BBC Removes Article Claiming Bare Nails Trend Perpetuates ‘White Supremacist’ Beauty Standards

The BBC removed an article that suggested the trend of leaving fingernails unpainted could perpetuate “White supremacist” beauty standards after it drew backlash Saturday.

The original article, “How the bare nails trend became a class issue,” explored the beauty trend of women preferring clear and polished “naked” nails over the more stylish nail designs over the past few years.

The BBC reported that while some consider this trend part of the ever-shifting standards in fashion, critics suggested the image said “something about class” and could potentially stigmatize Black, Latino and Asian communities that popularized heavily designed nails.

“That trend really promotes blankness and this kind of sameness and erasure of culture and identity that is so important to [B]lack and [B]rown communities,” beauty journalist Kristina Rodulfo told the BBC.

“They are often called elegant or tasteful, and these are often usually euphemisms that perpetuate [W]hite supremacist standards of beauty.”

The article quickly drew widespread criticism for linking nail design to racism or class warfare.

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In an archived update to the article, the story was removed and replaced with the statement, “This article has been removed pending editorial review.”

As of Tuesday, however, that statement had also been removed, and the original BBC URL led to a 404 error page.

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