“The Beauty Myth” by Naomi Wolf & Current Beauty Trends

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Despite being over three decades old, “The Beauty Myth” has intensified the scrutiny of women’s appearances, and the beauty industry’s influence has only grown. As more legislation passes to control women’s health and bodies, celebrities are removing their BBLs and attending Ozempic parties. Gym girlies are dropping the weights and opting for Pilates classes. If you see a trend towards thinness, look into politics and see what new restrictions they’re trying to pass.

This was to be expected after 2023, the Year of Barbie. We couldn’t expect the celebration of sisterhood, girlhood, and femininity not to receive any push back. Now it’s 2025 and trad wives are here. The billionaire pop star who said her fiance’s football career was more important than her choreo defends an album full of mass perceived microaggressions towards black women and homophobia with a face frozen into a severe expression by presumably cosmetic work. This after a couple of years of the Mar-a-Lago Face surgeries botching conservative women’s facade into blowup dolls.

This makes sense when we think of beauty as a tool to manage social order. Strict beauty standards are enforced as a way to control (not necessarily suppress) visible female sexuality. For example, they’ll look down at a sexy, single woman who is not tied down to one man, but want the married…