HAS SOCIAL MEDIA LIBERATED WOMEN'S BODIES IN TERMS OF BEAUTY?
Part 2: Beauty Ideals - Theory
​
Objectification Theory
Objectification theory (Fredrickson and Roberts, 1997) states that the sexual objectification of women in visual media becomes internalised and damages mental health. Objectification is a way to oppress women. This is when a woman’s body, body parts, or sexual functions are isolated and treated as objects to be looked at or touched. It removes all form of emotion and living so women are not viewed as human. They state it occurs in our heterosexual society in media, potentially including social media. The external pressures of objectification can then be internalised and then women self-objectify, comparing themselves to others. They adopt the observer’s perspective of their body. Therefore, only view themselves as an object that needs to be beautiful.
​
Self-objectification can affect a women’s mental health as it results in self-conscious behaviour including, anxiety and effects motivation through distraction of one’s appearance. It contributes to depression, eating disorders and sexual dysfunction. Women have pressure to achieve beauty meaning they go to extremes to obtain it. Then, if they do not fit this ideal, they become insecure. Women then don’t enjoy sex and it affects their mental health as they feel unworthy. They are made to feel conscious of their appearance due to internalised sexual objectification.
​
The Beauty Myth
The Beauty Myth is defined by Naomi Wolf (1990) as the societal belief that women must conform to a certain standard of beauty to be valued. The media, advertising, beauty, and fashion industries, spread images of idealised beauty that are often unobtainable for women. It perpetuates an unrealistic standard of beauty that reinforces gender stereotypes that damage mental health. Women feel they must constantly improve their appearance to meet the expectations of society. Creating feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem.
​
This was a way to control women when they were beginning to feel empowered and enter the workplace. Beauty acts like a way to empower women such as liberating female sexuality, but it is used like a currency. She argues it is controlling women through patriarchal institutions of power which restricts our emotions, politics, finances and creates sexual repression. They focus on their appearance and try to achieve the unrealistic standard in visual media through varying cosmetics or diets. Demonstrating how the beauty myth is a form of control over women.
How They Are Relevant Today
These theories state that visual media is used to sexually objectify women and promote The Beauty Myth. Wolf specifically uses magazines as an example. These theories were created before the invention of social media, but they may still be relevant. Media has transitioned from formats like magazines and moved to social media. The new form of visual media.
Accounts like Vogue effectively demonstrate this shift from magazines to social media. Vogue was founded in 1892 (Glam Observer, 2020) by Arthur Baldwin Turnure and it was not focused on fashion. However, it is now recognised as the most influential fashion magazine in the world. Although, Vogue is not just a magazine anymore. It moved into the world of social media and currently have 44 million followers on Instagram (2023). Vogue has always presented a certain standard of women as beautiful. Meaning they have played a part in influencing beauty ideals that women must achieve. They are an example of the type of magazine that Wolf would be discussing in The Beauty Myth. Could the continued existence of these companies mean the continued implementing of a beauty ideal in media?
(Vogue, 2023)
Vogue is one of the many platforms promoting a new celebrity, the influencer. These people have a large following on social media (Birmingham City University, n.d.) and then, the public trust their opinions and they endorse brands. Other accounts, like Vogue, often then promote these influencers as experts in a subject, including beauty. In my opinion, the best example of beauty influencers is the Kardashian/Jenner women. They are famous for reality television, modelling but most importantly their social media presence which is used to advertise their own fashion and beauty brands. Specifically, Kylie Jenner who uses her social media to promote her make up brand, Kylie Cosmetics. Vogue then help promote her and the brand further through videos such as make up tutorials. Influencing the idea that she is an expert in what is beautiful.
(TikTok, 2023)
A comedy sketch by Jayde Adams, (Amazon Prime Video, 2020) that was viewed 41 million times on social media platform TikTok, demonstrates the influence Jenner has. Adams explains that Jenner used to look like a “nice, normal girl” and that she has convinced other “nice, normal girls” you can look like her through a lipstick she sells. She then mentions she is wearing the lipstick now, but looks nothing like Jenner. I believe this is referencing the scandal where Jenner got the cosmetic procedure lip fillers but she denied it to the public. However, when she finally admitted to it, she announced her line of make-up lip kits. Convincing women you too can achieve the Jenner look, despite Jenner not naturally looking like it herself. I argue this has created a dangerous standard which is hard to achieve naturally.
​
Jenner has 386 million followers on Instagram (2023), showing her products and social media presence is getting attention. Despite being unrealistic, she has convinced others she is the standard of beauty. Creating the narrative that natural beauty is not enough. This could be linked to why women make up 92% of all cosmetic procedures recorded in 2018 (BAAPS, 2019). Women are copying what they see in social media to try and be beautiful, including cosmetic procedures or editing photos, to try an achieve the unrealistic standard.
This is an effect The New York Times (The Learning Network, 2022) explored with teenagers sharing their feelings around body image and social media. One woman said: “There are hundreds of influencers that are praised for having the perfect body when chances are, it’s completely edited. Which gives off the impression that you can’t feel comfortable in your skin without using FaceTune.”
(TikTok, 2020)
Some women feel desperate to achieve the dangerous standard that they are altering their bodies or editing photos. Demonstrating the impact influencers like Jenner have. Cosmetic procedures is an effect that both the beauty myth and objectification theory have explored. Meaning a beauty standard must exist for women to try to achieve.
Women can then believe they need to achieve the look of her lips and other aspects, such as her body. Especially when we see her images on other accounts that promote these influencers as the ideal, including Vogue. They have continued posting images of beautiful women, but not in magazines, it is online. It demonstrates how our visual media has evolved into technology and how the beauty myth, objectification theory and beauty standards developed with it.
(Instagram, 2023)
Visual media is arguably still objectifying women. They are part of a larger societal influence that encourage harmful beauty standards. Meaning these social media accounts continue influencing these standards on women today. Women are self-objectifying through comparing themselves to influencers. Social media continues to highly value unrealistic beauty and pressure women, like the beauty myth. The continued existence of these patriarchal entities means the continued existence of the beauty myth and objectification theory.
Recently, however, Jenner lost her title of most followed women on Instagram. She was overtaken by Selena Gomez, who now has 412 million followers (Instagram, 2023), and who posts slightly different content. Some of her posts do not have make up, show blemishes and she helps raise awareness around mental health. Even talking to the President of the United States about these issues, inspiring individuals. Does this mean certain influencers, that damage our mental health, are loosing their power over us?
(Instagram, 2022)
Arguments Against Their Relevance
However, Wolf recognised some problems with these theories because of its assumption of a heteronormative society. (Amelia Abraham, 2019). She claimed that the younger generation, including her children, did not believe in clear binaries so question patriarchy and heteronormative rules. Our society has developed, and patriarchy still exists but there is more equality. Wolf accredits this progress to the LGBTQ+ movement which has made huge progress in recent years, including the UK's legalisation of same sex marriage in 2014 (Stonewall, 2019). There is also the idea of being genderqueer (Gender Spectrum, 2019), a term that is used for non-binary identities. Showing gender as a spectrum and not binary male and female, allowing questioning of heterosexual norms.
This has challenged how people present themselves and blurred the lines around gender’s appearance. Therefore, we must question how relevant theories on beauty are as they assume the binary genders. The LGBTQ+ movement has challenged what gender should look like. Therefore, challenged what women should look like and redefined what makes a woman beautiful. Our idea of women now is more diverse which we can see through the popularity of transgender women on social media who would have previously had no representation. For example, Yasmin Finney a black, transgender woman who has 1.8 million followers on TikTok (2023) and recently became an Yves Saint Laurent beauty ambassador. Showing representation of a new, beautiful woman.
​
People now challenge the traditional ideas of beauty that Wolf identified. Pressure to be beautiful does not restrict women now the same as it does in the beauty myth. We have less restrictions on gender and diverse beauty ideals of what women look like. Including ideas there is more to a woman then looking pretty.
​
Wolf explained she feels social media allows for diversity and has demystified beauty (Amelia Abraham, 2019). Social media marketing means we see celebrities transform themselves into the beauty ideal. It feels more achievable and less harmful. However, she was uncertain on the effect of people changing their physical or digital body. Stating it could be liberating or create a dystopia. Claiming we need a new version of the beauty myth for today. Demonstrating her belief that it may still exist but have changed.
(TikTok, 2023)
Including the idea that beauty is not just a female issue. Wolf stated that marketing towards straight men makes them more comfortable with the idea of caring for their appearance. She states that teenage boys now could face similar anxieties around appearance to teenage girls. Demonstrating again that the role of gender has changed. Martha Levine (2017) has discovered that beauty ideals and concerns around body weight affect men too. These theories solely focus on women meaning the male and genderqueer experience of beauty ideals are ignored. There is a possibility that beauty ideals affect us all, regardless of gender, which is playing a very different role in modern society compared to The Beauty Myth and objectification theory. Therefore, I argue some aspects of traditional beauty ideals are now less relevant.