Why Do Republican Women Look Like That?
Lol <3
Hello friends!
As many of you probably know, I’ve recently moved back to Naarm to finish my studies. Within my final year I’m analysing a lot within the visual culture of our world and so for my final essay for one of my classes, I decided to dive into conservatism in the US and the rise of plastic surgery in these spaces. Has anyone else noticed a big change in how certain political groups choose to present?
The following is my fatass essay about those themes! I hope you enjoy.
In March of 2024, Republican Senator Katie Britt responded to Joe Biden's State of the Union address from her kitchen. She began: ‘I have the honor of serving the people of the great state of Alabama at the United States Senate however that's not the job that matters most, I am a proud wife and mom...’ (6abc Philadelphia, 2024). During Britt’s almost twenty minute monologue, she thinly masks her passionate rage with maternal sweetness, carefully balancing bluntness with performative kindness and gentle femininity. The overall effect is uncannily discordant. This example highlights the paradox facing Republican women today.
Though they hold political power, their identities are shaped primarily through the lens of conservative feminism, a framework that allows them to enter male-dominated spaces, but only by reinforcing the very patriarchal values that traditionally exclude them. These women often borrow traits from masculinity to thrive in these male dominated spaces, however they then overcompensate for these traits with extremely hyper-feminine beauty standards. This is emblematic of the anxiety surrounding female power within patriarchal frameworks, and the nostalgia for traditional gender roles. The intriguing idea of gender as a performed identity rather than biological determination is not new. Rupaul and his successful drag franchise is a famous example at one end of this spectrum. Although they would most likely disagree with the politics of drag queens, conservative women also interestingly perform hyper-feminine gender through beauty practices, some of which are extreme. Procedures which affirm gender expression in cis-gender women are becoming more normalised, rampant and accessible, with America having the highest number of cosmetic procedures in the world most of which (92%) are performed on women (Alis Behavioral Health Staff, 2024.) This essay will explore the beauty trends prevalent in right-wing political groups and how markers of traditional femininity have become intensified and widespread amongst women in these groups.
Historically, owing largely to the popularity of evangelical Christianity and Christian nationalists in the 1950s, conservatism is ingrained into the fabric of the American family (Boston, 2020). The interpretation of the bible by evangelical Christianity emphasises qualities of modesty, domesticity and softness for women as indicated in quotes such as ‘Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.’ This ‘ideal’ biblical woman then echoed throughout pop culture and cinema. Heteronormativity, gender-normativity and racial supremacy were dominant ideologies in America at the time. In her book ‘Ladies, Lipstick, and Liberty: Beauty Trends Within Women’s Social Movements in 1960s America’ (2016), Dr Jessica Brown states that “conformity was crucial. Women were expected to emulate the same look all the time. They were expected to be doting housewives and the model American woman.” Women in western conservative spaces have been historically taught not to take up space meaning physical femininity and beauty should be inherent to a woman but not overwhelming (Maryanna, 2024).
Interestingly, Republican women seem to have eschewed natural, understated feminine beauty norms in favour of an increasingly exaggerated, hyper-feminine ideal. An early depiction of the hyper-feminine, radical aesthetic popular today is Tammy Faye Messner, an American evangelist from the 1970s (Reiter, 2003). Her look is aggressively feminine with heavy amounts of makeup (including permanent eyeliner tattooed on her eyes) and voluminous blonde boisterous wigs. While her appearance wasn’t considered typical of the beauty standard at the time, the emergence of this aesthetic in evangelical circles could reflect polished and performative gendered beauty norms rooted in the bible. Even without surgical cosmetic enhancements her look is aspirational of conservative feminine ideals.
I actually can’t lie she’s actually a queen lol
Traditional feminine beauty standards emphasised by christianity are still present today. Female Fox News anchors, although without hyper-intensified signifiers of gender, have always had traditionally feminine looks. Dan Cassino, a professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University told Slate Magazine “you don’t have to worry with these women. They are going to be sexy, but they are also not gonna be threatening to you. We’re not threatening the patriarchy in any way here.” These women tend to have more inherent femininity - prettiness, even implied sexiness with the famous ‘leg cam’ video angles calling attention to the length of its female hosts' skirts (Schwedel, 2024). Although they wear a lot of makeup, and often have perfectly bleached blonde hair, their visual aesthetics aren’t meant to be overstimulating. Reece Peck, a professor at the College of Staten Island, told Slate Magazine that he suspects that “there are more former pageant winners and models among Fox News personalities than there are at other networks”. This demonstrates that historical conservative ideals continue to shape contemporary beauty standards and influence the ways society expects women to look today.
Republican women still adhere to these traditional beauty standards to fit in with the dominant patriarchal views of their peers, more so than their Democratic counterparts. A 2012 study from UCLA (Abrams, 2012) proposed that Republican Congresswomen look twice as ‘feminine’ as their Democratic counterparts. They used a computer program to analyse the features of 434 members of the 111th House of Representatives against the typical facial characteristics of their gender. They then showed the same photos to 120 undergrads and had them guess each person's political affiliation. The results showed that Republican congresswomen had the most sex-typical faces, with their faces being rated twice as feminine as their Democratic cohorts. “The correlation between femininity and party alignment was directly related to their voting records: the more conservatively they voted, the more sex-typical their face.” (Abrams, 2012).The research study concluded that there was a connection between the objective femininity of Republican women and their party’s obsession with traditional gender roles. They suggested that pursuing a career in politics is historically a masculine endeavour, conferring masculine characteristics, and that by demanding that their politicians be gender-typical, conservative constituents thus put Republican women in a dilemma (Johnson, 2012).
Even though the popularity of plastic surgery extends well beyond conservative groups, what distinguishes the hyper-feminine ideal seen in the republican political party from other experimentation with physical appearance, is the aggressive and overt way in which republican women (and some men) indulge within it. The term that has been coined to describe this look is ‘Mar-a-lago face’ (Diaz, 2025), a term named after Donald Trump’s famous Palm Beach resort. The look is defined by its aggressiveness - the over-botoxed, fake-tan-orange skin, the classic layered brown or blonde hair, the pristine white veneers, the heavy glamour makeup (no matter what time of day), and finally the obvious plastic surgery. Alka Menon, a professor of sociology at Yale University, told Mother Jones “What we’re seeing with something like Mar-a-Lago face is a swing back toward [an era of plastic surgery when] people can tell that people have had work done”. The surgeries and botox being performed aren’t necessarily about a subtle and natural end result, but rather the final result being overt. A great example of this is Kristi Noem, the new United States Secretary of Homeland Security under Trump. Recently Noem has undergone a striking transformation in her physical appearance. Whilst she previously represented a more traditional and down-to-earth look, sporting short hair and minimal makeup, she now embodies what Salon has described as a ‘Real Housewives’ look (Marcotte, 2025). Her face appears more sculpted, her hair longer and more styled, and her overall presentation leans heavily into the aesthetics of feminised polished glamour. In a similar sense to the women on Fox News, this change to the hyper-feminine styling is a necessity to her success. But in Noem’s case, the change seems more strategic, ultimately helping her gain appeal to wider audiences and more importantly to Trump himself. Republican women who complete transformations such as these, have greater decorative appeal to men like Trump, representing physical submission through gender performance. Samantha N. Sheppard, a professor of cinema and media studies at Cornell University, called the new phenomenon “the perfect ornament for Trump.” She also referred to Noem as a certain kind of “Miss America-like white femininity”. These aesthetics have become normalised and rewarded, as a political calculation to get them further. “It’s all about her appeal to an audience of one,” Ron Bonjean, a Republican strategist, told The New York Times. “She is showing him she works well in front of the camera, that she has that star power he wants onstage with him, while fitting into the mode of women in the Trump universe.” By using an extreme feminine aesthetic, they make their presence in male-dominated spaces feel less threatening and actually wanted. In a way, their appearance becomes a tool to make their power seem more acceptable to the people around them.
Kristi Noem’s before and after.
The extreme feminine aesthetic visible in Republican political women doesn’t only impact the way that these women are viewed, but potentially how they view others. A 2023 report suggests that Botox treatment can ‘affect brain activity and reduce the ability to empathise’ (The Week UK, 2025). Specifically due to the lack of forehead muscle movement, people who received botox treatment “can't mimic the expressions they see” (Klein, 2023). When we observe the rise of surgeries and botox in Republican women and men, this study blurs the line of aesthetic transformation and emotional detachment, therefore mirroring the entire emotional tone of right-wing politics. If Botox prohibits emotional responses, this becomes further understanding of the harshness and cruelness of many of their political strategies.
Due to the rise of the alt-right, conservatism, and depictions of traditional gender roles in social media, are also becoming more popular with gen z. With content creators like the 22 year old Nara Smith, a Mormon cooking influencer, creating videos making meals for her family of five (3 children and a husband) Smith is the ultimate example of the normalisation of ‘trad-wife’ content, with one source saying she is the ‘embodiment of 1950s housewife perfection - churning butter or making sourdough from scratch in a full face of makeup and a gown most of us would only wear when the dress code says "cocktail" (Hicks, 2024). Further promoting traditional masculine gender roles, there is now a considerable section of social media marketed towards young men that is “laced with conservative and often misogynistic messaging, contributing to what is referred to as the ‘alt-right pipeline.’” (Cameron, 2024). Although the depictions of traditional female conservative lifestyles are a bit less aggressive and confronting than the masses of stereotypically masc male podcasters, eagerly trying to gain attraction through misogyny and shock value, both of these examples show the normalisation of traditional gender-normative lifestyles. It also demonstrates the mass appeal of a simple and concrete conservative perspective, how it is more likely that people will accept a narrower conservative perspective - one that honours rigid gender roles, and rejects modernity. Rather than using critical thinking to evaluate the content they are consuming, people are taking it at face value and incorporating it into their lives. Simply put: “Social media doesn’t just show you the world - it programs how you interpret it.” (Pariser, 2011).
In conclusion, the beauty epidemic facing Republican women is terrifying. This essay has explored the historical underpinning of beauty standards in the Republican Party, the bleeding of these beauty standards into parts of the media, the current beauty standards Republican women face and why, and the effect the rise in conservatism has on culture and youth. In examining the aesthetic choices of Republican women, it becomes clear that beauty is a political tool that demands both submission and power. Women who step into highly regarded political positions attempt to soften their presence by hyper feminising themselves and therefore making their unlikely existence in male dominated spaces more palatable to their male peers and audiences. Beauty becomes not only a requirement, but a form of discipline. The images of these women become a reinforcement of a system that they both participate in, and are the victim of. The culture in which these types of beauty standards are rewarded is a horrifying one. In a world where so much of the culture and politics increasingly happens within a screen, these sorts of intensified and feminised beauty have become progressively more to do with ideology. Beauty has always been political and it will continue to be so.
Thanks so much for reading! Tehehehe! If you’re interested in this topic there’s a bunch of incredible sites/videos I got my information off of. Here are a couple of my favourites:
https://www.nssgclub.com/en/beauty/38978/beauty-wellness-conservatism-trends-donald-trump
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXOr91nxIi8
And another one of my favourite video essays which I was sent after I told my teacher the title of my work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2xS1wEYfeM&t=571s&ab_channel=amandamaryanna
-L