Fantastic piece Romy, thank you for sharing! While some elements here definitely overlap with the Regressive Nostalgia, I actually think it's even more aligned with my previous post on Natural Virtue.
Love this piece and how you tied the beauty and wellness industry to the rise of populism. And your observations on the need to feel pure, cleansed, and in control in an increasingly chaotic world are spot on.
As someone with a history of cPTSD, my life is a trail of seeking control and “cleanliness”. But I’m a curious person, so I always found my way out of obsessions and addictions, eventually. I was obsessed with fitness, clean eating, clean make up, and even having a minimalist clean esthetic. But I lost my magic and soul in the process. I forgot about my vibrant heritage and all the things that make me unique. Even though I’m now messy and constantly experimenting, I feel so much more alive. It looks so innocent and shallow on the outside, but the obsession of perusing “purity” is a slow and ugly death.
I also recently read an article about this new obsession with neutral colors and how color is slowly disappearing from the internet and our surroundings (e.g. interiors) because it’s associated with indigenous cultures and the feminine, and has always been seen as inferior by populist movements. This, in combination with your article, makes me think of Walter Benjamin’s idea of aestheticization of politics.
With influencers and algorithms, our behavior, desires, and choices are being socially engineered without us knowing. When we think of utilitarian societies - fictional like The Handmaid’s Tale, or real like fascist Germany - we immediately conjure an esthetic, and it’s not a coincidence. But somehow we assume that we will be explicitly told what to wear and how to behave by a tyrant.
But what if tyranny now is silent and algorithmic, and we’ll all wake up one day wearing beige and clean make up, and eating the same clean diet? Oh wait.
omg I'm obsessed with every word in your comment 🫶🏻🤯 -- great points made, and very relatable.
allowing yourself to be messy and constantly experimenting is choosing heartbeats of excitement over a flatline. we are here to feel, sense, taste and be in awe. control & "cleanliness" will always be an illusion, covering up the true meaning of life. it is choosing disconnection over connection.
and the answer to a neurodivergent brain is indeed not a detox in all ways possible. it is experimenting with connection, learning from uncomfortable and comfortable situations, carving out or own true safety: taking our time to digest information, choosing nourishing food, boundaries, being able to be vulnerable and held at the same time and seeking out the right people for that, giving ourselves time for daily moments silence while letting go of the believe a vipassana retreat is necessary to do so, helping others with what we've learned in the process. balance and nuance over extremism.
the neutral colours, what a great addition. It's even disappearing in young children's rooms while they need bold colours for their brain development.
Fantastic piece Romy, thank you for sharing! While some elements here definitely overlap with the Regressive Nostalgia, I actually think it's even more aligned with my previous post on Natural Virtue.
Thank you! and I'm excited to read your post on Natural Virtue!!
Love this piece and how you tied the beauty and wellness industry to the rise of populism. And your observations on the need to feel pure, cleansed, and in control in an increasingly chaotic world are spot on.
As someone with a history of cPTSD, my life is a trail of seeking control and “cleanliness”. But I’m a curious person, so I always found my way out of obsessions and addictions, eventually. I was obsessed with fitness, clean eating, clean make up, and even having a minimalist clean esthetic. But I lost my magic and soul in the process. I forgot about my vibrant heritage and all the things that make me unique. Even though I’m now messy and constantly experimenting, I feel so much more alive. It looks so innocent and shallow on the outside, but the obsession of perusing “purity” is a slow and ugly death.
I also recently read an article about this new obsession with neutral colors and how color is slowly disappearing from the internet and our surroundings (e.g. interiors) because it’s associated with indigenous cultures and the feminine, and has always been seen as inferior by populist movements. This, in combination with your article, makes me think of Walter Benjamin’s idea of aestheticization of politics.
With influencers and algorithms, our behavior, desires, and choices are being socially engineered without us knowing. When we think of utilitarian societies - fictional like The Handmaid’s Tale, or real like fascist Germany - we immediately conjure an esthetic, and it’s not a coincidence. But somehow we assume that we will be explicitly told what to wear and how to behave by a tyrant.
But what if tyranny now is silent and algorithmic, and we’ll all wake up one day wearing beige and clean make up, and eating the same clean diet? Oh wait.
omg I'm obsessed with every word in your comment 🫶🏻🤯 -- great points made, and very relatable.
allowing yourself to be messy and constantly experimenting is choosing heartbeats of excitement over a flatline. we are here to feel, sense, taste and be in awe. control & "cleanliness" will always be an illusion, covering up the true meaning of life. it is choosing disconnection over connection.
and the answer to a neurodivergent brain is indeed not a detox in all ways possible. it is experimenting with connection, learning from uncomfortable and comfortable situations, carving out or own true safety: taking our time to digest information, choosing nourishing food, boundaries, being able to be vulnerable and held at the same time and seeking out the right people for that, giving ourselves time for daily moments silence while letting go of the believe a vipassana retreat is necessary to do so, helping others with what we've learned in the process. balance and nuance over extremism.
the neutral colours, what a great addition. It's even disappearing in young children's rooms while they need bold colours for their brain development.
thank you for your insights! <3