The Stark Parallels Between Minimalism & Conservatism

In July 2025, American Eagle released an ad for their jeans featuring Sydney Sweeney, an American actress who has become the idealized image of what a woman should be in the eyes of many far-right men, including the one and only Donald Trump, following the release of the ad. The advertisement ends with the slogan “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,” which creates the controversial yet historically unshocking argument that Sweeney’s genes, in their white and blonde glory, are what is really to desire here. 

This ad, stylistically, is incredibly minimalist. It is set inside a green room with no furniture besides the chair Sweeney sits in and a mirror she later waltzes in front of to admire her amazing “jeans”. Its simplicity suggests that no further analysis is needed, that exactly what is shown in the ad is all the audience is required to take away from the ad itself. This is a prime example of minimalism in media, with how it is stripped of personal expression and metaphor, urging the audience to take it at face value. The slogan at the end finalizes the minimalist goal, slapping the audience in the face with its boldness, though it really is not anything more than a racist and oppressive statement that quietly suggests to the audience that people who look like Sweeney are superior. 

The minimalist aesthetic isn’t just a trend; it’s a political movement. Minimalism emerged in New York City in the late 1950s as a post-World War II art movement. It grew primarily as an act of resistance against the art style of abstract expressionism, focusing more on creating art that appeared clean, geometric, and devoid of any sort of emotion introduced by the artist. 

To further analyze the emergence of minimalism and its impact it had on art, we must also consider its opponent during the time period of its origin: abstract expressionism. In an essay published to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s website, Stella Paul writes that “Their work resists stylistic categorization.” Abstract expressionalists were focused on emotional expression which was conveyed through a variety of types of brushstrokes and vibrant colors. Their works are incredibly large in size, often painted on large-scale canvases, yet they lack a single focal point. Overall, the art is deeply personal, and is aimed more at the expression of universal psychological themes and emotion rather than a specific moment in time. 

Minimalism directly juxtaposes this style, which makes its creation even more intriguing, considering both the historical context and the differences in their appearances. Minimalist art is devoid of intentional emotional expression, and typically relies on neutral tones to create a monochromatic look. 

Now, let us think more about the historical context of the origin of minimalism. Post World War II, some people in society were seeking a quieter style of art that offered feelings of calmness and simplicity, rather than the “loud” style of abstract expressionism. The chaos of the war left many people seeking art that was soothing, rather than emotional and harrowing. Summarized by American painter Frank Stella, minimalism expresses the idea that “What you see is what you see.” It was widely impacted by the rise of industrialization, which inspired the geometric styles of this form of art, merging their shared ideas of how everything should be efficient and modernized. 

In Longing for Less by Kyle Chayka, he writes that modernism and minimalism were seen as being “…a vision of a safer and cleaner world, with cosmopolitan equality for all who inhabited its architecture.” It was functioning as being a way for society to discreetly push down the things that had happened before it, and reimagine a clean and structured world with no dangerous deviants. It was inspiring to many people in the way that it motivated the idea that everyone could have a fresh start, and one that was soothing and simple to the eye. It was easy to understand, and didn’t require much to be a part of. 

Simplicity in art urges society to fit into a certain box: one that adheres to the uncluttered and clean look that is so desired by many people. It was created because people wanted to appear “put together” and seemingly unimpacted by the effects of World War II by being drawn to minimalist artworks that would soon adorn their walls. Present day, this exists in the “clean girl” and “beige mom” trends, pushing the concept that in order to be seen a certain way, you must be simple, plain, and put together just the way minimalists in the past wanted society to be. 

These trends, as silly as they may seem, have had a large impact on the way people, specifically women, desire to appear and behave. If you are a “clean girl” donning a slicked-back hairstyle and a monochromatic outfit, you are put together, effortlessly beautiful, and well-maintained, with not a single hair out of place. Similar to minimalist art, everything is in the lines, never “too much” or pushing someone to feel a certain way. These trends are ways that minimalism continues to push forward in new ways, reinventing itself as a sort of quiet evil. Throughout many decades, political events, and shifts in society, minimalism has been a constant behind all of them, reminding people that there will always be a push to get humans to fit into a specific box and label. 

Minimalism is representative of how many systems in society, especially politics, operate to find ways to make people that are “out of the ordinary” seem strange or undesirable. Similarly, so do many conservative ideals. Key conservative beliefs include having a traditional family structure, opposing abortion, and believing that marriage should be solely between a man and a woman. There is no room for change or any freedom in this mindset, and these beliefs are all rooted in sexist, racist, and homophobic theories that keep people in a simple cycle of living their lives. Many conservatives believe that these ideals keep society “structured” and maintain order, when in reality, they are just oppressive and harmful to those who do not adhere to them. 

It is undeniable that conservatism and minimalism share many of the same ideals. However, not all minimalists are conservatives, and not all conservatives are minimalists. Many people who practice minimalism and participate in such trends often don’t understand the implications of their behavior, which is both reflective of the way that minimalism functions and how people’s self expression may not always align with the political aspects that lie underneath them. Overall, it’s important to understand how certain ads, trends, media, etc, are operating to covertly push a specific ideology, even if it is portrayed as being harmless and fun.

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