Ribbons, Baby Voices and Ballet Pumps: An Antifeminist Return to Our Youth?

Images courtesy of @kittycattkilla, @onlydahia, @f3lliniuv (TikTok, 2024)

As we enter 2024, there is no denying that the ribbons, bows and ballet pumps are following us into it; the world has not yet washed its hands of coquette culture. For those who are less aware, this new aesthetic has made its course through almost all social media platforms and has been adopted globally, by those notably wearing cute Pantone colours.

As this phenomenon continues, we witness how Depop, Vinted and Vestiaire Collective have become the primary markets for purchasing the fashion community’s best available coquette piece, whether or not it involves resending the same offers again, again, and again. What’s more are the mannerisms which align themselves with such a culture: a soft, child-like voice, on a person who is avidly negotiating with wholesale ribbon sellers on eBay. Unfortunately, there are only so many surfaces a ribbon can be attached to.

I would be lying if I did not confess my own participation. I love my black leather ballet pumps that I purchased from someone’s mum on Vinted and showing up at Soho’s Blue Post as Sandy Liang’s newest follower. But as I doom-scroll through Pinterest, I can’t help but ponder, is coquette culture an attempt to re-energise our childhood or are we unconsciously subscribing ourselves to another patriarchal promotion of fetishising youth as a beauty standard?

The primary thought is often brought up amongst Gen-Z; the idea that the irresponsibility and carelessness of youth, which was so fondly basked in by their generational predecessors, has now vanished at the hands of academic and financial pressures. For example, the percentage of female homeowners has only increased by 2.7 per cent since 2011. It has become increasingly hard to adapt to the cost of living globally, especially in the United Kingdom, and to comfortably enjoy the moments in life that we have been climbing up both academic and financial ladders for. With these pressures in mind, the delicate intimacy (and infancy) of coquette culture with its youthful undertones acts as a channel for Gen-Z to safely reconnect with their inner child, with the addition of a Blue Razz Ice Lost Mary.

However, an alternative analysis of this new aesthetic could detail a very different interpretation. The juvenescence that flourishes in highly-regarded coquette culture emits submissive gendered standards. The infancy that is (bow)tied with coquette culture calls for the question: are we falling into a lazy and successful patriarchal trap? This idea can lead to further arguments that those who engage with this aesthetic are submitting to a series of unfortunate events which eventually trickle down to adhering to the male gaze and its desire for youth.

Radical feminists would not just have a lot to contribute to this argument, but they would also undoubtedly hold a great truth in their analysis which would conclude: coquette culture is a romanticism of female prepubescence. The danger that certain critics would apply to this interpretation widely reinforces the current debate on the latent yet powerful networks of patriarchy in our current society. Therefore, is coquette culture really a tool for decompressing societal standards, or is it merely a disguised form of the patriarchy?