Selfie Culture: An Analysis Of Women’S Perceptions Of Selfie Pictures

Several studies examining the issue of self-intervention that enter our daily lives by way of social media have attempted to come up with results regarding the identity of self-personal ownership (adolescents, celebrities, etc. ). Yet selfie craze is more shocking in cultural terms. Even with an infectious development, a new technological trend has begun.

This study will discuss the new cultural environment , which is created by selfies, in which the effects of globalization can be observed and try to evaluate the sociological dimensions of selfies shared publicly by Instagram's most popular users, a social media network based on visualizations, and highlight the vanished characteristics of oral and other people's lives. Being defined in the evaluation as an analysis code is clothing, jewelry accessories, space, hair style, make-up, gestures and face expressions.

Characteristic of today's interconnected culture and cultures is the abundance of images, messages and information found in almost every area of everyday life. This is particularly noticeable in the advertising business, which is faced with the challenge of standing out in the massive information stream and still being able to convince customers. Due to the constant bombardment of images and messages, recipients have become selective in the information they choose to receive, which is explained by Mukherjee and Srinivasan as underlying mechanisms of attention that vary depending on choices, problems and situations.

In fact, attractive people have the ability to enhance the advertisement's persuasiveness and lead to a product-friendlier evaluation. This is only the case, however, if it is applicable to the product category, such as luxury, fashion, art, beauty, and nutrition.

There is nothing new about the existence of certain ideals of beauty within a society and can be found in every historical period. This does not represent a new phenomenon, nor does it refer exclusively to a particular culture, as it has been going on for centuries in almost every society. The contemporary aspect of this issue, however, is the use of mass media in the dissemination of existing beauty standards in women's photographs that serve an unrealistic ideal of beauty. This not only sends the message that living up to this standard is natural, but also makes it impossible to escape at the same time from those.

One factor contributing to this problem is that women's actual body sizes have become greater in the past years, while the standards of beauty have become smaller. This led to a gap that further intensified women's challenge in living up to this socio-cultural ideal. Due to the gap between reality and ideal, Photoshop media images have become a standard procedure. Editing photographs to perfection is part of a marketing system that is not limited to advertisements, but is also present in the culture of celebrities.

Review of Literature

When dealing with this topic, the first gaze should be directed towards the underlying theoretical structures, beginning with a outline of feminism and its main points, before narrowing it down to the specifics in order to build a theoretical framework. The following subchapters will discuss the idea of feminism, its key points, and the roles in it played by masculinity and femininity. We will also explain the relationship of feminism with sex and gender, as well as the body meaning of these aspects.

Because of the perspective of this study, I will focus on sex and gender in relation to appearance, as well as the historical and geographical aspects of beauty, and finally the importance and impact it has in a culture. The relation between femininity and media productions and their content will also be highlighted. The final part of this chapter will explain the relation between the issues discussed and digital media, focusing on social networks and selfies and their importance.

It is necessary to understand the basis of its philosophy, which is characterized as the concept and conviction that both men and women should have equal rights and opportunities in terms of gender political, economic and social justice, in order to address the core idea of feminism. It is recognized as a coordinated event that promotes the rights and interests of women. As Crossman (2014a) points out, feminism is one of the major modern concepts of sociology that explores the role of both men and women in society with the primary purpose of using this knowledge to improve the lives of women.

It is also necessary to describe the different strands and orientations in feminism, stating the main points in feminist theory. Feminist theory thus consists of four major types or definitions-gender differences, gender inequality, gender discrimination, and institutional injustice. Those variations are better known as feminism's basic strands: progressive, conservative, and Marxist / socialist feminism. Liberal feminism is probably the most well-known form of feminist thinking and is often considered synonymous with feminism itself due to its liberal ideas and moderate composition.

Masculinity vs. Femininity

Sex-based differences between men and women provide the basis for male and female gender labels that serve the purpose of creating stereotypes that result in concrete actions.

Sex, Gender and the Body

Given that sex and gender are a big part of current feminist issues, the context behind these terms must be clarified. The word ' gender' defines the distinctions that can be made on the basis of biological factors and is limited to those details.

Beauty in Relation to Sex and Gender

Because of the strong emphasis on appearance and gender-specific distinctions, women tend to equalize their identity more than men do with their looks, which can lead to 24 feelings of weakness and inferiority, but also create a negative body image resulting from a lack of self-esteem. As research has shown, men's and women's self-concepts vary, as men tend to judge themselves by their success and ability, while women measure themselves by their own beauty. In this regard, attractiveness is more important for women because it shares a closer link to dating popularity and even to social class in marriage.

The role of the media in contributing to this issue should also be highlighted in the female body and gender relations. Due to the constant confrontations with media images and works, these can be expected to impact culture and serve as a source of control on the viewer.

Picture Editing

Photoshop computer software program, which is closely associated with media images. It creates images that have little or no connection to the original photo, addressing the most controversial point that derives from its combination with traditional photography methods.

Selfies and Social Networks

Social media, online platforms and internet-based tools are a major factor in the digital world and have allowed an increased flow of information and a change in interaction to virtual environments. The new technological developments that allow users to connect via mobile phone to the internet and further impact social communication emphasize this.

Objectives

This study will focus on and analyze the female body image deriving from selfie pictures of celebrities and non-celebrities, which circulate on social media platforms, such as Facebook or Instagram. Accordingly, I did not only investigate the reasons behind publishing such images, but also how they could affect women who are confronted with these on a daily basis. However, after taking all of the given choices into consideration, I opt for focus group interviews for the data collection.

Methodology

A qualitative research was conducted for the research.

After taking into consideration all of the given options, I opt for group interviews for data collection and content and material handling analysis Since the main focus of this study is the current ideal of beauty, as well as thinness and attractiveness as requirements for femininity, as well as its relation to selfie culture, the main research question in addressing this issue.

‘’How do women feel about their own bodies when faced with pictures of non-celebrity bodies and celebrities??’’

Analysis

Lifestyle

The first theme was lifestyle, which describes the various characteristics of celebrity and non-celebrities' lives. This is rather self-explaining, but it indicates an important aspect that tends to be higher when thinking about celebrities, since they live a life that is significantly different when compared to the average person. Especially when talking about the body and the selfies, there are various aspects that make it almost impossible for non-celebrities to attain the same level.

Social media

The social media marketing concept covers everything that has been discussed in terms of exposure, information, and significance and relevance to social media. The authenticity of social media photos was challenged, along with the suggestion that these might be just as Photoshopped and fake as marketing images, but are mistakenly viewed as genuine.

Cultural Differences

Cultural differences have been pointed out that are linked not only to the selfies, but also to what is perceived as beautiful and what is not, which varies greatly between cultures.

Beauty Standards

Celebrities are viewed as a major factor in promoting the ideal of beauty that the beauty industry has glorified. Due to the high visibility of celebrities in different media outlets, having a body measuring up to the dominant image has become an element of need in society. In addition, this led to the common perception that a perfect body is understood as an accomplishment that can be achieved through sports and can even serve as a source of income.

Health

Health explains the concerns expressed in interview sessions dealing with issues such as valuing more than one's physical well-being for a slim body. The groups also stressed the importance of doing so with healthy means, especially when taking into account the ideal beauty and weight loss means. It has been mentioned in this regard that health is more important than looks where at all costs a slim body should not be emulated. During the debate on unhealthy forms of weight loss.

Moral Concern

Moral issues include all concerns expressed about the impact of the message on their audience that marketing photos, selfies and social media might have. Since different points have been stated dealing with morality issues, the theme of moral concerns is the categories of younger generation, intelligence and education, as well as the environment to address each of the concerns individually. It was addressed when looking at the younger generation that such representations of social media could have a stronger effect on younger recipients.

Conclusion

In summary, in relation to the previously stated research questions, I would like to present the results and answer them through the interviews based on my findings. When answering my main research question about how women feel about their own bodies when faced with non-celebrities and celebrities body selfies, there is a noticeable difference based on status from groups.

References

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