The BBC has been slammed after publishing a piece arguing that the popular “bare-looking” manicure trend is rooted in racism, classism and “white supremacy”. GB News has more.
The article explored the growing demand for minimalist fake nails and has been seen as an attempt to politicise personal beauty choices.
Accusations that the broadcaster was pushing a “woke Left-wing agenda” through such content quickly gained traction online, with critics dismissing the piece as absurd and divisive.
The BBC’s article featured an interview with Paloma Buddemeier, owner of Wumman Spa in London, who described how clients were increasingly requesting natural-looking artificial nails inspired by a “quiet luxury” aesthetic trending on social media.
The piece went on to argue that nail art has historical ties to black, Latino and Asian communities, and that the elevated status now afforded to the pared-back style risks stigmatising bolder manicures.
Beauty journalist Kristina Rodulfo said that the minimalist trend amounted to both classism and racism.
She told the BBC: “That trend really promotes blankness and this kind of sameness and erasure of culture and identity that is so important to black and brown communities.”
Rodulfo further argued that such styles “are often called elegant or tasteful, and these are often usually euphemisms that perpetuate white supremacist standards of beauty”.
Prominent voices, including former Olympic swimmer Baroness Sharron Davies, choreographer Rosie Kay and opera historian Alexandra Wilson, condemned the BBC for what they saw as an attempt to politicise personal beauty choices.
Baroness Davies said: “This piece of divisive tosh is sadly very reflective of today’s BBC.”
Choreographer Kay added: “This is beyond utterly insane. Ffs just stop. Stop right now. You’re a disgrace.”
Opera historian Wilson said: “The politicisation of absolutely everything is becoming deeply tedious. We used to be a sane country.”
Worth reading in full.
Discussion
Comments
This week across the site:
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to the Daily Sceptic.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.
I was in a mountain restaurant the other day with remote family. One of the girls wanted a group photo and the lady with the trout lips seemed the obvious choice to ask to take it.
I’ve never lived in a time of such sheep-like behaviour among grown up adults. I would expect conformity among insecure teenagers, but for years now I see every “cool” person on television wearing the regimented BLACK clothing, which of course has nothing to do with fashion, since fashion by definition changes over time.
At one point I considered getting little cards printed “are you another black clone with a mobile phone?” and handing them to these endless numbers of black clones walking around buried in their phones as they walk the public street. Not a practical thing to attempt – such people don’t wish to be woken up & would no doubt react with anger, violence even.
Car colours have to have the colour drained out of them too. An all black Range Rover for example, with black wheels. Ugh. (“But it’s so COOOOOOL!”)
And now of course the sheep are all switching to GREY, since they continually look over their shoulder for the “approval” of friends and colleagues.
Who started the “GREY” movement? No-one knows, but I see so many interiors where grown up adults have suddenly redecorated their homes to CONFORM to the grey orthodoxy, and are starting… Read more »
Absolutely spot on, Sparrowhawk!!! You are one of the very few to point out these things, as you rightly term “The Draining of Colour from the Human World”.
I don’t know how people manage to find their own cars in a car park, because they all look the bleedin’ same! Cars are one of the few things for which men could choose a bright, distinctive colour, but no, they all have to choose black or white or grey. Only women are allowed to choose brightly coloured cars, and even those are few & far between. But farmers must have fun driving their often brightly coloured tractors and machinery.
I also wish men would kick up about being forced to wear only black, grey or beige clothing. Even when they are allowed to wear some colourful sports gear, the manufacturers just have to include strips or large patches of black on it somewhere. I remember years ago going on a shopping trip with a few friends from work, and when we walked upstairs in a big department store with a whole floor full of clothes for men, one man balked, took one look and kept going up to the furniture department… Read more »
Oh dear lord
What sad, sad, STUPID people these are. If their policies and ethos weren’t so dreadfully destructive, one could almost feel sorry for them.
Must have been a slow news day!
It’s hard to know where to start with this story…
Firstly, the nail expert is clearly just some chancer out for a bit of publicity, or perhaps even has some political axe to grind; whichever it is she can hardly be blamed for finding a willing organisation to publicise her ill-conceived, lunatic views.
The BBC, however, has no excuses.
This ‘trusted media source’ is yet again demonstrating why it needs to be dismantled and why the dwindling proportion of the population who still have their full mental faculties are declining to pay their licence fee.
I find it hard, even in this day and age, to get my head round the fact that an adult in a position of responsibility at a major and once-respected news organisation deemed this story newsworthy. It shows, as if we needed any more evidence, that the BBC is so keen to push certain agendas that it is prepared to turn logic on its head completely and then hope nobody notices.
Is there really so little real racism left in the UK that it has to be made up instead? I hope so but I doubt it – despite massive strides being made there’s probably… Read more »
BBC is supposed to educate, inform and entertain. It’s only quality appears to be misinform, lie and fail to broadcast facts.
The new Director General – Matt Brittin in case you do not know – was educated privately then went to Cambridge. He actually started in a proper job as a chartered surveyor but then following an MBA he went to consultants McKinsey where it probably went downhill. A plus is that he is actually English compared to the foreign chairman. He then went to the Far Left Daily Mirror followed by the evil empire of Google. No surprise that he is a director at Climate Group and a non-exec at the Guardian Media Group.
As the BBC loses income as more people give up on it Brittin was wailing the the Mail about wanting BBC News misinformation put out on streaming services so he can justify adding them to the TV Licence. He laughably believes BBC News output ‘is part of disinfecting misinformation’ as opposed to being a major source of lies. He parts saying that 94% of households consume BBC content but only 80% are paying without clarifying if that includes radio which needs no licence.
I don’t go out of my way to notice women’s nails, but when I do I’m rather put off by the trend to wear what appear to be decorated talons. So it’s heartening to hear thst the trend is back towards nicely manicured ,clear varnished nails. What on earth is racist about that?
You are right, their nails are claws, they kid themselves that men like them when most think they are repulsive. This smells of a favour by the BBC to their Guardian reading supporters. They probably have pink hair, tattoos and bull rings in their noses which are equally repulsive. Nicely groomed nails on a woman are very attractive.
Who was that article targeted at? And why? This just confirms what everybody says about the BBC, and why they are losing licence payers.
What is this licence fee you talk of?
it’s a tax that mugs pay in order that the biased broadcaster can spout it’s Liebour, loony left doctrine.
I think it is disgracefully sexist to show only womens’ hands and to have comments by women only on the topic. Men wear nail varnish too.
I’m surprised the BBC didn’t link it the climate denialism too. Maybe next week.
I’m looking forward to hearing about the BBC’s next “offering” (I never watch or listen):
“Having your hair dyed blonde with highlights and cut into a Bob signifies that you are a WAYCIST and HARD RIGHT”
I keep saying to my wife, ‘it must be me, it can’t be the majority who have got it wrong in the u.k.’. But this now confirms to me, that, ‘it is not me that has got it wrong’. I believe the majority of people in the u.k., especially those ‘in power’ have totally ‘lost the plot’. Lunacy is rampant.
Increasingly we’re told (by way of bossy diktats) that the human form needs to be endlessly caricatured. False boobs…pumped up lips…cartoon white teeth…hideous disfiguring tattoos…elaborate hair extensions and colouring…and bizarre, tacky false nails which render the wearer incapable of carrying out every day tasks. No-one forces anyone to do/undergo any of these things – it’s all about personal choices and tastes. The idea that a woman could be criticised for NOT embracing (in this case) the nail ‘trend’ is not only baffling but also an indication of how how desperate the race-baiting has become…
I think they come in handy when they scratch their arse
Is it any wonder the public are dumping their licenses in droves?
This is the garbage from the BBC that the Labour government wants to promote in the rankings on social media. This article pointing out that it is carbage would be classed as disinformation by the Ministry of Truth and it should censored to prevent wrong thought by the proles.
According to Wikipedia artificial nails were reserved for the nobles in Ming dynasty china and ancient Egypt. Modern artificial nails developed in the late 1950s by a dentist with early acrylics. So nails are a class thing, essentially saying I can have these because I don’t do manual labour and have lots of money. How true for BBC employee’s
I understood modern nail varnish only arrived around 1910 to 1920 as a result of nitrocellulose paints for the car industry. Before that it was frowned on for Western women to colour their nails.
Interesting! I also detest the sight of painted toenails— they are gross and repulsive.
More Lefty air-headed bo11ocks.
I just bite mine – especially while reading the latest insanity promoted by the BBC …
Here she is, the Beauty Expert from the Phillippines, Kristina Rodulfo, Attention Seeker Extraordinaire, black hair dyed to look less Oriental and more European, like her “White Racist” Aussie husband, because she didn’t want to marry a Filipino man:
And here is her “White Racist” husband with his “White Racist” groomsmen at the wedding. Just look at all those “White Racist” fingernails! How did she ever manage to endure it, we wonder?
https://www.theknot.com/tk-media/images/952d9d80-ebc6-11ed-a841-5595434a0401~rs_729.h
Some people will endure a lot to get the passport they want.
Spot on.
I assume the slightly darker looking chap behind the groom on the left of the picture is her brother? Otherwise as Humza Yousaf would say “ALL WHITE”!
I can’t be bothered spending at least a pony when I spend my time cooking, cleaning and doing the garden. It would only ruin them. Maybe I am racist for eating properly and keeping on top of the housework?
I have always gone much further than the habit the BBC complains about. I have never had nail varnish at all – completely naked nails. Gosh they must think me evil and the feeling is mutual.
Quite. It ignores that people DO STUFF incompatible with professional talons.
We garden; we might play a musical instrument; we use our hands, in fact.
Maybe they have sussed that all this augmentation looks a bit tacky, after all.
And that swerving all this makes you too posh and, well, white.
I thought nail bars were a Vietnamese thing?
Yes, Kristina Rodulfo is a Filipino, so same general area.
The BBC demonstrating its world leading excellence. Unsurprisingly it’s terrified of putting this to the test with a subscription model.
I don’t need the BBC to tell me I’m a racist and white supremacist!
I’ve always gone for ‘minimalist real nails’, being a bit of a stick-in-the-mud.
Never understand why people with fat hands would want flashy nails (or why those with fat arms or legs would like to draw attention to them with tattoos).
Hear, hear. How on earth can such drivel be read into plain healthy natural nails. As someone who learned to touchtype back in the days of manual typewriters, I am amazed that women with long talons (whether natural or the glued-on kind) can cope with texting and emailing. Perhaps that is why the flat electronic keyboard and predictive text were invented.
Yes, imagine what happens when they put on their Marigolds to do the washing up! Their talons would rip holes in every pair.
Not to mention other latex products 😀
Best comment of the day.
The only time that I have ever worn false nails was to complete my look for my Goth – themed 50th birthday houseparty. I couldn’t understand how on earth anyone wearing them could feel what they were doing. I always had short nails because of my job, anyway.
More inane, insane bovine excrement funded by the licence payer
“… erasure of culture and identity that is so important to black and brown communities.”
Culture is not determined by race. There is no such thing as black culture or Brian culture, no such thing as black or brown communities. The so-called “communities” identified by skin colour (isn’t that racist) are no culturally or nationally homogenous.
What it is is fashion. Fashion is not culture.
This is more junk peddled by a race-baiting huckster.
Just wait until the BBC learn that I’ve gone for cornrows.
As opposed to just a nice tight perm?
I remember the singer Adele being criticised for having cornrows. Apparently, in her case, “ imitation is the sincerest form of flattery “ did not apply. it’s funny that conveniently, nobody seems to associate black women straightening their hair with cultural appropriation. It must be a one – sided thing, must it not?
Apparently, painted nails are an important part of the culture of black, brown, Asian and Latino communities; surely, therefore, if white women copied them, wouldn’t they be guilty of cultural appropriation?
George Orwell was so prescient – Doublethink is alive and kicking within the commie left.
Brian’s have culture as well! 😉
Have cake, will eat – The same British Broadcasting Commentariat that in other contexts argues for “my body, my choice.”