This is an excerpt from BuzzFeed News’ society publication, Cleanse the Timeline! You can subscribe below.
There is a new It Female on TikTok.
Her identify is the Vanilla Woman, and she’s marked by two traits: She’s cozy and “clean.” Dressed only in neutral tones like white, beige, or a really gentle brown, she could favor a free comfy knit sweater in excess of leggings with quick Uggs. Her hair is slicked back again, and her pores and skin is totally free of hefty make-up — probably just some lip gloss, eyebrow pencil, and product blush. When she welcomes you into her property, she gives you a dwelling-brewed latte, a white boucle chair to sit on, and a blanket to drape about your legs as the scent of sugar cookies wafts in the track record. She’s stylish, polished, and, previously mentioned all else, effortless.
She’s also nearly pretty probable white. Of the seemingly infinite TikTok video clips tagged “vanilla girl” and “vanilla lady aesthetic,” practically all of the most well known function blonde ladies. Some creators credit rating TikTok megastar Alix Earle for popularizing the look, while she didn’t invent it and does not look to use the hashtag on her movies.
But with her sleek blonde hair and big blue eyes, Earle unquestionably suits the mildew, and it is tricky to locate creators who are into the craze who never conform to this glance, whilst there are a couple movies displaying how to do the design even if you are a *gasp* brunette.
The recognition and specificity of the trend have several men and women on TikTok saying the peaceful aspect out loud: This feels racist.
“It just feels like WASP, tradwife, purity tradition repackaged for Gen Z,” a single Black creator, @troublepuffs, stated about the pattern.
1 prominent Black TikToker, @OliviaLayne6, mentioned that the identify “vanilla” and the illustrations staying employed to demonstrate it in mainstream media craze posts make it seem like the development is only for “pretty, thin, white women.”
Olivia stated she observed remarks on TikTok stating that “anyone can be” a vanilla woman, but pointed out that the craze just looks to be a repackaging of the similar TikTok tendencies we have found before, like the “cleanse female” and “smooth girl” aesthetic.
“And no shade, I’m not creating exciting of this model, I’m just inquiring how numerous strategies are y’all gonna arrive up with to say you like beige?” she reported.
Aiyana Ishmael, an editorial assistant at Teen Vogue, reported on TikTok that soon after she got a PR pitch about the trend, she decided to commence her personal development: the “chocolate girl” craze.
“New aesthetic just dropped,” she claimed. —Stephanie McNeal ●