#BeautyInspo: Unraveling the Relationships Between Nonidealized Content on Different Media Platforms, Inspiration, and a Broad Conceptualization of Beauty

Abstract

unraveling the relations between nonidealized content in different media platforms, inspiration, and a broad conceptualization of beauty. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, Online.

Are diverse models really non-idealized? Investigating body positivity public feed posts of fashion and beauty brands on instagram

“…Moreover, this finding also supports research which has suggested that mediated depictions of racially diverse women still often reflect White appearance ideals (e.g., Eurocentric facial features; Capodilupo & Kim, 2014;Kelch-Oliver & Ancis, 2011). Although racially diverse models may foster identification and aspiration among racially diverse groups (e.g., de Lenne et al, 2022;Devos et al, 2023;Meier & Schäfer, 2018), they may anatomically have more diverse (i.e., non-Eurocentric) body and facial features (Lowy et al, 2021). Racially diverse models portraying non-diverse or idealized, Eurocentric traits may thus also result in increased pressures for these racially diverse groups to comply with the idealized bodily and facial features, which are inherently part of the traditionally defined Caucasian/White appearance ideals.…”

“…The SAM would thus imply that a higher likelihood of assimilative upward comparisons (i.e., aspiring to resemble the model) exists with diverse models and triggers inspiration. Empirical support for this reasoning was found by one study reporting that exposure to diverse content on Instagram inspired individuals to broaden their views of beauty (presumably through assimilative upward comparisons; de Lenne et al, 2022).…”

“…This blending makes it more challenging to recognize the persuasive intent behind brand posts as compared to more traditional advertising (Zarouali et al, 2017). Stronger model identification is present when a brand post is not perceived as commercial and when a model is diverse as individuals are likely to perceive such models as more authentic and close to them (e.g., Lueck, 2015;De Lenne et al, 2022). The selective accessibility model (SAM) further expects that individuals tend to assess similarities with role models before comparing themselves (Musselweiler, 2002).…”

“…In terms of representation, our findings indicate that while there is a notable display of racial diversity among models, they largely conform to Eurocentric appearance ideals. Considering that individuals often engage in comparative assessments when they perceive models as relatable (e.g., de Lenne et al, 2022), it is plausible that the positive representation of racially diverse models in fashion and beauty brands' advertising (i.e., aspirational content, Findlay, 2019) could contribute to fostering beliefs among racially diverse groups regarding their potential to enter the hegemonic public sphere and embody such roles (e.g., "can self"; Devos et al, 2023). However, the representation of racially diverse models who simultaneously adhere to Eurocentric appearance ideals may simultaneously also result in increased appearance-related pressures among these racially diverse groups (e.g., Fardouly et al, 2017).…”

“…Specifically, Tiggemann and colleagues (2018) suggest that a higher number of likes attached to images of thin and attractive women on Instagram likely reinforces the importance society places on these attributes. Similarly, when BoPo content showing diverse models receives a high number of likes, scholars argue that users compare themselves more to diverse models (de Lenne et al, 2022). If BoPo posts receive a high number of likes and brands allow others to view this high number of received likes, the perception that BoPo content is widely appreciated may be strengthened among social media users.…”