01/18/2026
I love all of these women’s faces 💚💚💚
This week, won a Golden Globe for her role in and Allure contributor would like to acknowledge her unremarkable, unadulterated—yet totally extraordinary—face: “It’s a symphony, guiding us through the movie’s plot with violent chords of rage and sorrow, graced with harmonious notes of tender affection,” she writes in her latest story for Allure. And it inspired a question: What is a face for? And another one: In recent years, have we been in the process of losing the face’s primary function? “The face is so important to our social fabric that there’s an area of the brain—called the fusiform face area—devoted exclusively to decoding it,” says Monroe. “When facial expressions are reduced or largely eradicated, communication is distorted.”
As evidenced in part by an increasing number of real, human faces appearing on our screens lately, Monroe believes that we are finally recognizing this threat to our harmony and community. Stars like Keri Russell and Claire Danes on the younger end; Olivia Coleman, Parker Posey, and Robin Wright in the mid-range; more mature luminaries Kathy Bates, Helen Mirren, Catherine O’Hara, and Jean Smart—none of them have taken the Kris Jenner route. Each of their faces is irreducibly unique. “That feels like more than a handful of resistance,” says Monroe. So, she’s calling it: 2026 will mark the dawn of a new era. At the link in our bio, read more about her reasoning. Then let us know if you agree: Is the backlash to facial conformity upon us?
Source images: HBO; The Beast in Me/ The Diplomat: Netflix; Hamnet: Focus Features