Analyzing Cottagecore  I've been getting into analyzing different popular aesthetics recently and why people find themselves drawn to them. And then YouTube recommended this video by The Take that discussed cottagecore. Upon watching this video, I guess wanting to escape to a rural idyllic life in the country side to get away from the chaos of the world and the existential crisis that capitalism produces isn't a new concept. I didn't know that there was a whole history to this and that there were past movements that had similarities with cottagecore. I also loved how this video discusses how marginalized groups, particularly black people and lesbians, find a safe space in this aesthetic and turn it into a form of empowerment. It's along the lines of reclaiming the past and rural life, and seeing yourself in it outside of notions of struggle and oppression.  This was one of the videos that was cited when The Take was discussing how POC fit into an rural, old timey aesthetic. I went ahead and watched this video and I liked how Tanya discusses how this contrasts with "strong black woman" trope along with why that trope is harmful because it justifies the oppression that black women deal with since there is an assumption of "she's strong so she must be able to handle it." She also talks about how femininity is something that gets stripped from black women as further justification to dehumanize them. I've seen that point be raised in other contexts as well so when I first saw posts of black women adopting a cottagecore-esq aesthetic, I immediately thought of other Instagram posts that I've seen before which had captions (or implied something) along the lines of "let black women and men be soft"  and the pictures would be something along the lines of black people being joyful, carefree, having flowers in their hair, etc.  I also think it's really important for people of color to see themselves in different aesthetics and feel that their sense of self expression is unlimited. Personally, I feel that if you are a POC, there is a tendency of people expecting you to be a walking stereotype of you ethnicity or else you're "whitewashed" or you aren't cultured. I remember being around 14 or so and listening to emo music and I had people say that I "act white" because of it (also you can't act a race without having a stereotype in your head of what a certain race acts like but that's a post for another day). I've heard some of my black friends at the time say that they encountered that as well along with being seen as "less black" because they liked anime or anything else that seemed out of the ordinary. Recently, I had a friend tell me how she had people assume that she doesn't care about her culture because she is into cottagecore and knowing her it felt ridiculous because I know that she is secure in her cultural identity.  From what I've observed, being whitewashed is something that can be used differently based on the person and what they consider whitewashed. I know there are some people who consider being whitewashed as preferring things from western culture and that everyone is whitewashed to a certain extent. But for me personally, I believe that being whitewashed is more about a sense of internalized self hatred towards your culture and people from your culture. To me liking cottagecore as a brown person isn't whitewashed but saying something along the lines of "brown girls are rarely beautiful" while being brown yourself is whitewashed.  That said, I understand why people may jump to the conclusion that you must be whitewashed if you are into an aesthetic like cottagecore. A lot of the aesthetic has to do with rural life and the settings of period pieces from the 1800s, which aren't exactly settings that are POC and LGBTQ friendly. Plus like with many aesthetics, POCs aren't really represented. There is a connotation exclusion that can come with it. But at the same time I don't see why people can't reclaim it and make a space for themselves either if they just like the aesthetic. We're talking about aesthetics and ways of expressing ourselves, not literally going back to 1850.  I also really liked this video. I liked how it discussed the ways cottagecore can be an extension of one's political beliefs because of the imagery it has. While The Take focuses on how cottagecore relates to anti-capitalism and sustainability, I like how this video delved into how cottagecore can serve as  a way of saying "lets go back to the good ol days back when women knew their place in the home"  by alt right people who romanticize the past. While I haven't seen alt right people adopting this aesthetic, I can see how the imagery can be twisted in that direction. Cottagecore, like all aesthetics, don't have defined political leanings but like anything visual and artistic, it can be up for interpretation and can be used as an extention of expression, whatever message that expression may have.  I believe this video also touches on returning to a gentle form of femininity away from the context of patriarchy not as a form of escapism rather as a form of self care.  This also reminded me of a tiktok that I saw a while back of a person talking about how bisexual/lesbian women find women attractive feels different compared to how straight men finding women attractive. It was something along the lines of how women when they find another woman attractive is along the lens of seeing that woman as a work of art. It's like looking at a painting where even if that person doesn't fit the standard of what is considered beautiful, there is something beautiful that is about them and the vibe they put out, kind of like why people may find impressionistic paintings, abstract art or anything else in between beautiful despite all of the types of beauty contrasting with each other where there are no common features setting a standard of beauty. I think something like this can be seen with a group straight women as well where even if we have friends who don't fit the mold of what is considered conventionally attractive, we still hype each other up and point out the features that we find beautiful in each other. Whereas with men, instead of the "work of art lens" a lot of what they consider attractive is painted from the lens of things like porn and objectification due to the way that women are presented in media and advertising. It's more along the lines of a woman has to check a series of boxes for them to be deemed attractive. And then you end up with a more limited idea of what is considered attractive.  Then there is the concept of men being visual creatures. I love how this point is always brought up to justify objectification but men being visual creatures is never brought up when it comes to how they design their homes, what kind of clothes they wear, etc. rather instead those things are written off as things that women care about because of their "feminine natural drive towards beautification." And if a man god forbid cares about these things and does something along the lines of doing his eyebrows or using a facemask every now and then so their skin doesn't get crusty, suddenly other men think he's gay .  Honestly, from my observations, straight men generally are not visually competent and don't know how to carry themselves. Like I've flipped through different tinder profiles and I swear to god like 90% of the profiles have selfies from the awkwardest angles to where basically the guys are shooting themselves on the foot as far as attractiveness goes. I stg there are men out there who are 4s who could easily be a 7 if they got a proper haircut, did their eyebrows, did something nice for their skin every now and then instead of just washing their face with 3 in 1 bodywash/shampoo/conditioner, and bought clothes that actually fit them well.  So much for being visually inclined smh.  Anyway, my rant is over lol. I think that's why a lot of lesbians flock to cottagecore. Because the aesthetic appeals to a form of beauty that is more aligned with the way women find other women attractive rather than from the male gaze. Granted that I'm going off of things that I heard in a tiktok and how it resonates with how I compliment my friends so I can't really say how much of my analysis aligns with the experiences of women who love women.