Reactionary aesthetics and the politics of dark femininity

Bibliographic Data

ID24230412
AuthorsMeaghan Furlano (0009-0006-3259-7309, Western University), Emma Cowley (University of Northampton)
Year2026
Publication date2026-10-08
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFeminist Theory (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1464-7001 • E-ISSN: 1741-2773
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/14647001261492095
OpenAlexW7220929477
LanguageEN
References cited34

In recent years, feminist politics have faced a renewed reactionary backlash. Drawing on Jilly Boyce Kay's articulation of the ‘femosphere’ and Asa Seresin's ‘heteropessimism’ as key theoretical frameworks, we explore how women in the femosphere advance reactionary politics by promoting bioessentialism, political fatalism, and neoliberal ideology. To do so, we explore the contours of ‘dark femininity,’ a digital feminine aesthetic blending femme-fatale imagery with advice promising women romantic and financial success if they ‘tap into’ their ‘dark side’ to attract a ‘high-value’ man. Using a critical thematic analysis of 1946 Instagram posts from a prominent (yet anonymous) dark feminine influencer, we investigate how this influencer participates in, and advances, gender regulation, heteropessimism, and neoliberal ideology in backlash times. We argue that the dark feminine influencer's aesthetics and discourse reveal mediated anger about heterosexual relationships but submit to the fatalistic belief, just like her manosphere counterparts, that heterosexual culture is beyond repair and must therefore be gamified and ‘beat.’ In closing, we propose hetero respair as an alternative social imaginary and political project that offers a caring, hopeful vision for heteroculture.

gender regulation · heterosexual couples · Instagram influencers · manosphere · neoliberal ideology · Feminist Theory and Gender Studies · Gender and Feminist Studies · Gender, Feminism, and Media

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