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!
