Trends in beauty standards signal a right-wing swing

The U.S.'s political turn to the right may be most striking with Donald Trump's presidential win, but there are also cultural markers that point to the shift. Beauty and lifestyle trends indicate a rightward change in the American psyche.

The background

Fashion can be a strong indicator of a society's values, and "in many ways, is political," said nss magazine. Style has also long served as a method of conveying messages and presenting an image. For example, "civil rights activists in 1960s America wore their 'Sunday Best' at protests to demonstrate they were worthy of dignity and respect as they challenged the institutions that kept Black people at the bottom of the social hierarchy," said the Stanford Report.

The same can be said of a society's overall beauty standards. The early 2010s were "dominated by hyper-individualistic, rebellious styles — often driven by the desire to stand out," said nss magazine. This included an emphasis on body positivity, diversity and a growth in more non-gendered fashion. Now, in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and amid the rise of influencer culture, "more conservative, home-centered fashion trends" correlate with "growing societal concerns about the future."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The latest

Media has demonstrated a recent shift toward more "traditional" beauty and gender norms. Everything from "quiet luxury to the trad-wife aesthetic" hints at a "return to a time when femininity, modesty and restraint were revered," nss magazine said. Some of the newer trends put an emphasis on natural hair colors, straying away from tattoos and piercings. While none of these things are inherently bad, "together, they build a picture of a certain rural lifestyle filled with religious modesty, traditional family values and an idealization of family wealth," said Dazed.

On the internet, trad wives "post with an aesthetic pulled straight from the '50s," and it seems fair to say that "conventional beauty has been a key component for the success of the far-right," Dazed added. "This content hides anti-feminist narratives and white nationalist beliefs under a bell sleeve, pearls and hair slicked into low claw clips."

The reaction

The return to traditional gender roles is a reflection of societal woes. "American women are grappling with a backlash against abortion rights, their economic mobility and feminism itself," along with the "failure of U.S. social programs to keep up with the rising cost of living or to provide meaningful support for working moms," said The Guardian. In turn, women have reverted to the "fundamentally conservative and individual solution to that societal failure."

Regarding beauty standards, "there have been major steps forward, like the body positivity movement and increased racial visibility in fashion spreads," said Glamour. However, "the overwhelming default is still thin, young, white and an increasingly impossible idea of perfect." This is buoyed by the prevalence of weight-loss drugs and plastic surgery. "Using the iconography of an idealized past, they evoke the economic and emotional fantasy that families, and especially women, can opt out of the complexity of modern society," said The Guardian.