From Taboo To Trend: Creating New Cultural Patterns

SSM PHOTOGRAPHY 2019

Culture doesn’t change because someone approves it. It changes because someone chooses to do it differently. Not once, not as a statement, but repeatedly, visibly, unapologetically, until others follow, a new pattern emerges, and what once felt disruptive simply feels real.

That’s how every new narrative begins. What was once considered taboo, women wearing pants, running companies, playing professional sports, aging visibly, dating on their own terms, and refusing to disappear after 40, only feels shocking until enough people do it. Then something shifts. What society resisted becomes what it reflects, and a new pattern is born.

We are watching that shift happen in real time. For decades, women were taught that visibility had an expiration date, that relevance belonged to the young, that reinvention had a deadline. That after a certain age, women were expected to shrink, soften, or step aside.

But that narrative was never truth. It was repetition. And repetition can be replaced. Culture is not held in place by rules; it is held in place by compliance. The moment people stop complying, the narrative begins to crack.

It doesn’t start with institutions. It starts with individuals. One woman stops coloring her hair. One brand casts the woman who actually buys the product. One magazine puts a 60-year-old on the cover, and the world doesn’t end. One woman leaves what no longer fits and starts again. One woman shows up fully, visibly, exactly as she is. And once people see it, they cannot unsee it.

That’s how culture moves. What was taboo becomes interesting, what was interesting becomes accepted, and what is accepted becomes expected.

As cofounder of SeeHer, I’ve seen this firsthand. The mission has always been simple: reflect women as they truly are. Not as they’ve been edited, minimized, or idealized, but as reality. Because representation is not about checking a box; it is about shaping perception, and perception drives behavior.

When women see themselves reflected accurately at every age, every stage, every ambition, they don’t just feel seen, they expand what they believe is possible. And when brands, media, and leaders reflect that same truth, they don’t just follow culture, they help create it.

This is where so many get it wrong. They wait for proof that something is a trend before they act. But by the time it’s proven, it’s already obvious. The real opportunity is earlier. It’s in recognizing a shift while it still feels uncomfortable and choosing to show it anyway, because trends are often just normalized courage.

We’re seeing it now across every dimension of life. Women are redefining aging, careers, relationships, financial independence, and identity. Not because the system suddenly changed, but because women did, and the system is now catching up.

This is not just about fashion, media, or age. It’s about the mechanics of change.

- If the workplace reflects an outdated pattern, redesign it.
- If leadership rewards outdated behaviors, challenge it.
- If marketing sells fantasy instead of truth, rewrite it.
- If society tells women to become less visible, become more.

Because if you want to change a narrative, you don’t debate it, you demonstrate it. You don’t wait for consensus, you create visibility. You don’t ask for permission, you make it familiar. What feels uncomfortable today will feel inevitable tomorrow, but only if someone is willing to go first.

So, the question isn’t whether culture is ready. The question is: What pattern needs to be broken, and what pattern will you create next?