As a ‘gen zennial’ as the kids on TikTok like to say, I have witnessed and experienced the strange and rapid evolution of social media into the widely used, profit-making machine that it is today. From communicating entirely through emoticons on MSN and talking to strangers on Omegle at sleepovers to letting my *aesthetic* breakfast bagel and cappuccino go cold while I get the perfect shot for my Insta story, my relationship with social media has inevitably evolved over the years. However, more recently I’ve become disillusioned with social media’s promise of a positive, global community, particularly when it comes to the digital feminist community.
Now, before unpacking my cynicism with digital feminism, Instagram and female empowerment online, I think it is important to first provide some contextual background. I was born in 1999, and so Instagram’s arrival in 2010 coincided with the start of high school and an influx of hormones; not a good mix. While I didn’t download the app that all my friends seemed to be on until I was around 13 or 14 years old, my interactions with social media from the moment I started posting significantly shaped my relationship with my body in some of the most formative years of my life.
Looking back now at 21 years old, I feel sad for the girl that used to follow dozens of fitspo accounts that positioned female desirability around thinness, being toned but not muscular, having a thigh gap, being tanned, blonde, fun, healthy, energetic but also devoid of an opinion and political stance. I feel sad for the girl that subsequently deprived herself of ‘bad foods’, ate salads for lunch at school, used to work out when she really didn’t want or need to and was generally just so dissatisfied with her appearance that she believed investing time into fitness and ‘healthy eating’ would eventually bring her happiness.
I don’t think anyone would be surprised to learn that it didn’t. In fact, all my efforts to achieve this unrealistic standard of beauty and desirability only made me feel worse. And the worst part is, I know I wasn’t alone in feeling such strong dissatisfaction with my body as a teenager. Back in year 9, I asked a friend of mine at the time why she hadn’t been at school the previous day. She told me in a very matter-of-fact way that she’d started drinking detox teas she’d ordered online and consequently spent the whole day on the toilet. At the time we both laughed and overlooked the absurdity of the situation; yes this tea had given her terrible diarrhoea, causing her to miss school, but that means it’s working! And she’ll be skinny like those girls on Instagram! That wasn’t the last time she skipped school because of drinking detox teas.
In recent years, Instagram has made somewhat of an attempt to limit harmful body messaging. The advertisement of those ridiculous detox teas, weight loss lollipops and the like are restricted on the platform thanks to lobbying from avid feminists like Jameela Jamil (my queen), and so young girls are protected from the promotion and normalisation of such incredibly dangerous products.
But despite such efforts to reduce harmful body messaging online, I have come to realise that we have a seriously long way to go when it comes to reducing the promotion of unrealistic beauty ideals that inevitably reinforce patriarchy. Sure, SkinnyMe teas are somewhat of a thing of the past, but now we must face the new challenges presented by the monetisation of everyday people, otherwise known as influencers.
Quick disclaimer: I totally recognise some of the incredible work so many influencers do to empower, educate and create positive communities online. I love watching my favourite influencer’s YouTube videos, engaging with their content, listening to their podcasts; they inspire me to be a better person and also provide a necessary escape from the stresses of real life. But with all that said, I can’t help but notice that a lot of my favourite influencers who sprout messages of body positivity and female empowerment often follow these messages up with the details of a beauty product sponsorship.
This seems a little contradictory, especially seeing as a lot of these female influencers are promoting products like at-home epilators, hair growth vitamins, nutrition guides, lingerie and intensive six-week work out programs. Understandably these sponsorships are an income stream for these people, but I swear to god, if I see one more sponsorship from Function of Beauty, JSHealth Vitamins or Lounge Underwear I will lose it!
That’s beside the point. What I’m trying to say is that this culture of promotional content -particularly from beauty brands- saturating every social media platform out there functions to position women as inherently deficient of the product in question, only in a way that is a little harder to recognise and critically interpret than traditional advertising. Instead, you come across an influencer you like, start engaging with their content and the next thing you know you’ve ordered three pairs of stupidly priced gym leggings even though you don’t go to the gym and have started considering buying ‘collagen-boosting’ supplements because that girl you follow on Instagram that happens to see a skin specialist puts her glowing skin down to supplements alone. You’ve been influenced baby!
While I certainly don’t know the answers to this issue, I do believe ordinary women and especially young girls exposed to this sort of content could really benefit from a better understanding of the influencer industry and the deceptive nature of social media. Because although social media is a great source of inspiration and empowerment, it is crucial that we interpret images and videos of stylised, controlled and often airbrushed bodies with a critical eye that can readily recognise how social media distorts reality and repackages it into snippets of aesthetically pleasing imagery. Not to mention that the influencers promoting that brand of customisable shampoo and conditioner are being paid to do so and most likely don’t use the product because their hairdresser advises against it. So, perhaps think twice before adding to cart.
I think it’s also vital that young women who are active participants in the social media sphere recognise and understand that our value does not lie within the confines of Instagram or TikTok or whatever social media app it may be because these artificial environments are designed to stimulate shallow, short-term gratification. While we all love receiving compliments in our comments section and seeing likes flood in from a post of ourselves looking our best, it should not be the basis of our self-esteem, nor should it determine how we view ourselves. As a fellow complex human being, I can say with certainty that my Instagram is not in any way an accurate representation of me as a person. If anything, I am way cooler and hotter in real life, and so are you!
Although I could rant about this topic forever, I’ll wrap things up here and leave all my lovely ladies a friendly reminder to:
a) support your local girl gang
b) overthrow the patriarchy
c) be a bad bitch and all that
Xoxo Grace.