I was recently introduced to cottage-core by a friend who heard a segment on NPR (national public radio), and thought, “that is exactly the sort of thing Anna does!” So of course, I promptly asked the Google about it, and this is what I learned:
“Cottagecore” (Also called Farmcore or Countrycore) is a visual look that is inspired by a romantic version of life on a farm in places such as the U.S., Australia, England, Ireland, and Scotland. It is based on the concept of living simply and in harmony with nature. I tend to think of Little House on the Prairie, or the Hippie movement of the 1970s (only cleaner and sweeter smelling, with fewer drugs).
It involves the subjects of self-sufficiency, growing and raising your own food, taking care of family and community, so forth and so on. It seems to be a common theme that while I know what I am interested in, I don’t always know the proper search terms to use or what the current buzzwords are. I frequently would search for “ferme ornée” (Ornamental Farm in French), which is what Thomas Jefferson’s estate Monticello was referred as… what one might once have called a “Gentleman’s Farm”. It also revolves around the idea of an aesthetically pleasing farm, where the animal enclosures, fences, structures, etc. should not be solely utilitarian, but also must be pleasing to look at.
The one thing I found rather interesting is that apparently there is a political bent to some of this movement… being either very strongly LGBTQ, or the far-right based on traditional gender roles. Kind of funny, huh? I love the Cottagecore stuff simply for the aesthetic, and disregard any political leanings around the trend.
Of course, there has also been criticism because Cottagecore idealizes a refined Eurocentric farming life, which some think carelessly celebrates colonialism, as well as simplifies and underestimates the labor of farmers. (I mean, it wouldn’t be quite such a fun fantasy if you had to look at photos of underpaid immigrants laboring under the hot sun and all the human rights abuses that go on in the real world). Then again, my argument would be that this is of course an ideal, visually appealing fantasy version of farm life. I mean, come on, it includes fairies!
