Bad Taste: Or, the Politics of Ugliness

By Nathalie Olah

A manifesto for the unruly. A reclamation of the grotesque. A scalpel to beauty’s leash.

In Bad Taste, Nathalie Olah dismantles the myth of “good taste”—exposing how it’s long been used to gatekeep power, shame the working class, and police femininity. From gaudy interiors to loud women, from cheap makeup to maximalist aesthetics, this book makes one thing clear: what we’re told is ugly has always been political.

Part cultural criticism, part class analysis, and part punk-as-hell sermon, it’s for anyone who’s ever been told they’re too much, not enough, or not quite right. This book doesn’t just defend bad taste—it glorifies it.

Format: Hardcover

Perfect for: anti-aestheticists, maximalist witches, angry artists, recovering good girls, and everyone who ever flinched at the word tacky.