DUKE: Teen Vogue Is Finally Dead — Marking The End Of ‘Empowered’ Degeneracy

Hey y’all, welcome to a special edition of Unfit to Print.

R.I.P. TEEN VOGUE’S POLITICS SECTION

Teen Vogue is on death’s doorstep. Five years after the print magazine was discontinued, parent company Condé Nast announced Monday that Teen Vogue would be absorbed by sister publication Vogue and would focus on topics including “career development and leadership,” the New York Times reported. 

“I was laid off from Teen Vogue today along with multiple other staffers on other sections, and today is my last day,” a Teen Vogue politics reporter with “they/them” pronouns said on X. “Certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.”

Teen Vogue made a deliberate pivot during the era of Trump to focus on progressive politics and “female empowerment” while moving away from fashion, beauty, and pop culture. The shakeup gained national attention when journalist Lauren Duca published an article accusing President Donald Trump of “gaslighting” America and had a contentious interview with then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson, which we covered previously on this Substack. 

In the years following, Teen Vogue glorified radical progressive politics, leaning into or perhaps driving the increasing gender-based political divide among young voters. The publication consistently decentered women in favor of transgender and LGBTQ+ activism (see this profile of Elon Musk’s trans “daughter”). When women were the focus, it was to promote limitless abortion, Girl Bossing by violently fighting “fascism,” rejecting one’s family over political disagreements, sexual promiscuity, and steering women away from femininity and healthy long-term relationships. 

One recent article warns, “How Tradwives Use Sexism, Racism, and Transphobia to Police Other Women.”

In another, readers are told to be wary of female contestants on the “Love is Blind” dating show who tell their partners that they want to stay home and raise children and view men as the provider in a relationship. 

Boosting radical political views, though, was only a symptom of Teen Vogue’s broader embrace of degeneracy and filth. 

Throughout the past decade, Teen Vogue has published stories about how to get an abortion without parental consent, “queer sex,” and “sex magic,” encouraged teens to sext one another during the pandemic, and instructed “teens and beginners” on how to have anal sex. 

The choice to push teen girls into soul-destroying activities may have been profitable in the short term due to pure shock value, but it ultimately destroyed what was once one of the few thriving young women’s fashion and beauty magazines. 

There’s plenty to critique about trad wives: stay-at-home motherhood isn’t always available for working-class families and videos of spotless kitchens where children only ever eat homemade, non-processed marshmallows and gummy bears may promote an overly idealistic lifestyle. But a 2024 survey found more women are choosing to stay home than in previous years; the share of stay-at-home mothers jumped 9 points since 2022. TikTok makes it clear that young women are still interested in self-grooming, and recent fads lean more traditional and feminine: glossy blowouts, fresh-faced makeup, midi dresses, bows, kitten heels. And I covered a recent trend in which young women are swearing off casual sex and hookups in favor of more meaningful relationships. 

The rise of conservative-leaning magazines like Evie and The Conservateur underscores the hunger for authenticity, meaning, and an embrace of traditional values. If Teen Vogue properly reorients during this fraught time, it may be able to restore the market dominance it once enjoyed.