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Perhaps you’ve recently found yourself immersed in the glossy pages of Vogue or scrolling through the digital realm of Cosmo, only to wonder when it was that women went from being celebrated fashion inspirations to mere pawns in radically politically charged narratives…
When did shopping for a new dress for a friend's wedding become a discussion around reproductive rights?
Or simply watching a makeup video become a debate about sexualizing children?
No longer is mainstream women's content a paragon to strive for, but a breeding ground for radical agenda recruitment.
Today we are diving into the modern feminist agenda, and exploring where we go from here and we fix femininity for the future.
Not even two decades ago when I was growing up, women's media served as a source of inspiration, pure and simple. It was an inspiration for women to look and feel their best, to want to grow up and become someone influential. But here my generation is, all grown up, and things, well they aren’t at all what they seemed.
No matter how many new movies have women as the male lead replacement, or labels like “strong and empowered”, it's routinely a flop. And women and men don’t seem to care to watch them. And it’s not that we hate women, or that feminism is being suppressed-- Women worldwide are simply sick of being fed ideas that we are supposed to see ourselves in these examples of womanhood Hollywood is putting forward.
We are tired of being told that true womanhood is found in radical self-empowerment and extreme self-love. We don’t see our gender as an excuse or a justification for our actions and abilities…in fact we want to champion our unique differences from men– not hate them–and aspire to uphold our values that are bigger than ourselves. We want to revel in our femininity, and resist the deceptive allure of contemporary feminist ideologies that are proclaiming that good is found within ourselves, rather than being the antithesis of evil.
But this dichotomy has left most young women today frustrated and confused. We know deep down that the attitudes and posturing of womanhood presented on screen today and touted by Mainstream Media is wrong… But where do we go from here?
Do we retreat back to our favorite aesthetic from Jane Austin or the 1950’s? Do we pretend to live in a different era… or give up all together? How do we restore a femininity that reflects truth, reflects goodness and reflects beauty?
In separating the aesthetics of womanhood from the values, we find ourselves looking for something deeper to hold in guiding us in a life of success for modern womanhood.
Growing up, I always admired women like Audrey Hepburn, Vivien Leigh, Jackie Kennedy, Princess Diana, and iconic female figures I planned to be just like. But as I grew older, I started to wonder: What is it about them exactly that I’m drawn to? Is it just their aesthetics, clothes and looks I want to emulate? Me and the rest of the world!
For these women, what I discovered is that it was never just their style or their talent or their status that made a mark on history, they were deeply flawed people and yet it's that famous je ne se quoi… the intangible essence of impact and influence was there. So I looked more and more and what I discovered was an asset totally lost on the modern woman... Elegance.
Elegance? That’s it?
Is it really holding my fork just right, and having proper manners?
Should I buy a poodle, stalk around a hoity toity country club and wear only pearls while staring down at the world? Should I take elegance classes? Do I have to be rich?
Does this mean women are supposed to sit still and look pretty?
So many questions raced through my mind..
But what I ultimately discovered is that these stereotypes of elegance are really wrong and a result of something much deeper…
The women I deeply admired actually had a powerful approach to life with a solution that is surprisingly simple, a simple life that is, "artfully crafted, emotionally engaging, [and] profoundly intelligent".
When I say simple, you may think I mean a life without things.
Classical Femininity, as I’ve begun to call it, doesn’t mean we whitewash our personalities or be a minimalist with what we have. Rather than getting rid of things, or canceling ideas in the hopes of finding peace- these women took a much more tactical approach. Elegance is totally different from Minimalism– in fact it’s been called the "chess to its checkers".
In my studies of this real, rooted, and sustaining influence of Elegance, there emerged this revelation that it was actually grounded in 4 classical principles. I happened to discover these in a business book by Matthew E May about Toyota… I tried applying his business principles to womanhood and something clicked. Classical Femininity principles were pieced together by a process initially discovered by Toyota? Yes.
The first principle making up Classical Feminine Elegance is Symmetry… and basically it means that the embodiment of classical femininity espouses itself through a personal, recognizable brand. And it's through and through. These classical women thoroughly embraced their callings and there was alignment in everything they did, wore, said and acted on… to their core, they were true to their values. This can be recognized through a personal brand, or fashionably a personal style. There is symmetry in all their actions.
Subtraction is the next principle, and I think this is the one that modern feminists get the most wrong. Subtraction doesn’t mean thinking of yourself less, but being strategic. It is the difference between modern superhero women never showing weakness, faults, or emotion and classic female action stars giving all they have for something greater than themselves and being strong, yet soft. Fashionably this principle lends itself to a balancing act– not giving everything away but leaving something to be desired. Classical feminine elegance is about being intentional and creative and intelligent.
The third elegance principle to combat modern feminism is Seduction– not necessarily sexual seduction- but rather using imagination as a key to engage interest in what should have attention. Instead of trauma dumping online or demanding attention, a classically feminine elegant woman is private and focuses on her most important tasks, ironically creating a mechanism for more interest in her life. Humor often plays a role here and fashionably, there is so much fun to be had with this.
And finally, maybe my favorite… Sustainability. Not the kind the Green New Deal wants, but rather a focus on timelessness. Elegance is something that is sustainable indefinitely and thus has a love of tradition, history and efficiency. Modern Feminism wants to throw out all the rules and traditions of the past… when really, they are trading power for degeneracy. Elegance is rare to come by, but can last forever.
Just as diamonds become more valuable not by additional material, but by the way it is cut, women become more defined, confident, and brilliant with the power of elegance.
I believe this approach really is the remedy and return to freedom women are yearning for in the wake of the torment of feminism’s lies. In a world of radical self empowerment and self love, I believe young women are desperate for something deeper than what modern culture feeds us.
For the young woman looking to make her way in the world without submitting to trashy or politically biased women's media who desires to make an impact on their world, here I want to dive into these principles in depth. I want to share what I’ve discovered about using our unique God-given voice in the face of modern feminism. Together, let’s unpack the truth in trends traditions and lifestyles using this framework, so we can build a life of elegance that creates and promotes truth, goodness and Beauty.
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