Caitlyn King - Aesthetic Core

The obsession of aesthetics is a pervasive topic. There are sections of the internet dedicated to certain looks and aesthetics, titled for easy labels and categories. 'Clean girl' and 'cottage-core' evoke imagery in the reader's mind, accurate to the trends even though the words themselves have little to do with it. People ask each other in a sort of hive-mind about what aesthetic they should become, how to advance in life while living within the boundaries of whatever group they want to emulate.

Even lifestyles are not exempt from this limiting path. How you dress gets linked to how your house should look like, what foods you eat, how you do your make up, what your hobbies are. It's that sort of obsession that we spoke about in class, with beauty. Magazines have articles talking about what the popular core will be at this or that time.

I find that trying to label everything only narrows what we can enjoy. People on social media are more likely to show only one aspect of themselves, more likely if they become famous. If you follow someone with a 'cottage-core' aesthetic, you will likely not find pictures of them spending time indoors or with friends, or in their car, or at the store; instead it will be pictures of their gardens or outfits, and while those are fine things to admire, it is not the authenticity of being unlabeled.

Although, it's argued that social media will never reflect authenticity, that it was only meant to show a facet of yourself. So perhaps I am being too severe, but what happens on the Internet often bleeds over to real life.

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