is a billionaire who inherited a beauty empire, but the real enemy is a nameless 20-something influencer hawking Coastal Grandmother aesthetic from a studio apartment in Costa Mesa, California? Ok, I guess if your goal is clicks and not substantive change, that makes sense.

+1

[Anonymous]

Misogyny can come from anywhere.

[Anonymous]

I associate the minimal fresh faced aesthetic more with Korea and broadly across all cultures as several pps have mentioned. My version of "white woman" does not bring a fresh face to mind. Like black and Latina women, white women are all over the map.

I think white women are diverse enough they don't really follow a monolith style for skin and hair. Some are oily, dry, curly, bushy, crunchy, high and low maintenance and come in all sizes. It makes sense they would follow the influences that make sense for their needs and styles but most people don't hang on influencer advice. Even by neighborhood and city styles vary and it's not specifically race related.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: So, I'm going to be honest here. I'm a middle aged white gal. Don't do Tik-Tok (unless my dd shows me something). I do personally happen to have a plain, clean presentation I guess. Little to no makeup, long straight hair, minimalist.

It has nothing to do with power or not power or culture or any of that. Truth is, I don't have time or desire for all kinds of makeup/nails, my work environment isn't condusive to it, and I just could care less about that stuff.

That's it. That's my whole reason for being vanilla or whatever!

Similar. 58, haven’t worn make up in 30 years, I dyed my hair in my late thirties and early forties for maybe a total three years, otherwise I have embraced the gray, short pixie haircut almost my entire life. It is who I am and nothing else. They used to call me crunchy granola.

I do get pedicures, but that is more that I like the foot and calf massage and have trouble reaching my nails with the clipper

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Misogyny can come from anywhere.

Yes. This whole minimalist makeup trend was started by men.