'clean girl' is a facade

slick backs, linen, gold jewelry - dream aesthetic??

I slick back my hair on hair wash day. I put on my low rise light wash jeans and a white shirt that has spent the night crumpled in my chair. I deck myself out in layers of gold jewelry, and put my white adidas sambas on before leaving the house. My friends compliment me — “Girl, you are serving so clean girl today.” I beam at them in thanks, the fact of my absolute uncleanliness snickering in my subconscious.

I have been deceived

‘Clean girl,’ as the internet has termed it, is an aesthetic that has quickly become the goal for the masses. This vague term essentially embodies a person who appears outwardly put together. It’s perfect makeup. It’s tidy hair. It’s minimalistic and elegant clothing. It’s effortless. The clean girl aesthetic very quickly became some sort of a plague, spreading relentlessly across social media, compelling viewers into abiding by its standards. Seeing it take off, I was too under this compulsion. I saw these girls who seemed to have their life together, glowing with their success, and displaying this through their elegance. They really did look clean. And I can truthfully admit that I consumed it. I began replicating these girls, very quickly learning the do’s and don’ts of achieving the aesthetic. My hair was always slicked backwards, never a flyaway interrupting the look. My style transitioned from eccentric into minimalistic. My skincare routine grew unnecessarily in a hilariously desperate attempt to acquire ‘glass skin,’ while my makeup routine curtailed in order to maintain the ‘natural look.’ And suddenly, all my efforts succeeded and I was one of them. I had unknowingly sacrificed my identity to the manipulating hands of a micro trend. It was only when I began hearing ‘you are such a clean girl oh my god!’ that I discerned the facade that was this aesthetic. Because as these unwitting obsessors (myself being one of them) complemented my cleanliness, I realised how deceiving the trend was. While they saw an exterior of a put together girl of sophisticated elegance, really, my hair hadn’t been washed in 5 days. And actually, I couldn’t muster up the bother to do my skincare the previous night. And I probably hadn’t washed that shirt in a fair few wears. And these are things that we all do because we are all human. So as I considered my new persona, I began to see through myself, and then I began to see through this enviable aesthetic. Clean girl isn’t clean, or at least not in the sense of hygiene that the word refers to. Clean girl is, quite frankly, the opposite of its title. At least most of the time. While some people internalise the aesthetic and practice the lifestyle choices associated with it, the aesthetic trend itself is a set of standards that people outwardly appear to reach, while really, not touching them at all — I just had to attempt the climb to grasp the illusion.

If it isn’t another exclusionary trend

Its deceiving nature wasn’t my only issue with the clean girl aesthetic. Despite living in a nation of diversity and a time of equality, as a POC (person of colour), I opened my eyes to the concept of white supremacy. This concept was further reinforced as I became more present on social media, and began seeing the way it integrates itself into beauty standards and appearance preferences. Considering the ‘clean girl aesthetic,’ it is one that is heavily homed in on the white audience. Most of the girls who truly achieve the title of clean girl possess the European features discussed in typical beauty standards. Blonde hair, light skin, and classic white characteristics. Think about it. As a fact, I have rarely seen people of colour go viral for their achievements of the clean girl aesthetic on social media, and this is a tremendously disheartening nonentity. In saying this, race dominance is not the only issue I have witnessed surrounding this aesthetic. Clean girl is a look that pushes singular body type objectives. In an age that has learnt to strongly advocate for the appreciation of diverse body shapes, seeing a trend take off that is blatantly implied for those who have thinner bodies takes our progress and completely stamps on it. These crazes not only limit diversity in media, but takes a toll on the personal views of individuals that don’t align within their narrow confines. We shouldn’t have to bend and squeeze to fit.

Life is way too short for these identity stealing trends

All of this being said, I can also say that clean girl is not FUN!! It’s elegant and minimal and tidy, that is true. But it is also plain! Unexpressive! Unrealistic! Clean girl is beige mom personified. Let’s revert back to self identity. Who do YOU want to be? Dismiss the trends, despite the voice in the back of your head telling you to participate. Be an entirely and inexplicably you girl. Ditch the confines. Ditch whatever you don’t want to be. Life really is too short to be spent replicating !!