#4 ugly is really in.
Or is ‘ugly’ code for unfuckable?
Ok. Let’s start this off with the premise that *most* men don’t like women. I’m talking about the man who catcalled you on your way home, the man who stared at you on the tube and the man who grabbed you in the club.
A very recent example of this is Rihanna’s stunning cover shoot for Interview Mag which came out just this Tuesday. The shoot has a bit of everything; a controversial nun outfit, skinny thin brows and the glossiest of eyelids we've ever seen, as well as a classic white shirt and black tie combo. In another snap, she poses topless in high-waisted micro shorts and retro pilot goggles, with knee high socks and loafers on.
Fans in the comments obviously went wild for the shoot with one writing, "OBSESSED" and another commenting. "I am just immensely here for it" Someone else said, "😍🔥🔥🔥 MOTHER" and a fourth writing, "No way 🔥🔥🔥🔥”. But despite the ones who loved the look, many others described her as ‘demonic’, saying that she’s gone dark, and “doja cat got her” (The sole post that received minimal negative feedback regarding her appearance was the one featuring her topless…go figure) Why? Because she’s no longer the Rude Boy Rihanna we knew? Bad Girl Riri has always had that sexy and powerfully feminine vibe to her. But throughout the years, she’s shifted her audience from the male to the female gaze and as expected the men are mad about it.
We've reached the pinnacle of rejecting the male gaze, and while it's been expressed before, it bears repeating: the era of the male gaze is behind us big time. Women are dressing for themselves, and it feels like we're witnessing the zenith of contemporary feminism.
Self-proclaimed ‘muse’, our ‘Bitch, Girl, Mother, Whore’, Julia Fox, is also another edgy feminist voice on TikTok, giving Gen-Z viewers advice with messy, smudged mascara whilst in the bathtub, without her nails done; telling us she dyed her brows yellow as it’s a "man repellent" that will piss off her ex. She takes pride in being undesirable to the male gaze, and, told her 1.4m followers, “just so you guys know, ageing is fully in; like, fully, dirty girl, ugly, not wearing clothes that fit your body type, just fully just wearing anything you want."
When she's not stirring up controversy online with messages aimed to "make the broke boys mad" Fox can be found sporting elaborate ensembles crafted from manipulated plastic sheets, donning hats resembling feathered mohawks, and defying conventional beauty standards with avant-garde makeup at Cannes.
