The Rise of Subtle Anti-Feminism: How social media trends have altered the perceptions of women’s rights
Written by: Lily Dorranian
Fashion, culture and whatever circulates in trends are always indicative of political climates or forms of political expression, and they are all related to the perception of an individual. How you are perceived determines your moral and social worth. Individual identity, sexual or gender expression is most often celebrated through fashion and culture. Relative to the queer community, drag, butch and femme dynamics and androgyny are cornerstones of queer history and queer celebration. Alternative fashion and culture is founded on anti-conservative movements. How you express yourself is a political identity, a rebellion of fascist conformity. Pop culture trends, inclusive of fashion, media, memes and other trends alike are now widely understood to be indicators of fascism or fascist ideals
‘Under fascism, fashion and film were both identified by the totalitarian regime as powerful vehicles for shaping and projecting national identity and a politics of style.’ - Eugenia Paulicelli, Fashion, Film, Modernity Under Fascism.
The rise of anti-feminism in media is particularly reflected through fashion and language trends.
Old Money
Quiet Luxury
Clean Girl
Tradwife Aesthetic
Chic fashion
What is common amongst all these aesthetics? The conformity to an imposed standard of wealth, luxury or cleanliness. The reduction of individual expression. They are also all related to traditional values such as marriage, purity culture, fatphobic “health and wellness”, and traditional gender roles forcing women into a domesticated role. It is not a coincidence that all these trends feature white people as the face of their aesthetic. Thin, white women wearing soft makeup with slicked back hair. That is what it means to be clean. Womanhood in social media is euro-centric, reductive, and fascist.
What does it mean to be wealthy? To be chic? To capture the vibe of old money? To be luxurious? It means to be a trophy. To be in touch with your “divine feminine energy” (absolute bullshit). To be desired.
To fit into these aesthetics you are the sexual gratifier of right wing and conservative movements. These movements and ideologies, such as fascism, are only achieved through mass conformity. Mass conformity is reflective of deeper power dynamics between women and a male-dominated society. Where there is something to conform to, one must submit to it. There is a standard and a submission, and as a woman you must submit. Submission to the patriarchy has various meanings. You submit to gender roles, you submit to stereotypes, you submit to anti-feminist perceptions of women. Fashion and culture trends aren’t just aesthetics but are pornographic fantasies. Your submission is fetishised and desired, it is an exhibition of the female identity, you are on display and stripped naked and bare of all your individuality, performing for society. There is no individuality in these trends, it is only judgement. How will the male narrative imposed on this judgement rate you? Which archetype of female identity are you categorised into?
Value lies in conformity. It is archetypal and categorical. You aren’t a person or a number, you are an object. Every aesthetic is reflective of the collective consciousness of society: how is womanhood perceived?
This pornographic submissiveness is not just found in fashion but also in language.
“I’m just a girl”
“I’m just a yapper”
“Silly little girl math”
“Little sweet treat”
“Divine feminine energy”
“Tradwife”
This is verbal pornographic content enacting misogynistic power dynamics. You are submissive, you are inferior, you are just a “girl”. You are roleplaying as the submissive woman who conforms to the standard of womanhood, you are admitting and giving yourself, your identity, dignity and individuality up to the men, who are “dominant”, “masculine” and “protective”. You are not aggressive, you are not determined, you are only “bratty” or “delusional”. You are an objectified sexual fantasy of vulnerability and powerlessness.
However, you do not choose to play this role. The concept of choice and freewill within this embedded power dynamic is illusory. If you think you have the capacity to make your own decisions and place yourself into a sexual category, your oppression must be self-imposed. This is not true. Choice, and subsequently “choice feminism” is a manipulation tactic, shifting the blame off the patriarchy and onto women themself. Instead of being beaten into submission, you “choose” to submit to pop culture trends. The burden to prove yourself as a woman is on you, you have an onus to prove your worth and your value. You categorise yourself.
The rise of anti-feminism in the media and religious fundamentalism is also not a coincidence. It has been established that these aesthetics perpetuate stereotypes about the desirable traits of a woman: submissiveness. The rise of these anti-feminist fashion trends and language enforce conservative gender roles.
“Trends and movements often reflect a broader cultural shift, and the last two to three years have seen subtle but significant shifts towards more traditional, conservative values.” - El Bancroft, Fashion & Fascism: Cultural Trends that Point Towards Conservatism.
A prime example of this is the term “tradwife.” A tradwife is a form of traditional gender roles enacted during a heterosexual or heteronormative marriage. You take on a “homemaking role”. You are confined to domesticated labour. You are not allowed a career, you have no value if you do not marry, serve and bear children. You make bread, you make food, you churn butter and serve your husband sexually.
Tradwivery, as an aesthetic but also a “lifestyle” is derived from 1950’s American culture that emphasised Christian fundamentalist religious values, conservative beliefs and, most importantly, choice feminism. It is a resurgence of heteronormative values. The emphasis of a “nuclear family”, assertion of gender roles, how they are reflective of a woman’s inherent worth to society. Even if it is not the actual mindset of a tradwife, but ‘tradwife fashion’ i.e. modest dresses, rejection of pants. It is also the resurgence of “homemaking” i.e. the conflation of cooking and creating food from scratch as opposed to going out and buying it pre-made. Popularised by Mormon influencer, Nara Smith, this is an isolated example of how actions, even if not explicitly stated in affiliation with political ideologies, are always indicative of political climates. Trends like these silently signal to audiences what a woman should be. Soft spoken, subservient and submissive.
While these fashion and cultural trends are silently signalling a rise of anti-feminism in social media, some of it is not as quiet. Research has consistently found that studies have detected a “four-fold increase in the level of misogynistic content suggested by TikTok over a five-day period of monitoring”. The videos being displayed are aggressive and angry towards women.
Additionally, researchers also interviewed individuals in school and found that “hateful ideologies and misogynistic tropes have moved off screens and into schools, and have become embedded in mainstream youth cultures”. It is proof that both silent and loud rises in anti-feminism in social media is not just a trend but it is encouraging conscious misogyny within real life.
UN Women have also identified that there has been a recent pushback against gender equality. This is not just social media or colloquial slang but includes organised resistance to gender equality; whether it is preventing the implementation of misogynistic policies, rolling them back or stopping new laws and policies. Examples of this include the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the United States, the decision by several European countries to pull out of the Istanbul Convention [a treaty on gender-based violence], and from Argentina to Zimbabwe, the UN Women have seen a defunding of women’s ministries, or their mandates are changed from focusing on gender equality to a broader focus on families and children.
The rise of anti-feminism is very subtle; you might not have realised it. It not only has implications for individuals but also on society, the perception of womanhood and how this is reflected in the legal system.
References
Fashion, Film, Modernity Under Fascism – Eugenia Paulicelli. (2015). Eugeniapaulicelli.com. https://eugeniapaulicelli.com/fascism/
Lennon, C. (2025, March 7). Online “manosphere” is moving misogyny to the mainstream. UN News. https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/03/1160876
Matthews, M. (2025, April 4). Fashion & Fascism: Cultural Trends that Point Towards Conservatism - Semper Floreat. Semper Floreat. https://www.semperfloreat.com.au/fashion-fascism-cultural-trends-that-point-towards-conservatism/
Weale, S. (2024, February 6). Social media algorithms “amplifying misogynistic content.” The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/feb/06/social-media-algorithms-amplifying-misogynistic-content
