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 remember reading some of that - was a load of nonsense and again shows how awful the BBC is these days.

I only wear clear nail varnish because the coloured stuff always chips after about 2 days. I wear coloured varnish on my toenails.

Who knew I was a white supremacist.

Oh well I guess it's just a step up from being a fascist because you think male bodied people should take part in sport in the male category and not the female category.

Honestly I don't know where people get their ideas from.

You know, you’re not wrong 🤣. I am in a foul mood today. Thank you for reminding me to take my head out of my arse! 😁😁

Again no, it’s not talking about women like you. It’s about women who very much can be arsed and will have a budget for their nails. It’s women going to salons and having all the prep and hand care done, paying for that but not putting polish on, or picking clear polish, not patterns/art.

The fashion isn’t to just stop doing anything to your nails, it’s to go with a harder to maintain look of clear, healthy nails, well moisturised hands and no obvious signs of having to do domestic or manual labour.

Not putting on nail varnish isn't really a conscious decision for me, just as I have never made a deliberate decision not to play darts or get a tattoo or buy a holiday home in Belize.

Thanks, the link seemed a bit broken but enabled me to find an archive:

https://archive.ph/8rzWa

@FancyBiscuitsLevel ok, got it. But why would that suggest white supremacism either?

I never paint my nails.

I did in my teens - including “nail art” which is obviously cultural appropriation or something: it was just painting stripes.

i just don’t like what it feels like though.

So I’m a white supremacist, but I was ALSO stealing black culture back in the 70s by having purple & white stripes …

I’m just happy now if my nails are clean & not broken, which is probably due to unexamined phobias.

What are they saying? That such women must wear bold polish or nail art in some kind of show of solidarity with those amongst Black women who choose that style?

I see what you are saying about who the observations are aimed at, but it's still complete nonsense.

Rich people enjoy trends that allow them to showcase how privileged they are, and how luxurious their lifestyle is? Well I never - this is something I've never encountered before! It's a bit 'stating the obvious', isn't it? Hardly an insightful point.

I feel like the BBC has just managed to be very racist themselves though, by implying that all non-white people must have brightly painted fake nails, don't sport well-cared for bare nails, and aren't wealthy. Also, to say that 'elegant and tasteful' are white supremacist dog whistles carries wild implications too.

Classism, maybe, but only in the way that the rich always like to flaunt the fact that they're above the rest of us plebs.

Anyway, I'll continue on with my unpainted, natural nails, which I keep meaning to get into nicer shape because they have lovely natural French tips...but they always break, and really, I just can't be bothered to try to grow them. Does that make me racist, or just a lazy poor?

I think there've been a few good employment tribunals in the UK on this issue. I seem to recall one to do with a woman who worked at a department store, possibly even on a make up counter, and I'm sure there will have been in relation to cabin crew too. So hopefully that puts paid to that at least.

Yes, I really hope so too.

Um white supremacists?! Or maybe.... People that just cba?!

I hardly ever have nice nails because i trash them really quick doing the washing up in hot water + i am too lazy to get them done/do them myself most of the time!

Tbh i associate some of the nail art with quite a teenage/youthful look so i wouldnt choose nail art for that reason alone, i think id look a bit mutton dressed as lamb 😂
And if i were choosing colours id go very neutral purely because it would match more outfits?!

I think what I object to (whilst acknowledging that class and race do impact fashion) is the use of women and women's bodies to discuss wider politics.

It IS inherently misogynist because it rarely acknowledges the struggle of being female in a patriarchal world. It's another form of objectification IMO. Classism and racism and misogyny exist on a scale far larger than the styles people are wearing and all need tackling without the focus being on women's bodies and choices.

The article quoted one person who said that. There is a clear link with black and Latino communities and nail art (it was black communities who created nail art not just block colour). Some of the people being pro-making an effort with your nails but also anti-nail art have linked it to being trashy, and it’s part of a wider trend of labelling all fashions and trends that came out of black communities as trashy. The opposite of them being “wholesome”. The natural beauty trend is heavily focussed on natural white beauty.

I do think it’s not really about white supremacy, but more about social class and wealth.

There’s lots of women on here who’ve not read the article saying they’ve never had their nails done, but ok it’s not about that, it’s the trend of still having your nails done but rejecting the black-coded paint options and if there’s a political reason behind that becoming fashionable.

WTAF. I have bare nails - partly because I'm busy and don't have time to bother with them, partly because long super fussy nails wouldn't suit me, and partly because I do a lot of gardening and they would get ruined. That is IT. Nobody is obliged to have fancy nails and not having them means nothing. Anyone who says otherwise can piss off. What a load of utter utter crap.

Of course you cannot do Pilates. Best to go to Pole Dance classes. You know, sex work is work and we should not be seen excluding sex workers....
😈

Health care professionals often take good care of their hands and nails but can’t paint them.
I think the fashion for nail art is also affected by the reporting of nail bars as being venues for enforced labour, along with hand car washes.

The quote is "[Bare nails] are often called elegant or tasteful and these are often usually euphemisms that perpetuate white supremacist standards of beauty."

Does this article mention where these "usual euphemisms" for white supremacist standards occur or is that what we usually call a euphemism for "making it up for the purposes of an article"?

As opposed, say, to stating that 'bare nails are elegant and tasteful' with no subtext intended?

I live in a country where there are only tiny Black or Latino communities, and yet nail art both still exists and is often considered tacky when over the top. I had no clue those communities even had anything to do with nail art. So when I reject brightly coloured or acrylic nails, it has nothing to do with race, it's just personal preference. I do think there may be an attempt to shoehorn race into something that, at most, has a touch of classism (with the focus on 'quiet, natural luxury').

it’s the trend of still having your nails done but rejecting the black-coded paint options and if there’s a political reason behind that becoming fashionable.

It's getting your nails done, FGS. Why does there have to be a 'political reason' behind choosing the colour of your nail polish?

Jesus, I can't even be in the proximity of nail varnish without wheezing. My whole respiratory system must be practically goosestepping.

Interesting that so many posters here feel the need to say why they can't or don't wear varnish etc.. How about we just love our natural normal nails!

Want a quick and easy way to spot a fascist? check the colour of her nails.