Empowerment, but make it hun
Alright dallyns, this one’s for the huns.
I’m talking about the subculture that has been popping off like a cork at bottomless brunch for the best part of seven years. The “live, laugh, love” light relief. The reclamation we didn’t know we needed. The welcome break from all the bleak goings-on in the world.
First, a quick clarification. The word “hun” carries different meanings in different contexts. In some places it’s used as an offensive term referring to members of the Protestant community. In Scottish football, it has been used as a slur directed at supporters of Rangers F.C. That I do not condone. This hun culture is the complete opposite of offensive.
But how do you define it?
ITV once described it as “Hun (short for Hunni) Culture is a distinctly British pop culture phenomenon.” At its core, hun culture unashamedly celebrates and elevates the people, aesthetics and behaviours that might otherwise be dismissed as “naff”, “tacky” or “a bit much”.
In short: it’s the joyful consumption of the unserious, the unpretentious and the unapologetic.
Think inspirational quotes on glitter backgrounds, reality TV royalty, high street glamour, and more leopard print than Kat Slater can shake a stick at.
Two Instagram pages have been at the forefront: Love of Huns and Hunsnet. What began as niche meme pages quickly became cultural archives, documenting the icons, the moments and the unforgettable one-liners that define the genre, from “I’m claustrophobic, Darren” to “Cheese and pickle sandwich? Basic” (IYKYK). They didn’t just observe hun culture, they (finally) gave it a stage.
Hun culture speaks to me personally. In the past, I found myself toning down my Essex accent in meetings. I once felt embarrassed to admit I’m a lover of all things mainstream pop. Stereotypes even held me back from pursuing my career path, because surely a Girls Aloud fan can’t be a creative director… right? I was wrong.
Hun culture is about taking the figures and stereotypes that were once mocked and reframing them with affection. It’s about recognising that taste is often policed along class lines. It’s about saying that loving a big key change, a bold lash and a motivational Facebook post doesn’t make you less intelligent, less ambitious or less worthy of a seat at the table.
The keyword in all of this? Empowerment.
So, if you’re still with me, it only feels fitting to celebrate the campaigns that have done it right for International Women’s Day.
And there’s a fine line here. The difference between celebration and condescension is razor thin, and it’s easy for brands to drift in the wrong direction.
A few brands have genuinely understood the assignment:
Whoever came up with “Live, Laugh, Lidl” deserves a pay rise. Working with Hunsnet, Lidl has long been a supporter of hun culture, with its bottomless brunches and festival pop-ups. As a brand known for challenging perceptions of what “low quality” really means, they couldn’t be a better fit.
Geordie icon Denise Welch is arguably the queen of the huns. Working with Celebrations, she dropped a Charli XCX–inspired festive banger, “Slayyy Bells”, last Christmas. Why? To push the message to remix tradition. Faux fur, PVC and glitter? Tick. Auto-Tune? Tick. Lo-fi production? Tick.
I couldn’t talk about hun culture without mentioning the GC. She recently became the “creative director” for Canva in a mockumentary-style campaign. The message? To empower everyone to turn ideas into impactful design. They had me at the LinkedIn “Ctrl, Alt, Diva” tease.
And that, dallyns, was your official hun culture IWD special. Because sometimes empowerment looks like policy change and boardroom seats. And sometimes it looks like an animal print co-ord, a glass of prosecco and 300 comments saying “YAS HUN”. And it all matters.
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