Every woman wants to be likened to Audrey Hepburn. 

She’s elegant, classy, and kind — an emblem of femininity. But the movie star’s beauty goes beyond her figure and iconic style. A humanitarian who spent the last decades of her life working in the poorest communities of Africa, Asia, and South America, Hepburn was beautiful for her character as much as her appearance. She died at the age of 63 of cancer that she left untreated in order to continue her service to the poor. 

Hepburn would be disgusted by the Make America Hot Again coalition. 

The phenomenon arose last year on the internet and in popular culture in Make America Great Again circles. The conservative women’s online media platform Conservateur sells hot pink hats with the phrase emblazoned on them. Conservatives flirt at dating events under the title in New York City. Influencer Raquel Debono launched a website with the motto: “Dropping facts while saving democracy is hard work, and hot girls have opinions too. Look effortless and iconic while reminding the world you’re unapologetically right.”

On its face, the popular right-wing sentiment responds to the exaggerated body positivity of the left on the one hand, and modesty culture of the far-right on the other. But promoting “hotness” as a virtue is juvenile and shallow because it purposefully confounds conventional ideas of what is attractive with authentic beauty. 

Promoting hotness as virtue, especially to young women, encourages a mindset of consumption — making yourself a marketable, consumable object to men. Hotness is conventional, and its standards come and go with low-rise jeans. Authentic beauty is not limited to sexual desirability. 

The woke left’s attack on womanhood threatens the internal character of femininity, not just conventional ideas of attraction. A culture that says men can be women and promotes abortion on demand, defines  femininity only by appearances. This same culture  tells women they can be free only if they are not tied down by the demands of marriage and motherhood. Make America Hot Again is just as shallow because it elevates aesthetics over character. A more mature and Christian response would counter the left with a standard for beauty rooted in love and charity. 

Appearances matter because they can reflect an inward disposition. A woman who dresses well and cares about her appearance communicates respect for herself and for those around her. The ordering principle of authentic feminine beauty is charity, not consumption. 

Make America Hot Again misses the mark. When members of the new right make “hot” the defining aesthetic of the conservative movement, they are bound to alienate many women. Any girl who survived eighth grade can testify that the cultural standards of hotness lead women to pursue desperate, unhealthy ways of achieving a desired appearance. The idea will also isolate millions of young women who feel they will never fit into the rigid conventional beauty standards of the models who feature in Evie magazine.

The right needs to grow up and find a more convincing narrative on feminine beauty, one built on charity and character rather than sex appeal. That’s not to say attractiveness and beauty never overlap. They often do — again, see Audrey Hepburn. But a well-ordered and loving soul presents a timeless standard for beauty. Hotness does not.

 

Moira Gleason is a junior studying English.