September 26, 2026

"But critics argue the bare nails trend actually says something about class, the hamster wheel of beauty standards, and who gets to define what is considered tasteful."

"Nail art's historical and creative roots are linked back to black, Latino, and Asian communities and the suggestion that bare nails are now a sign of high status could stigmatise bold manicures, they say. 'That trend really promotes blankness and this kind of sameness and erasure of culture and identity that is so important to black and brown communities,' beauty journalist Kristina Rodulfo tells the BBC. 'They are often called elegant or tasteful, and these are often usually euphemisms that perpetuate white supremacist standards of beauty.'"



Anyone who thinks the nails in that photo are unpolished must be the kind of person who thinks vanilla doesn't count as a flavor. But vanilla is a great flavor, and a thin coat of light pink nail polish is great way to paint your nails.

Anyway, if I prefer vanilla ice cream, it takes nothing away from your enjoyment of Rocky Road. If you want to be a maximalist, just be a maximalist. Don't try to bully minimalists into promoting the maximalist agenda. We're not "erasing" you! But maybe that's a hint about why people are drawn to maximalism: Is there a fear that unless you go big and bold and loud you might cease to exist? Quietness is not "blankness."

14 comments:

Sydney said...

Amen, Althouse. Amen!

Big Mike said...

“But vanilla is a great flavor”

Althouse and I agree on something!

“and a thin coat of light pink nail polish is great way to paint your nails.”

And she even agrees with my wife!

imTay said...

Wasn't this a theme in Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut, where the higher the status, the less one was required by law to consume? So a senior executive might have a simple desk of maple or oak, and a lower clerk would have a desk so embroidered with all. kind of filigree and friezes and bas relief that it looked like one of those harps in the Judy Garland movie "The Good Old Summertime."

The theory was that since robots did all of the work, the excess production had to be consumed somehow, and so it fell on the lower classes to consume the output. This is also the novel where the AI robots decided that the directive to "never harm a human" required them to lock the entire human race into individual padded cells.

Achilles said...

Those fingernails are not natural. They are covered with something that turned to enamel.

john mosby said...

In his last few battles, Wellington dressed in civilian clothes. Part of this was because he saw warfare as almost an industrial process and disdained pomp/circumstance. Part was because he perversely became more conspicuous for his simplicity. A courier looking for the Field Marshal might ride to the flashiest guy on the battlefield and find he was talking to the assistant shit-shoveler. But once they knew Wellington was in that era's equivalent of the grey flannel suit, they could zoom in on him. CC, JSM

john mosby said...

Grant similarly wore the plainest possible blue frock coat that qualified as a uniform. He showed up for meetings with Lincoln and didn't bother to brush the mud off his boots. CC, JSM

rehajm said...

It’s gel polish. Acrylic that’s uv hardened. I use it to paint lettering on watch bezels and cases…

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

I thought "diversity" was our strength.
Next thing you know, bare nails wont be allowed at the lunch counter. Crying about it will only encourage more.
Can we picture a bare nails only beach?

n.n said...

Nude nails with an acrylic coat.

Iman said...

Q: What’s the BBC’s favorite garden?

A: Kindergarten

That outfit can go proper rodger themselves…

Dr Weevil said...

How long before the accusation is extended to men who don't paint their nails? Am I a white-cis-male supremacist because I don't paint my nails, never have, and never will? It does seem likely that men - sorry, born-male human beings - who paint their nails are disproportionately gay, bisexual, cis, whatever.

Original Mike said...

Can't we worry about important stuff?

Mason G said...

"Can't we worry about important stuff?"

Such as- Why did the woman in that photo pick out a sweater to wear that has sleeves that are way too long?

Aggie said...

'OhMiGod ! You're doing nothing, and it's offensive !' The oppressive, tyrannical horror of whiteness.

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