BBC removes article that says women who don't wear nail varnish might be white supremacists.

[ArabellaScott]

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/sep/30/bbc-removes-article-linking-bare-nails-trend-white-supremacist-standards-beauty

I think that's the gist.

It's so fucking barking mad I'm not actually sure.

I’m sure The Guardian ran an article a few months ago that claimed the so called “clean girl aesthetic” in beauty trends, which would include nails I’d imagine, was “problematic” (racist).

I’m no fan of the BBC but seems a bit of a cheek for The Guardian to be having a dig.

Good that the article has been removed. I doubt that many people consider painting (or not painting) nails to be a political statement. Not painting nails would most likely be more of a "can't be arsed" thing. Or a "green" thing.

Its about time the once world renowned broadcasting service became a subscription service or better still binned completely

There was a viral thread a few months ago about manicures. An account with a female name asked women to explain why they didn’t get manicures or pedicures and the replies were full of women explaining that they aren’t suitable for certain jobs - pilot, archaeologist, surgeon, chef….

Yep, I shouldn't have mine done since I work for the NHS - but my management and senior management know full well they're done and don't care. If it wasn't for preventing my nail biting, it's such a faff I probably wouldn't bother to be honest.

Yes!

I'm glad this got picked up, I read about the controversy somewhere else, not the BBC, and I honestly thought it was a prank.

The article I read [sorry I didn't save the refs] didn't call it white supremacist, I think it took the line that it was classist because only privileged women have bare nails.. or something.

The words 'Foulcault-addled grievance gerbils' sprang to mind when I realised it was not a prank.

I did a quick google and it looks like having fancy nails done costs around €40-60 around here.

If you have €40-60 to spare, after you've covered all the necessary outgoings like food and rent and heating and travel costs and school books and pocket money for the kids etc. etc., go for it.

But be upfront and honest and admit that having €40-60 to spare after all those everyday expenses actually makes you privileged. Many people would need every cent of that just to keep food on the table, a roof over the heads and the light and heat on, and they have bare nails because they are not privileged enough to afford fancy ones.

Thats hilarious- surprised the Guardian isn’t defending it!

Exactly this!

It was totally hilarious article.

I feel for The Onion who is now completely redundant😂

How does not being able to afford nail care make you a white supremacist?

There was a time in the past when woman of money stayed out of the sun, because they associated a tan with poor women working in the fields, (Jane Austin said so) all of this white supremacy always seems to be a reworking of class prejudice, only reworked to fit the CRT narrative, where all white people are sinners and non-white people are saints.

I personally don't paint my nails because I'm too clumsy to get it right, and as someone who's spent most of her working life doing cleaning jobs my nails are shot to pieces and no amount of nail polish is going to make them look pretty.

I read that article and had to read it three times to be sure of what I was reading. Then I laughed. A lot.

It has been said that white people adopting fashions from other ethnicities is "cultural appropriation" now apparently NOT adopting those fashions is "white supremacy"

Someone needs to make their mind up which it is.

PS I hate the feeling of anything on my nails. I do use glass buffers to buff them to a shine when I want to.

Ah, policing women’s bodies again.

Am so relieved I started having manicures and BIAB/gel applied this year, as I’d hate to be considered a white supremacist. Or an anything-ist on the basis of my clothes and body.

Of course the reason I started it at 57, was because low oestrogen after the menopause has buggered my nails and I wanted to take up playing musical instruments again, but couldn’t even open a can without splitting my nail back to the bed, let alone pluck a guitar string.

Am wondering what next. Is pilates neo-christian white supremacist as it’s generally done by white middle class women in suburban towns?

totally agree and you beat me to it oops wrong quote I meant the quote that this user was quoting!

Where did the article say anything about cost?

I have a strong negative visceral reaction to fake nails. Seeing people with those huge plastic nails glued to their hands give me the newbie-jeebies.I can't let myself be touched by anyone wearing fake nails.

I am white but don’t have fake nails because I can’t afford it and regularly cook and bake including kneading dough! Fake Nails are crazy expensive around here! My daughter had press on nails for her prom to save money! So I think that’s very silly of the BBC to post that! Do they want us to be targeted by some hateful people?!!!

How often and how far does the BBC need to fall from its mission statement "to act in the public interest, serving all audiences through the provision of impartial, high-quality and distinctive output and services which inform, educate and entertain" before it is dismantled? It's as if there are forces at work within it trying to discredit it.

Bare nails = white supremacy is unequivocally bonkers. Even the people who argue the Beeb is right to refer to 'Isla' Bryson as 'she' have to admit this.

😂

I didn’t see the original article but it sounds like it was written by an edgy sixth-form leaver who watches too much tik tok.

People slag off tabloids, but this here is absolute garbage. You’d think they’d do better. I haven’t read news from the BBC in years.

Every person involved in writing and approving and publishing the article needs to be sacked.

If women with bare nails are apparently white supremacists, the BBC needs to get out more! Fancy nails might look pretty, but they are not always practical. I work on a farm, and even hard-wearing BIAB nails do not last very long on a farmyard! My vet friends or others linked to agriculture in some way don't tend to have theirs done, either, due to it not being practical or easy to maintain. We are more interested in practicalities rather than the politics of white supremacists.

Thank you for bringing the phrase 'Foucault-addled grievance gerbils' into my life.

So conversely is having bright decorated nails cultural appropriation and also verybad™️

I wonder if I can get the BBC into spasms by claiming it is disablist. I can't afford to have my nails done so do my own with very pale or clear varnish because I am dyspraxic and attempts at coloured polish all over my fingers, feet and clothes don't look good.