Introducing: A Reader-Created Community For Unpublishable Subscribers!

All about r/unpublishable and how to join.

For years, readers have been asking me to start a Discord server or a Slack channel or a subreddit dedicated to community conversations about beauty culture, and my response has always been the same: While that sounds lovely, social media has broken my brain and I simply cannot handle another platform! Or: I wish I could but I’m a writer, not a community builder!! And sometimes, simply: No!!!

So when two Unpublishable subscribers, Lili Dworkin and Ash Ragus, met in the comments section of this very newsletter and came up with a plan to create and moderate an Unpublishable-inspired subreddit, I was so fucking delighted and excited and relieved. If this news is equally delighting and exciting for you, please join Lili and Ash in their subreddit, r/unpublishable. Think of it as a place to continue exploring the topics I touch on in this newsletter, to ask questions and share insights, to connect with others who are actively divesting from industrialized beauty (or at least trying to). It’s totally free to participate, and there are already a few discussion threads open — a poll on appearance anxiety, a debate about “the prisoner’s dilemma,” a space to share your own beauty culture origin story.

*MAJOR DISCLAIMER*
The subreddit is not officially associated with me or The Unpublishable newsletter! I, Jessica DeFino, am not a moderator of the group, nor do I necessarily endorse the content or ideas posted there. This is a community created by readers, for readers — or for anyone interested in critical analysis of beauty culture, really. A subscription is not required.

Yes, the thought of an Unpublishable-themed community operating without my direct involvement makes me a little anxious. Like, what if I completely disagree with something that’s posted? Or worse, what if someone writes something more profound than I ever could?? (Lol, juuust kidding. Kind of.) But from the beginning, my goal for this newsletter has been to change beauty culture on a mass scale. I can’t do that alone! Relinquishing some control here — allowing The Unpublishable to grow beyond me and my own research and reporting — feels like a way for me to put my beliefs into action: to commit to community care, to prioritize the collective’s interests above the individual’s interests, to redefine beauty as divorced from ego.

I’ll be popping in from time to time to comment, converse, and maybe host the odd AMA, but for the most part, this is all you! A huge thank you to Lili and Ash for organizing this!!

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Here’s more about the r/unpublishable subreddit, in the words of Lili and Ash:

This community is inspired by The Unpublishable newsletter by Jessica DeFino, and is a home for discussion about toxic beauty culture. If you’ve ever struggled with your relationship to cosmetics or skincare and want to learn and share about the industries that profit by feeding off of our insecurities, you’re in the right place. We aim to bring together readers of The Unpublishable to commune more deeply about how we reclaim our collective time and labor - and (re)gain collective power!

What can I post about?

A whole variety of topics! Anything related to the damaging effects of beauty culture, or its intersection with other relevant themes such as capitalism, consumerism, diet culture, social media, environmentalism, etc.

We encourage you to:

• Share personal stories and experiences

• Link to relevant content (research, blog posts, books)

• Suggest actions we can take to resist the beauty industry (and consumption and capitalism more generally)

• Vent and rant as needed

• Request support, encouragement, and help

The rules:

• Shame free space. No shaming for consuming or using cosmetics, just pumping each other up -- period. People use cosmetics for personal, cultural, allll kinds of reasons -- and it's ALL good.

• Critique industries, not individuals. Individual "ethical consumption" is a difficult thing to chase on our own, so we need to oppose systems and drivers of inequality, exploitation, and oppression under capitalism as a class of people. We can strive to create a safe space where we are all collectively un/learning -- and give grace, humility, and understanding to each other in the process.