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The BBC has permanently removed an article linking bare nails to white supremacist standards of beauty after an editorial review found it lacked sufficient context or challenge.
The BBC has permanently removed an article that included a claim linking a trend for bare nails to white supremacist standards of beauty. Editors concluded the piece did not meet the corporation's editorial standards.
The article first ran on the BBC website on 27 September. It examined an apparent viral craze for bare rather than decorated nails. It said the trend had been flooding social media and fashion catwalks. The piece also covered criticisms of the trend, which suggested it could stigmatise bold manicures.
Beauty Journalist Critiques Bare Nail Trend
It noted that nail art had its roots in black, Latino and Asian communities. In an early section, the article quoted beauty journalist Kristina Rodulfo. She said the trend really promotes blankness and a kind of sameness and erasure of culture and identity important to black and brown communities. Rodulfo said such looks are often called elegant or tasteful.
She said these are usually euphemisms that perpetuate white supremacist standards of beauty. Later she was quoted again in the piece. She said the examples are almost always white women or celebrities. She said they will often conflate class and taste with that bareness.
The article also noted nail art has roots in black, Latino and Asian communities. The BBC initially removed the article from its website on Tuesday, after it attracted criticism from US media outlets, particularly on the political right. The corporation said it was removed pending an editorial review. The BBC has since confirmed the article was permanently removed.
BBC Removes Article Following Conservative Backlash
Bosses concluded there was no challenge in the piece to the quotes linking bare nails to white supremacy. They also said there was no context that such opinions would be seen as extreme. A Wall Street Journal piece called the BBC article embarrassingly retrograde. It said the piece displayed outdated intellectual fashion in its attempt to locate offences against social justice in the decisions of individual women whether or not to paint their nails.
The Wall Street Journal stated that when you see someone dressed for a costume party, you notice how conspicuous that person is. It said so it is with the BBC's attempt to gin up outrage over the semiotics of nail polish. The New York Post, part of Rupert Murdoch's media stable, also ran an article criticising the piece. Fox News also criticised it.
An opinion piece in the Telegraph also attacked it. Telegraph feature writer Celia Walden wrote that she had some rude awakenings in her time. She said being told she is a white supremacist before she had her coffee has got to be up there. On its corrections and clarifications register, the BBC stated that the article examined the trend of bare nails and what might be motivating it.
BBC Confirms Permanent Removal of Nail Piece
It said the piece heard from a range of contributors and looked at the cultural significance of manicures. The BBC said the article was removed on 29 September pending an editorial review. Following this review, the article was permanently removed on the same day because it reported criticism of the bare nails trend without sufficient context or challenge and so did not meet our editorial standards. The BBC has not revealed who made the decision to remove the article.
The corporation's deputy director general, Rhodri Talfan Davies, was appointed to the new role to catch potential editorial rows that plagued the leadership of former director general Tim Davie. Matt Brittin, who replaced Davie, was also keen to have a deputy for support on editorial matters, given his lack of television and editorial experience. The BBC is still the subject of legal action from Donald Trump over the way it edited together two parts of a Trump speech.
While the BBC apologised for the edit, it has always maintained the documentary did not defame the president. The corporation has faced wider questions about its editorial practices and purpose in recent months.
Bare Nails Trend White Supremacist Standards Of Beauty Editorial Standards Article Removal
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