Toxic femininity is real!” says a steely-eyed woman dressed in a black lace top and bright red lipstick with a red rose tucked behind her ear, the artificial background in her video strewn with flowers and frilly lampshades. The woman is Daisy Cousens and she’s one of the leading lights in the female alt-right influencer movement in Australia. She has more than 200,000 subscribers on YouTube, posting regular videos with names like “Why pretty women should NEVER be feminists” and “Leftism makes young women MISERABLE!”
Cousens, who occasionally works as a mainstream journalist and holds views that are very conservative but not extreme, is one of a growing number of female influencers who have recently become players in various conservative – or at the end of the spectrum, far-right extremist – movements around the world, a sphere traditionally dominated by men.
These women come in various guises. Some, like Cousens, could just be called deeply conservative rather than extremist. But others, such as Americans Lana Lokteff and Hannah Pearl Davis, front media channels that attack everything from feminism and immigration to transgenderism and vaccines. Yet more have transitioned, told Vice World News. “It’s about putting a gloss on it.”
