Just to preface, I have less of a “statement” to make on LDS/Mormonism as a whole; this article is more so a cacophony of thoughts that have lasted for months on end, and I just desperately need to get them out of my system.
There’s something happening online right now that I quite literally can’t stop paying attention to, even if I tried.
Suddenly, it feels like the internet is full of oversized pink boxes from Crumbl, a new style of intense curls that flip just so, and women who look like they belong in a ballroom rather than a grocery store. It’s idealistic, hyper-feminine, and, at this point, almost aggressively polished.
And more often than not, it traces back to one place: Utah. Land of the free, home of the term ‘soaking’ (no, I will not elaborate).
To be more specific, Mormon culture.
I can’t help but wonder if what I’m witnessing isn’t just a trend, but the aestheticization of restriction. An era where a deeply structured belief system is being repackaged into something soft, consumable, and aspirational for a mainstream audience.
Holy Vices
Within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there’s a long-standing health code that discourages substances like drugs, alcohol, and most shockingly, coffee. So, in a culture where so much of American social life revolves around coffee dates, study sessions at Starbucks, and a 9-to-5 morning routine’s ‘cup of ambition,’ the absence creates a culture gap.
Instead, indulgence gets redirected. Enter soda shops and gourmet cookies.
Places like Swig Dirty Sodas and Crumbl Cookies aren’t just trendy businesses but cultural adaptations. In case you didn’t know, these are both companies created by Mormons for Mormons; Crumbl just happened to get lucky and skyrocket in success. The ‘vices’ of sugar and caffeine are offered in a way that is indulgent, excessive, and ritualistic, while still existing within the boundaries of the faith.
Restriction doesn’t eliminate desire; it just reshapes it. And in this case, it reshapes it into something pink, Instagrammable, and easy to consume.
The London LDS Look
If the food is soft and sweet, the aesthetic follows.
Quick spoiler alert: this faith advocates for women to be ultra-femme and warns against being “too much,” whether that be in their opinions, speech, or in this instance, their presentation.
The now-iconic “Utah curl”, aka an intentionally angular curl with straight ends, is less of a curl and more like “dents” throughout the hair. I’ve read that this style was popularized for its face-framing and accentuation of feminine features, and that doesn’t read as accidental. Neither does the lightness of makeup, the modest but trendy clothing of borderline milkmaid cosplay (you know the dress), the ever-present “tan” from a bottle, or the overall presentation of the ‘effortless’ Mormon girl look that is, in reality, deeply constructed within the rigid, homogenous gender norms of the faith.
Reality, Repackaged
This is where The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives becomes important.
The show doesn’t just document a lifestyle, but reframes it. It takes something that could be perceived as restrictive and presents it instead as beautiful, dramatic, and aspirational.
And for the most part, it works.
The women are styled impeccably, albeit nearly identical to one another; their homes are pristine, and their lives feel cinematic.
But every so often, the polish cracks.
These women got their start on a side of TikTok called “MomTok,” where they simply presented their motherly lifestyles as they came, and so too did a major scandal.
And no, I don’t mean a minor cheating scandal. Nor the group being exposed for swinging marital partners. Nor when Whitney filmed herself dancing in front of her infant’s hospital bed while the child was fighting RSV.
I wish I were making that up, but alas…
One of the show’s central figures, Taylor Frankie Paul, has been at the center of multiple domestic violence allegations and investigations, including a 2023 incident that resulted in an arrest and a plea tied to aggravated assault. According to NBC News, as of March 2026, additional investigations have emerged, with reports of repeated incidents and ongoing legal scrutiny.
These moments complicate the image the show presents.
Because what is supposed to be delicate, controlled, and intentional is, in reality, still human; messy, volatile, and imperfect.
Instead of releasing statements condemning Frankie Paul’s behavior, production has simply decided to halt filming, presumably until the backlash settles, so as not to fan the flames of controversy, which will inevitably reflect on the religion.
And that tension is hard to ignore.
Nara Smith and Palatability
Mormon public figures like Nara Smith further blur the line between lifestyle and performance.
Through carefully curated content featuring homemade meals, soft-spokenness, demure mannerisms, and never wearing anything other than a ballgown in her literal kitchen, this version of life is made to feel not only attainable but also desirable.
Restriction looks like routine. Discipline looks like elegance. Control becomes aesthetic. And when packaged correctly, it feels aspirational rather than limiting.
I’m not saying you can’t dress up for the sake of it, or for the content, in her case. And it’s also okay to have a more subdued personality, but her approach to it all is just so on the nose, it’s hard not to see the extreme principles of Mormonism steeped within it.
The Appeal of Structure
Part of what makes this cultural moment so interesting to me is that it offers something I think many people feel they’re lacking: structure.
We live in a world that’s so fast-paced and chaotic; of course, seeing a version of life that looks so put-together is enticing.
And Lord knows that can be incredibly comforting, so I get the appeal.
What Gets Left Out
It’s important to remember that aesthetics are selective by design.
They highlight what’s beautiful and minimize what’s complicated. And I think that’s the part that has been sitting weird with me.
What gets lost in this translation is the reality of the system itself: the expectations, the pressures, the suppression, the toxic purity culture, the sexism, the homophobia, and the racism that exist just beneath the surface.
There is so much context I could drone on about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but it would take me hours to sift through. So, to make a lengthy history short, women cannot hold leadership positions, Black people were barred from membership until 1978, and gay marriage within a temple is still prohibited and being queer in any form is grounds for disownment. But you’d never hear that come from Nara Smith, Taylor Frankie Paul, or Crumbl CEO, Jason McGowan, would you?
When a culture becomes content, it risks becoming flattened. Reduced to curls, cookies, and moms on TikTok.
Becoming More or Becoming Marketable?
There’s nothing inherently wrong with finding beauty in structure, comfort in routine, or even joy in softness. I’m not on a witch hunt here or anything, but it’s worth asking what we’re actually consuming when we engage with this trend. Is it culture? Or is it a version of culture that’s been carefully edited for us as a wider audience? Because what’s happening in Utah right now isn’t just influence but a way of life that is being reimagined and redistributed.
Not as a religion. Not as a restriction. But as an aesthetic.
And like all aesthetics, it tells a story.
Just not always the whole one.