Close
About
FAQ
Home
Collections
Login
USC Login
Register
0
Selected
Invert selection
Deselect all
Deselect all
Click here to refresh results
Click here to refresh results
USC
/
Digital Library
/
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
/
Am I ugly? The impact of selective self-presentation selfies on self-awareness
(USC Thesis Other)
Am I ugly? The impact of selective self-presentation selfies on self-awareness
PDF
Download
Share
Open document
Flip pages
Contact Us
Contact Us
Copy asset link
Request this asset
Transcript (if available)
Content
AM I UGLY?
THE IMPACT OF SELECTIVE SELF-PRESENTATION SELFIES ON SELF-AWARENESS
By
Jinxiu Han
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSKI SCHOOL OF ART AND DESIGN
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF FINE ARTS
(DESIGN)
May 2022
Copyright 2022 Jinxiu Han
i
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank all the thesis committee members, Professor Ewa Wojciak, Professor
Brian O'Connell, Professor Alexis Zoto, and Professor Laurie Burruss. Thanks for your helpful
guidance throughout my research and practice process. Your insightful feedback helped me
shape my thinking and brought my work to a higher level. I would like to thank my parents for
your support. You always encourage me and give me so many opportunities to broaden my
horizon throughout my life. I would like to thank my boyfriend for always being there with me.
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………………......…i
List of Figures……………………………………………………………….………………...…iii
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………...............iv
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………...…...1
The Development of The Selfie …………………………………………………………….……2
Three Factors That Govern People’s Posting Behavior on Social Media...…………….……….…7
Reasons For Editing Selfies…………………………………………...........................................9
Outcome……………………………………………………….....................................................22
Rethinking This Phenomenon……………………………..........................................................25
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………...............................33
Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………….35
iii
List of Figures
Napoleon Crossing the Alps………………………...…………………………………………….2
Bonaparte Crossing the Alps………………………………………………………...……………2
Self-Portrait by Robert Cornelius…………………………………………………………………4
Self-Portrait by Vivian Maier…………………………...………………………………………...4
BTS in 2019 Clockwise from left: Jin, RM, Jungkook, J-Hope, Suga, V, and Jimin……...……13
Pope Francis in South Korea, 2014………………………………………………………….14
Irony Collage Series…………………………………………………………...……………….21
Pixel Woman…………………………………………………………………………………….27
The Nature Body, Photo by Janel Fei and Anny Li………………………………………………30
Poster Series …………………………………………………………………………………….32
iv
Abstract
We are living in an era in which media has engaged increasingly different and new aspects
of people’s lives. The convenience of digital technology motivates people to use social media
platforms like Tik Tok and Instagram to share aspects of their daily lives, perhaps most
frequently in the form of a “selfie”. Due to the widespread accessibility and the growing
prevalence of digital retouching and editing programs or options, selfies have become
increasingly detached from their “real” purpose of self-expression for specific groups. Instead,
self-presentation on social media becomes a strategy for individuals to build and maintain social
relationships and gain acceptance through shared recognition of their identity, and in some cases
sustains a livelihood.
This thesis explores the relationship between contemporary social media users and the ways
in which they curate their self-images and self-identity through certain platforms. Although
posting selfies on social media seems like an opportunity to present one’s real self, the “natural”
self, the beauty and advertising industries are actually the driving force of much of women’s self-
presentation. Motivated by their interpretation of what society wants, these individuals post
selfies that reflect a “designed” self.
1
Introduction
As technology developed, social media became a place for staying connected with others.
As Marshall McLuhan said, "The medium is the message."
1
Social media applications have
developed so quickly that anyone and everyone has the ability to create content on the Internet.
People’s relationship to media has changed from simply being an observer to creating content
themselves. The accessibility of advanced digital technology allows users to create their own
content and publish content on social media sites. Simultaneously, the content shared on social
networking sites exerts influence on the judgment and belief systems of those who follow or
regularly view one another. Taking selfies and posting on social media is the primary way that
people present themselves. This paper explores the background and impact of photo editing and
posting, and attempts to interpret the motivation and psychological mechanisms that propel the
individual’s desire to beautify (or perhaps falsify is a better descriptor) selfies. The existence of
advanced digital editing apps turns the individual’s engagement with social media into a routine
performance where true self-aesthetics are annihilated under the influence of capital. The act of
taking a selfie is no longer a means of self-expression. It is a strategy that individuals use to
curate and create a performative social media identity. In this case, the subjectivity of the self is
dissolved. The negative psychological effects of internalized social aesthetics and self-
objectification lead to body dissatisfaction which prompts the question: Am I ugly?
1
Marshall McLuhan and Quentin Fiore, The Medium Is the Massage (Toronto: Random House,
1967).
2
The development of the selfie
People’s self-designing behavior does not originate with today’s algorithm-driven social
media platforms, but can be traced back to historical portraiture, primarily oil on canvas. While
most oil painting has historically served the privileged class through the process of
commissioning, and is therefore limited, it does provide some early precedent for the designed
self, as some wealthy patrons treated it as an opportunity to showcase their power, fame, and a
way to curate their public image.
Napoleon Crossing the Alps
2
(see fig. 1) by French artist Jacques-Louis David (1801)
depicts an idealized, powerful, masculine image of Napoleon. In this painting, Napoleon sits on a
2
David, Jacques-Louis. “Napoleon Crossing the Alps,” 1801. Château de Malmaison. Rueil-
Malmaison.
Figure 1 Napoleon Crossing the Alps Figure 2 Bonaparte Crossing the Alps
3
fiery steed. He is wreathed in the folds of a large red cloak that billows in the wind. Steep peaks
framed by a gloomy sky amplify his allegedly noble and persistent heroism. In reality, however,
Napoleon crossed the Alps in fine weather led across by a guide a few days after his troops,
mounted on a mule and not a horse. Napoleon, in fact, refused to actually pose for the painting,
and asked the artist to produce an image that reinforced his performative, public identity. For a
more realistic depiction of Napoleon, or at least one that is thought to be more realistic, we might
turn to Bonaparte Crossing the Alps
3
by Paul Delaroche (1850). Here (see fig. 2), Bonaparte is
depicted riding a mule, looking fatigued, drained even of color, and maybe even weak, from the
long journey. The former painting treats the portrait as a political and spiritual symbol rather than
a reflection of reality. Napoleon as depict in David’s painting successfully conveys the
performative image of the against-all-odds epic hero. While Delaroche provides what some think
to be a more realistic interpretation of what occurred. David’s painting became one of the most
famous components of Napoleon’s public image and successfully convinced people that he was
brilliant and great when he crossed the Alps. It could seem then, that the outwardly designed self
is more desirable both then and now, considering how Jacques-Louis David’s painting has been
canonized.
The advent of photography and the camera in the mid-nineteenth century provided the
general public with the first opportunity outside of oil painting to see and own a realistic
3
Delaroche, Paul. “Bonaparte Crossing the Alps,” 1850. Walker Art Gallery. Liverpool,
England.
4
depiction of themselves, and a far more realistic depiction of oneself than most oil paintings
could even accomplish if that were an option. The first camera-based selfie, a daguerreotype,
was made by chemist Robert Cornelius
4
in 1839, and involved exposing a sensitized silver plate
to mercury to light to create a fixed image (see fig. 3). The exposure times were long, which
resulted in generally rigid subjects who couldn’t even smile as the image would blur, but
nonetheless were far less expensive, and far quicker, than rendering oneself in paint. The advent
of the daguerreotype would preface the eventual widespread accessibility and designed-self
nature that photography would assume later in the nineteenth century to the present day.
4
Robert Cornelius, Self-Portrait, n.d., photograph, n.d., Library of Congress, American
Memory.
Figure 3 Self-portrait by Robert Cornelius Figure 4 Self-Portrait by Vivian Maier
5
Eventually, people would be able to buy their own cameras, which further enhanced the
individuals’ enthusiasm for taking pictures, including selfies.
Vivian Maier’s selfie photos capture the social attitude toward the photograph of the period
after camera is wildly used, which is using photography to document themselves and the world
around them. Over the course of her life (1926-2009), she took over 150,000 photos (See fig. 4),
5
many of them being selfies “in many ingenious permutations as if she were checking on her own
identity or interpolating herself into the environment.”
6
Traditional photorealism asserts photos
have a contextual relationship with the real, that they serve as an index of the real world.
However, even though individuals could use photography to transcribe the “real” world,
developing, duplicating, and presenting photos as “real” in that time was not necessarily direct or
uncomplicated. In fact, it would become more so with the development of digital photography in
late 1990s, when people began to take not only more selfies but began spreading images of their
daily lives more wildly than ever before because of digital photography’s ease of dissemination
and reproduction. In the time since, cameras have increasingly served as tools for capturing
everyday experiences rather than just ritual or ceremonial moments.
7
5
Vivian Maier, Self-Portrait, n.d., photograph, n.d., Maloof Collection.
6
William Meyers, “The Nanny's Secret,” The Wall Street Journal (Dow Jones & Company,
January 3, 2012),
https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204879004577110884090494826.
7
Daniel Rubinstein and Katrina Sluis, “The Digital Image in Photographic Culture: Algorithmic
Photography and the Crisis of Representation,” The Photographic Image in Digital Culture 2nd
Edition, no. 11 (November 2013): pp. 29, https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203797563.
6
After 2000, digital cameras were integrated into another emerging form of widely available
consumer technology: smartphones. The even lower cost of making digital images now made it
evermore possible for people to produce ordinary images of daily life. The mass use of the
camera also reinforced the individual's self-interpretation of photography. With the development
of digital retouching apps and filters, people could more directly manipulate the authenticity of
photographs. The advent of digital manipulation broke the already tenuous referential
relationship between image and reality. It emphasized that with the intervention of algorithms in
the form of user-friendly editing apps, the image and the meaning it makes can easily be
manipulated. Under these circumstances, the photo is no longer the reflection of the world,
instead, it is a digital technology that is a combination of real life and intelligent algorithms, also
curated according to the curator’s intent. The emergence of technology has encouraged
individuals to modify photos by using simple functions on “powerful” applications that they
probably do not fully understand. Algorithms give people the ability to modify photos, which
ultimately make more aesthetic needs and expectations for self-imaging or selfies. No matter the
process, retouching, makeup, and composition are crucial components of a selfie. This process
creates standards of beauty on social media. With image processing software, any image of
humdrum life can become something symbolic, worth memorizing.
7
Three factors that govern people’s posting behavior on social media
From Hot or Not (AmIHotorNot.com)
8
to Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter,
and Tik Tok, various social media platforms provide a place for posting selfies and viewing the
selfies of others. The relationship between a social platform and its users who post selfies is, at
its core, a simple reciprocal relationship: social media provides the platform for people to use,
and in turn, their posting of selfies supports the financial success of different social media
platforms. To support this relationship, the social media platforms integrate various selfie-related
functions that make posting easier, more interesting, and fun. The platforms generally encourage
engagement among and between users through the simple functions of “liking”, sharing,
reposting, and commenting, among other things. These features not only allow users to
effectively socialize in the virtual world, turning the virtual world into a social space, but also
provide a container for the storing of images that together can create, curate, and otherwise
manage the broadcasting of designed self.
The highly interactive functions for creator and receiver make it possible for people to use
virtual pictures as a social connection tool. Therefore, when posting a picture on social media,
users are well-aware that they are being monitored by others. It encourages individuals to create
and display a favorable self-image on social media that will generate more interaction.
8
Hot or Not, currently rebranded as Chat & Date, is a rating site that allowed users to rate the
attractiveness of photos submitted voluntarily by others. “Hot or Not,” Wikipedia (Wikimedia
Foundation, February 12, 2022), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_or_Not.
8
Closely related to generating interactions and posting behavior on social media is an
eagerness to control and maintain a distinctly positive self-image as illustrated by Erving
Goffman's book The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life about “impression management
behavior.”
9
Goffman asserts that people try to manage and control the impression that others
have of them.
10
That is to say, people are concerned about others' opinions and tend to prefer
showing a publicly acceptable and positive personal image during social interaction. Impression
Management Theory asserts that presenting constructive and favorable images to the public,
encourages positive outcomes.
11
In order to obtain an improved version of themselves,
individuals tend to idealize their self-image catering to currently prevailing fashion, trends, and
desires. Thus, they craft and construct an intentionally acceptable “designed” self. This process,
which inherently alters and falsifies, controls how other people know or perceive them.
Selectively showing one's advantages in certain areas, while hiding shortcomings in others,
makes interpersonal communication and interaction more likely to succeed.
Moreover, the positive feedback people receive enhances their willingness to design
themselves. Posting selfies is a direct and efficient way to manage public perception. Social
applications' user-friendly multifunctionality makes it easier to see and respond others' feedback
9
Goffman, Erving. 1959. The presentation of self in everyday life (Garden City, New York:
Doubleday & Company, 1959)
10
Ibid., 22.
11
Ashley R Norris, “Impression Management: Considering Cultural, Social, and Spiritual
Factors,” Inquiries Journal (Inquiries Journal, July 1, 2011),
http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/a?id=553
9
quickly and in many cases, immediately.
12
The public comments enhance the influence of other
people's responses to certain things that are shared. Positive feedback on public social media
leads to self-satisfaction of the creator, thus motivating future similar self-presentations.
13
However, negative comments will affect the poster's self-recognition and seemingly affect others
who read negative comments or responses, which can build a negative impression of the poster.
Reasons for editing selfies
Before user-friendly digital editing apps were launched, people had to use complex software
like Photoshop or Lightroom to produce professional-grade images. The minimum investment of
time and money limited people’s motivation to use such programs to make “perfect” photos.
Only people with outsize need, such as celebrities or professional photographers would use them
to edit their pictures. However, with the development of intelligent algorithms, simple editing
apps designed for smartphones have become wildly popular for everyday use. Social media
platforms like Instagram have also integrated editing functions in the form of filters that perform
desirable aesthetic adjustments, like making skin look smoother or tanner. Retouching apps such
12
Trudy Hui Chua and Leanne Chang, “Follow Me and like My Beautiful Selfies: Singapore
Teenage Girls’ Engagement in Self-Presentation and Peer Comparison on Social Media,”
Computers in Human Behavior 55 (2016): p. 191, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.09.011.
13
Beth T. Bell, Jennifer A. Cassarly, and Lucy Dunbar, “Selfie-Objectification: Self-
Objectification and Positive Feedback (‘Likes’) Are Associated with Frequency of Posting
Sexually Objectifying Self-Images on Social Media,” Body Image 26 (July 10, 2018): p. 87,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2018.06.005.
10
as Facetune2 or VSCO are often designed to be quick and straightforward for anyone to use,
which is why it is understandable that people like to retouch their selfies. These photo retouching
apps have ultimately pushed people to post more and edit more; to design their publicity.
Selfie editing equates to an instant virtual makeover that is designed to give the user an ideal
image of themselves, which in most cases perpetuates a beauty-driven society with particular
beauty standards.
14
With only one click, the image becomes “perfect”, whatever that means to
the user. There is no need to spend time working out, putting on makeup, or even taking a
shower. The technology effectively does all those things for you—at least for the person viewing
the image.
Erving Goffman has described theatrical performance
15
in ways that could illuminate the
logic behind this drive to retouch or edit how we present our likeness on social media.
Impression Management Theory argues that people tend to guide or control the impressions that
other people will form of them during a given social interaction.
16
Individuals will generally
choose to hide their negative image relative to public perception. They will instead use photo
retouching apps to hide the fat on their waist or add abdominal muscles, casting themselves as
the ideal self as far as society’s beauty standards are concerned. What people really want is to
build an acceptable public perception of themselves and omit their normal lifestyle, but it is
14
Jiyoung Chae, “Virtual Makeover: Selfie-Taking and Social Media Use Increase Selfie-
Editing Frequency through Social Comparison,” Computers in Human Behavior 66 (2017): pp.
370-376, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.10.007.
15
Erving, The presentation of self, 10.
16
Ibid., 36.
11
unachievable. It is like "acting" or designing oneself for the public at large. Social media users
strive to perform consistently with the standards and norms recognized by the public.
17
They use
the Internet to deceive and falsify through social media, concealing inconsistencies between their
“true” self and the impression of themselves that they have designed on social media. Like social
media users, when performers act for a public, they usually wear costumes. The filter and photo
retouching become a costume when posting a selfie. But backstage after the performance is over,
as Goffman argues, actors do not continue acting, but rather, return to their natural selves, similar
to the natural appearance behind the filter, closer to the natural or “true” self.
18
In terms of theatrical performance, the feedback is generally expected afterward,
19
even
though performers may watch how others react and make adjustments in real time. When it
comes to social media, users also try to match the audience's expectations and preferences to
craft a likable profile of themselves. The feedback audiences provide in both contexts, whether
theatrical or on social media, will guide people to reflect, adjust, and adapt their social
interaction strategy to avoid negative social evaluation.
The expectation of others' comments after posting a selfie is something most have become
habituated to by this point. However, we must remind ourselves that this is largely driven by
self-consciousness. George Herbert Mead thought individuals' self-consciousness had a crucial
17
Norris, Impression Management.
18
Ibid., 44.
19
Ibid., 10.
12
influence on people's behavior and decision-making.
20
Mead argues that the self can be broken
down into two interrelated and interactive aspects: the "I" as the individual will, and the "Me" as
expectations and evaluations of others.
21
In terms of social media, the "I" is the reflection that
the social media user sees of themselves, while the “Me” is the reflection built by their social
experience; the image that the user feels is wanted or expected.
Mead’s theory shows that when self-consciousness was constructed, the influence of others'
expectations was significant. The robust interactivity of social media stimulates users to expect
feedback on their selfies habitually. Individuals use feedback like praise and comments of others
as a mirror to complete the observation and evaluation of themselves. The feedback they receive
constructs their designed self.
Obtaining feedback from social interaction to construct the "Me" does not simply happen
passively. Actively browsing other people's selfies and appearances will provide information or
data that also affects the individual's perception of their own appearance, which can lead to photo
retouching behavior. Individuals will browse the selfies posted by others (like celebrities,
influencers, or friends) on social media and unconsciously compare them with their own.
Through social media, the user simultaneously acts as creator and receiver. As the creator,
individuals will edit their idealized selfies to their satisfaction, but as the receiver, they will be
influenced by others' aesthetics or popular trends when browsing. By following the most
20
George H. Mead and Charles W. Morris, “Section 21 The Self and the Subjective,” in Mind,
Self, and Society: From the Standpoint of a Social Behaviorist (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Pr.,
2005), pp. 173-174.
21
Ibid., 192-193
13
favorable aesthetic trends, individuals generally receive the most positive social outcomes in
terms of interaction. This motivates individuals to pursue the most popular aesthetic trends by
making their image socially recognized, acceptable, and legible.
The use of photo retouching apps can easily remove the defects of one's face and meet the
standards of the public perception of beauty. Social media is a gathering place for image
dissemination, the beautiful selfies on different apps have expanded people's pursuit of famous
beauty. Social media emphasizes the idealized, thin, or voluptuous body, retouched smooth skin
and flawless makeup. What the technology achieves is regarded as a shortcut to the beauty that
may not be naturally attainable in real life.
Countless selfies on image-based social media like Tik Tok or Instagram also indicate the
significance of "Face Score" in social interaction. Face Score in Chinese is called "Yanzhi." It
comes from the Japanese word "Yan" which is often used to express appearance and "Zhi" which
is a numerical value. It was first spread by fans of idol groups in Japan and later used in Chinese
variety shows, becoming popular in 2015.
22
The appearance of "Yanzhi" shows how much
people value their appearance.
22
“Top 10 Chinese Buzzwords of 2015,” Top 10 Chinese Buzzwords of 2015, December 17,
2015, https://www.sohu.com/a/49154191_119586.
14
Looking at idol culture illustrates how vigorously people will pursue and debate the beauty
of the face in particular. Searching for idols on the Internet now yields many K-pop stars,
23
such
as BTS (see fig. 5). These K-pop stars have delicately sculpted faces, carefully selected
costumes, and live under heavy filters. But considering more traditional idols whether spiritually
invested objects like African stone idols
24
or religious/political figures metaphorically treated as
such as the Pope,
25
it can be found that their primary function is to inscribe in people a particular
belief or specific impression of what ideal or respected people should look like (see fig. 6&7).
Although the definition of modern idols (pop celebrities) has changed, they are still very
23
KOREA Dispatch, BTS Groups, June 19, 2019, BTS HD PHOTO SLIDE #3, June 19, 2019,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwaZtZPJy3k.
24
Shona Sculpture, Thesculpturepark.com. https://www.thesculpturepark.com/shona-sculpture/.
25
Jeon Han (Korean Culture and Information Service , August 17, 2014),
https://www.flickr.com/photos/koreanet/14758513027/in/set-72157646006317609.
Figure 1. BTS in 2019 Clockwise from left: Jin, RM, Jungkook, J-Hope, Suga, V, and Jimin
15
influential. Fans or followers will deify the idol's behavior, follow the idol's call, and imitate the
idol's appearance, among other things.
Erich Fromm defined idolatry, "It is that the idols are the work of man's own hands — they
are things, and man bows down and worships things; worships that which he has created
himself."
26
Beauty software gives an opportunity for individuals to make their own idols. When
creating and retouching a selfie, what has actually been created is an idealized self. Individual is
fanatical to this unrealistic, idealized image of the body. The individual "has become estranged
from his own life forces, from the wealth of his own potentialities, and is in touch with himself
only in the indirect way of submission to life frozen in the idols."
27
This idealized self
26
Erich Fromm and Karl Marx, “Chapter 5 Alienation,” in Marx's Concept of Man. with a
Translation from Marx's Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts by T.B. Bottomore. with an
Afterword by Erich Fromm (New York: Ungar Pub. Co., 1968),
https://www.marxists.org/archive/fromm/works/1961/man/ch05.htm.
27
Ibid.
Figure 7. Pope Francis in South Korea, 2014
Figure 6. Zimbabwe Shona Sculpture
16
transcends the real or natural self and at the same time can rule over the individual's body. The
natural self "is intense, yet cold excitement built upon inner deadness."
28
Attractive looking faces reap many benefits. People maintaining a version of self-
presentation that is generally considered attractive can help increase one's social capital.
29
The
recognition and preferential treatment obtained in virtual social interaction further strengthen the
individual's psychological satisfaction. Selfies can highlight oneself, and a favorable self-image
can promote positive social outcomes. Although the idealized selfie derives from an algorithm or
algorithms, the results of being noticed and affirmed have caused individuals to create and post
more selfies. The stereotype of “What is beautiful is good.”
30
illustrates that people tend to think
that a physically attractive person is more likely to have positive qualities. Therefore, a person
who is “hot” will become famous or gain more attention on social media. The characteristics of
social media make it possible for everyone to be a star. People may not have many redeeming
qualities but they can still be recognized for their appearance.
31
The emergence of fashion
bloggers and makeup influencers has only given appearance more importance.
28
Ibid.
29
Apurva D. Sanaria, “A Conceptual Framework for Understanding the Impression
Management Strategies Used by Women in Indian Organizations,” South Asian Journal of
Human Resources Management 3, no. 1 (March 21, 2016): pp. 33-39,
https://doi.org/10.1177/2322093716631118.
30
Karen Dion, Ellen Berscheid, and Elaine Walster, “What Is Beautiful Is Good.,” Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology 24, no. 3 (1972): pp. 285-290,
https://doi.org/10.1037/h0033731.
31
Ibid., 289-290.
17
Corporate interests are eager to control consumers' aesthetics to create market demand and
increase company earnings. Cosmetic companies, including plastic surgery companies, continue
to propagate “cures” for non-ideal beauty features, which they use to target consumers, creating
demand for new products and services. Some companies have even set up a "facial score
appraiser," which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to assign a value to particular faces by finding
“defects”. That information is then used to market particular cosmetic products or other things to
those very users. Take a look at magazines, ads, and influencers. Those who become famous pay
more attention to their appearance. When in front of the camera, everybody is good-looking,
slim, and glorious. The female body becomes an "object desired ever-changing, disposable, and
dictated by the market."
32
Take, for example, the Victoria Secret Fashion Show. Those models were presented as
objects of men's reverie on television and social media. For decades, Victoria's Secret's scantily
clad supermodels with Jessica Rabbit curves epitomized a certain widely accepted stereotype of
femininity.
33
Although it has transformed to cater to more gender and body needs, it is
undeniable that VS defined the recent decades' body shapes and was part of producing the desire
on the part of many women to be "slim". This phenomenon of being sexually objectified in
culture inevitably affected women's self-perception. As beauty is defined by the market, women
32
Naomi Wolf, in The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used against Women (William
Morrow & Co, 1991), p. 184.
33
Jessica Silver-Greenberg et al., “'Angels' in Hell: The Culture of Misogyny inside Victoria's
Secret,” The New York Times (The New York Times, June 16, 2021),
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/01/business/victorias-secret-razek-harassment.html.
18
internalize social concepts and self-objectify themselves, thus pursuing the feminine aesthetic
that mainstream social perception recognizes.
34
When looking at retouching software, the functions like filters, auto beauty, auto reshape,
etc., have all followed the most current popular aesthetic: smoother skin, slimmer figure, and
looking younger. The bias of the algorithm also unconsciously affects people's aesthetics today.
In the United States, people retouch their selfies with Barbie-like lips, butterfly-wing-like
eyelashes, and bronzed abdominal muscles. Koreans prefer to use filters to have milk-like skin
and delicate makeup. The Chinese people like selfies that are pure but weak and arouse men's
desire to protect. People unconsciously apply the most famous or legible aesthetic effects on
their selfies and other postings on social media to these varied ends. While different cultures may
construct different aesthetics in different countries, the fact that these aesthetics are constructed
through images and selfies shared through social media remains the same. The combination of
culture and algorithms, which themselves are a product of engineering, shapes selfies. The model
and style of the algorithm are determined by following the inherent social aesthetics of the given
society. Therefore, the individual's self-expression to some extent depends on the existing
algorithm template and lacks authenticity.
The ideal self is easy to achieve with the intervention of technology. Social media gradually
become Spectacle under the control of algorithms. In Guy Debord's book The Society of the
34
Barbara L. Fredrickson and Tomi-Ann Roberts, “Objectification Theory: Toward
Understanding Women's Lived Experiences and Mental Health Risks,” Psychology of Women
Quarterly 21, no. 2 (June 1, 1997): pp. 173-206, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-
6402.1997.tb00108.x.
19
Spectacle, he illustrated that the spectacle is not a collection of images, but a social relationship
between people mediated by images.
35
The society of the spectacle is created when unobtainable
things in everyday life experience are revealed through images and become indistinguishable
from life. With the development of commercialization, the society of the spectacle has become
clearer, separating the "having" and "appearing"
36
of society perhaps more than ever before. The
beautified selfie is merely a conscious self-presentation on social media. It obscures the
authenticity of the individual. That is to say, through the process of commercialization,
individuals package themselves as a spectacle. Individuals unconsciously use beauty apps to
design themselves as commonly recognized "beauties." With the help of beautifying functions,
individuals can transform their bodies, build themselves into symbols by reshaping themselves,
and otherwise change appearance at will. Debord argues that this phenomenon is the individual's
"appearing" instead of "having".
37
During this process of manufacturing self-images through
social media, the individual becomes a part of the spectacle. Therefore, the appearance posted by
the individual, rather than the essential identity of the individual, is the most important aspiration
on today's social media platforms. The spectacle is the reprocessing or retouching of actual life
that exaggerates appearance. Celebrities, idols, and influencers are just beautiful appearances
under the spotlight. They represent the spectacle, attract people's attention, and subtly change
35
Guy Debord, “Separation Perfected” in Society of The Spectacle (Detroit: Black & Red,
1977), thesis 4, accessed February 17, 2022,
https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/debord/society.htm.
36
Ibid.,17.
37
Ibid., thesis 17.
20
people's aesthetics. News, propaganda, entertainment, advertising, etc. have created a large
number of demands that originate in market interests. Under the guidance of the spectacle,
society entered a new state of alienation, somewhat self-imposed, as humans both create and are
controlled by spectacle. In spectacle-driven society, the beauty of the individual is subject to
prescribed aesthetic standards. As a result, people lose their self-reflection, and can only obey
social aesthetics, and even experience appearance anxiety when they cannot meet the standards.
In spectacle society, "all critical senses are dissolved."
38
On the surface, selfie sharing
demonstrates a certain level of creativity on the part of the individual, but the essence of these
selfies is actually just the opposite; the alienation of self-expression and the obliteration of
individuality. The purpose and means of selfie sharing are not self-determined, even if we don’t
realize it. Individuals immerse themselves in the illusion of intelligent algorithms and are willing
to pursue particular appearances without exploring the essence behind them. The Spectacle is
powerful. People internalize the power of spectacle and bind themselves. The Spectacle shapes
the false personality of the majority of people and transfers the real subjectivity to bureaucracy,
technology, and capital. As long as capitalism drives the society and the public discourse, the
spectacle is inescapable. In my illustration work, Irony Collage Series, I explore how human's
figures are displayed on social media. The figures are not clearly distinguished from the
background but mixed into the background. The transparency of body parts and the hazy
38
Ibid., thesis 25.
21
background represent that the subtle influence of the outside world controls the body beyond the
original body itself.
39
39
Irony Collage Series, 24*36in, Poster Print, designed by Jinxiu Han, Feb 2022.
Figure 8. Irony Collage Series
22
Outcome
The individual's attention to their appearance has only become more systematic as the
dissemination of images has become the primary function of most media. This preoccupation
with appearance, could result in dissatisfaction with one’s body and low self-esteem, increasing
the desire to undergo cosmetic surgery.
40
Although the act of photo retouching allows women to
minimize their flaws, show their strengths,
41
and have a sense of control over their body image,
research found that posting a retouched selfie did not improve women’s confidence.
42
The self
in the selfie is an ideal self, post-beautification; it is beyond real self. Scrutinizing and modifying
images of themselves makes women think more about their flaws or imperfections.
43
This
creates dissatisfaction with self-image and a desire to be the more “ideal”. In Uploading your
best self: Selfie editing and body dissatisfaction, research also found that women who took a
selfie and posted it to their social media profile experienced increased levels of anxiety,
decreased confidence, and lowered perceived physical attractiveness.
44
40
Vries Dian A de, et al. “The Effect of Social Network Site Use on Appearance Investment and
Desire for Cosmetic Surgery Among Adolescent Boys and Girls,” in Social Media and Online
Self-Presentation: Effects on How We See Ourselves and Our Bodies (S.l: s.n., 2014), pp. 55-57.
41
Catalina L. Toma and Jeffrey T. Hancock, “Looks and Lies: The Role of Physical
Attractiveness in Online Dating Self-Presentation and Deception,” Communication Research 37,
no. 3 (April 7, 2010): pp. 335-351, https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650209356437.
42
Jennifer S. Mills et al., “‘Selfie’ Harm: Effects on Mood and Body Image in Young Women,”
Body Image 27 (August 24, 2018): p. 90, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2018.08.007.
43
Ibid., 90.
44
Marika Tiggemann, Isabella Anderberg, and Zoe Brown, “Uploading Your Best Self: Selfie
Editing and Body Dissatisfaction,” Body Image 33 (March 27, 2020): p. 180,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.03.002.
23
Fredrickson & Roberts’s objectification theory
45
describes how the female body is passively
objectified by society. They argue that women internalize the perspective of external viewers and
treat their body as an object to evaluate, ultimately self-objectifying themselves. This self-
objectifying behavior encourages the individual to engage in active social comparison. As social
media users are frequently exposed to a variety of other profiles, they can compare their own
appearance to friends, relatives, and strangers.
46
Individuals use social comparison to evaluate,
improve, or enhance themselves.
47
Part of obtaining the public's standard of ideal image comes
from browsing the selfies of others and receiving feedback in the forms of likes, comments, or
messages. Exposed to others' edited selfies, selfie-editing might boost some females' desire to
change their own appearances through editing.
48
In order to obtain a good evaluation,
individuals adjust their own aesthetic strategy and move closer to the standard if those two things
are different. In other words, individuals who take selfies frequently are likely to have an
idealized virtual self-image, which in turn, creates a discrepancy between reality and ideal.
49
If
the person not only takes selfies but also edits them, the discrepancy might become greater. The
45
Fredrickson & Roberts, Objectification Theory, pp. 173-206
46
Nina Haferkamp et al., “Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus? Examining Gender
Differences in Self-Presentation on Social Networking Sites,” Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and
Social Networking 15, no. 2 (February 9, 2012): pp. 91-98,
https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2011.0151.
47
Leon Festinger, “A Theory of Social Comparison Processes,” Human Relations 7, no. 2
(1954): pp. 117-140, https://doi.org/10.1177/001872675400700202.
48
Adilson Borges, “The Effects of Digitally Enhanced Photos on Product Evaluation and Young
Girls' Self-Esteem,” Recherche Et Applications En Marketing (English Edition) 26, no. 4
(December 1, 2011): pp. 5-21, https://doi.org/10.1177/205157071102600401.
49
Chae, “Virtual Makeover,” p. 375.
24
gap between self-image and socially ideal image prompts individuals to realize their own
shortcomings, resulting in physical dissatisfaction.
Body surveillance, the behavioral manifestation of self-objectification, involves continuous
self-monitoring of the body’s appearance.
50
The behavior of continuous body surveillance and
comparison to others will cause individuals overwhelmed concerned about their body parts,
which caused dissatisfaction with their appearance. Body dissatisfaction caused by selfies can
increase individuals' attention to their bodies, resulting in varying degrees of physical and mental
illness. The appearance-focused activities on both Facebook and Instagram have been correlated
with the internalization of idealized “thinness” and body surveillance, which are established risk
factors for disordered eating.
51
Meanwhile, high body dissatisfaction is also correlated with low
self-esteem and depression.
Another resulting condition of high body dissatisfaction is Body Dysmorphic Disorder
(BDD). Katharine Phillips describes this mental disease in her book The Broken Mirror:
Understanding and Treating Body Dysmorphic Disorder.
52
BDD patients are concerned about
their appearance to an extent that it affects their daily life. A little imperfection in appearance is
50
Nita Mary McKinley and Janet Shibley Hyde, “The Objectified Body Consciousness Scale,”
Psychology of Women Quarterly 20, no. 2 (June 1, 1996): pp. 181-183,
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1996.tb00467.x.
51
Bonnie Moradi and Yu-Ping Huang, “Objectification Theory and Psychology of Women: A
Decade of Advances and Future Directions,” Psychology of Women Quarterly 32, no. 4
(December 1, 2008): pp. 377-398, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2008.00452.x.
52
Katharine A. Phillips, “Chapter 2 What Is Body Dysmorphic Disorder,” in The Broken
Mirror: Understanding and Treating Body Dysmorphic Disorder (Oxford: Oxford University
Press (OUP), 2005), pp. 21-32.
25
enough to make them embarrassed, inferior, and miserable. Katharine illustrates different cases
of BDD patients. Patient Jane felt her nose was too big at the age of twelve, suffered insomnia
from a slight scar on her mouth at sixteen. Other parts of her body, her chin, breasts, and hips,
were ashamed of her appearance. She was unable to concentrate in class or at work. Jane locked
herself in the room and doesn't socialize with others. She only walked around the room imagine
how ugly she is. Jane did not see her mother for two years because of her appearance. But in
reality, Jane looks kind and earnest, and the flaws in his imagination don’t affect her beauty.
However, patients like Jane are always obsessed with their appearance's minor defects. They
over-focus and imagine their flaws and magnify them. These patients think that all people are
concerned about their physical flaws. It affects their normal life and even leads to suicide.
53
Rethinking photo editing
Photo editing as we currently know it and experience it is not technically “new.” Whether it
is the subjective modification of the objective reality when painting, like Napoleon Crossing the
Alps, or the self-substitution of a beautiful and noble image in place of one that is not, the pursuit
and construction of an ideal self-image has always been a part of human creative production.
However, what is currently defined as “ideal” is homogenized as it never has been before. As
Jean Baudrillard and Guy Debord similarly argue, the human body, as defined by the market,
53
Ibid., 32-36, 83-140.
26
Internet and society, seems to be verifying that Images “replace reality and become the new
reality, and human experience is a simulation of reality.”
54
The noise made by the public, which
enthusiastically distributes images and debates beauty ideals, is essentially meaningless. It is a
collective silence disguised as raucous.
The digital image overwhelmingly occupies people's senses. However, the digital image is
actually made up of countless pixels (ones and zeros). People can manipulate the pixels and
rearrange them to form a reconstructed selfie. They are obsessed with photoshopping their selfie
to attain unrealistic perfection. The principle of pixels is to selectively display some colors and
hide others. Just like people who selectively display photos on social media and hide their real
image. But what should be displayed and what should be hidden? The nude female body that I
design is hidden into these pixel squares. The private areas of the body are visible, but simplified
by color blocks. In this way, viewers cannot see the private areas clearly, but this may lead to the
cognition that this naked provocative woman is sending a signal to viewers and asking people to
observe her body. The figure pictured in this work has a silhouette that reveals the female curves
-- the hips and the hands are raised to accentuate the lines of the chest, waist, and hips. The
stereotyped pink colors also “belong to” the female, which reinforces the “femininity” of this
work. I try to show the audience a ironic feminine image that has always been advocated by the
“male gaze.” (a hetero-centric model) The work is made with acrylic plastic. As an artificial
54
Jean Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulation. Translated by Sheila Glaser. The Body in
Theory: Histories of Cultural Materialism. (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.)
27
product, the material of acrylic plastic fits my theme of people creating their own selfies. I
painted different colors on transparent acrylic plastic with a protective layer of spray paint to
prevent scratches. This work is to reveal the phenomenon that people focus more on the
superficial exterior other than the of a person, through the feminine color and pixel body. I
provoke people’s thinking as to whether it is an appropriate way to see others by looking at those
who we do not even know. If we judge people by visuals on the Internet, the world may be filled
with lies and frauds. We all should try to get to
55
know others in a deeper way. However today,
social media amplifies its effects.
55
Pixel Woman, 24*31in, Acrylic Plastic, designed by Jinxiu Han, Feb 2022.
Figure 9. Pixel Woman, 24*31in, Acrylic Plastic
28
Technology ostensibly provides us with the illusion of convenience and pleasure, but in fact
it represents invisible control by capital, leading to the emergence of uncritical social ideals.
Selfies are manipulated by individuals, who seem to operate with a certain level of autonomy —
though this autonomy itself operates within a greater arena — the Spectacle, where the
individual has little to no control. In fact, although the beautified selfie can bring individuals
positive social feedback and higher satisfaction, it makes the individual pay outsize attention to
the defects of the body and pursue largely impossible-to-obtain, idealized body images which are
created in large part by algorithms. The fake identity constructed by the beauty apps spreads
from the virtual online world to the offline real world, which exerts an invisible control over the
individual. In Discipline and Punish, Michel Foucault defines discipline as a covert operation of
power that interferes with body cognition.
56
His theory of disciplinary techniques is embodied in
three ways. The first is hierarchical observation, which is the continuous monitoring of
individual behavior by other individuals. The second is normalizing judgment, quantifying,
grading, and developing a reward and punishment system based on these observations. The third
is examination, combining the first two methods, which involves objectifying and visualizing
individuals under the surveillance of a stable system in which they are intentionally placed or
guided to. Social aesthetics function in a similar manner. Bringing social aesthetic toward selfies
into the panoptic metaphor, social media awards and punishes people based on adherence (or
not) to collective social aesthetic ideals. The ubiquitous media in society continues to convey to
56
Michel Foucault, “Chapter 3. Panopticons,” in Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison,
(New York: Vintage Books, 1977), pp-195-228
29
people "what is beautiful and what is ugly". Viewers on social media constantly watching others
selfie and upload their selfies for others to review, which give the impression that one is
constantly being watched. Social media objectifies and ranks the female body, and places it
under the surveillance of the aesthetic knowledge system. The user of social media is actually the
prisoner of asymmetrical surveillance in panopticon. People focus on retouching their
appearance to follow the unwritten but socially defined rules. Not only the head-to-body ratio
and slenderness, but also the height of the top of the skull and the shape of the ears.
57
Those
defined as “beauties” receive complements, while those defined as unbeautiful or ugly often
receive vicious criticism. People’s individuality is annihilated; they are deprived of true
subjectivity.
In such a system, women are encouraged to become the object of men’s desires in order to
gain more advantages in society. Meanwhile, being the object of desire can also give women the
pleasure of "being infatuated by others", thus giving women the satisfaction of narcissism. For
example, female influencers who have a large base of male fans in social media are seeking
social recognition by giving up their subjectivity to gain social attention. For some groups or
individuals, the pursuit of beauty becomes equivalent to a pursuit of one’s true self. Their
identification of self relies on the obsessive gaze of others.
“Gaze” is powerful, as John Berger has already pointed in "Ways of Seeing".
58
It is a
particular kind of active surveillance, and operates as a function of power. The "male gaze" is a
57
Wolf, The Beauty Myth, pp. 218-255.
58
Ways of Seeing, 2, “Episode 2,” written by John Berger, directed by Mike Dibb, aired Sep 29,
30
gendered power that is used to control women. This gaze makes clear that what women call
sexiness is actually constructed by patriarchy. In fact, this so-called beautiful appearance seems
to have power, but it comes with certain conditions. Namely, the power of "showing" is not the
power of "action". Or, as Debord writes, this is only what people “appearing”, instead of what
they truly having.
59
The satisfaction of beauty is based on the gaze of others. People need
60
an
“audience” to provide positive reactions for self-presentation.
61
Without an internalized sense of
the (male) gaze, the individual's belief in the “power” of their constructed appearance collapse.
2008 on BBC, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1GI8mNU5Sg.
59
Debord, “Separation Perfected” in Society of The Spectacle, thesis 17.
60
The Nature Body, performance by Jinxiu Han, Photo by Janel Fei and Anny Li, Jan 2022.
61
Chae, “Virtual Makeover,” pp. 375-376.
Figure 10. The Nature Body, Photo by Janel Fei and Anny Li
31
Unlike a phone camera with readily available filters, mirrors are tools that we might say
reflect an individual's appearance more authentically. In “The Nature Body”, I created a
performance represented here as images, in which I put myself in nature and used a mirror to
reflect a certain part of my body. The pictures frame my physical body in the greater context of
the natural scenery behind both me and the mirror. The mirror acts as a medium, reflecting me,
the space I am in, and the space behind the mirror in the picture, eliding both place and time.
Through this performance, my attitude toward my physical body and appearance anxiety is
displayed. Escaping from the illusory online world, I integrated my body into the natural world.
As the body is reflected by the mirror, my idealized femininity disappears. My exposed body
parts are no longer an object of desire, but instead, are leveled with and become an element of
nature, like the nature I am surrounded by. Comparing idealized femininity on the Internet with
my actual body without retouching in nature space, I asked myself: Am I ugly?
Beauty has become something of a requirement to participate in social media, which means
individuals feel justly anxious about being "ugly". The pursuit of beauty, and the habitual
disregard and even stigmatization of ugliness make the "imperfect" women internalize social
aesthetics, and resort to self-doubt. In reality, beauty can be many things, like decency, comfort,
or simply enjoying beautiful people and things, instead of compelling individuals to self-
mutilate, worry about their appearance, develop body dissatisfaction, form extreme self-loathing,
and pursue the ultimate beauty at the expense of hurting their own bodies and excessively harm
32
their own interests.
62
Does the individual's pursuit of beauty mean that they must loathe every
part of their body that does not meet the standard in order to meet the patriarchal society's
62
Poster Series, designed by Jinxiu Han, Riso print, 11*17in, Feb 2022
Figure 11. Riso Print Poster Series: Pretty or Not?
not?
33
definition of "beauty"? Through aesthetic self-internalization, evaluation by others, social control
of popular aesthetics and algorithmic prejudice against beauty, most appearances become flaws
rather than features. I asked the same related rhetorical question in my poster design: Am I pretty
or not?
In answering this question through design, I focus people's attention on the answer, and
encourage their reflections on this pathological behavior. Appreciating beauty should be about
looking at the beauty of everything in a holistic way, rather than in a single, homogenized way.
Freckles can be beautiful, squinting can also be beautiful, folds can be beautiful, and belly fat
can also be beautiful. Beauty is a way of appreciating life, not a set of identical templates.
Ideally, the sort of beauty appreciated by women should focus on what we already have and
expand our definition of beauty beyond that, rather than from somewhere, someone, or
something else. Everyone loves to be beautiful, and to be beautiful or become beautiful is a
pursuit as old as time. However, seeking to be and becoming beautiful should be an
overwhelmingly positive behavior that we are free to choose (or not).
Conclusion
During the selfie-taking process, the style, posture, filters, and effects we are encouraged to
use are all propagated by technical, economic, and social aesthetic standards. The selfie has
become a kind of pre-stage performance and a form of social interaction that not only
emphasizes personal charm, but is a tool to earn social capital. Individuals use technology to
reshape and adjust their self-image, but at the same time lose their individual subjectivities.
34
Manufactured selfies build spectacle on social media. A converging mass aesthetic obscures the
natural and authentic of self; the pursuit of beauty reflects technological and market hegemony.
Social media platforms are simply an idealized utopia of sorts. If our expectations of the perfect
self-evolve from self-alienation to accepting the true self in its natural unaltered condition,
getting rid of narcissism and performance, only then will women achieve self-empowerment. As
independent individuals, recognizing the cost of appearance alienation, accepting ourselves, and
learning critical self-expression, we can be freed from desire and media illusion.
35
Bibliography
McLuhan, Marshall, and Quentin Fiore. The Medium Is the Massage. Toronto: Random House,
1967.
David, Jacques-Louis. “Napoleon Crossing the Alps,” 1801. Château de Malmaison. Rueil-
Malmaison.
Delaroche, Paul. “Bonaparte Crossing the Alps,” 1850. Walker Art Gallery. Liverpool, England.
Cornelius, Robert. Self-Portrait. 1839. Photograph. Library of Congress, American Memory.
Meyers, William. “The Nanny's Secret.” The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company,
January 3, 2012.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204879004577110884090494826.
Maier, Vivian. Self-Portrait. 1950. Photograph. Maloof Collection.
Rubinstein, Daniel, and Katrina Sluis. “The Digital Image in Photographic Culture: Algorithmic
Photography and the Crisis of Representation.” The Photographic Image in Digital Culture
2nd Edition, no. 11 (2013): 29. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203797563.
“Hot or Not.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, February 12, 2022.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_or_Not.
Goffman, Erving. The presentation of self in everyday life. Anchor books edition, 22. Garden
City, New York: Doubleday & Company, 1959. ISBN-10. 9780385094023.
Norris, Ashley R. 2011. Impression Management: Considering Cultural, Social, and Spiritual
Factors . Inquiries Journal/Student Pulse 3 (07), http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/a?id=553
Chua, Trudy Hui, and Leanne Chang. “Follow Me and Like My Beautiful Selfies: Singapore
Teenage Girls’ Engagement in Self-Presentation and Peer Comparison on Social Media.”
Computers in Human Behavior 55 (2016): 191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.09.011.
Bell, Beth T., Jennifer A. Cassarly, and Lucy Dunbar. “Selfie-Objectification: Self-
Objectification and Positive Feedback (‘Likes’) Are Associated with Frequency of Posting
Sexually Objectifying Self-Images on Social Media.” Body Image 26 (July 10, 2018): 87.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2018.06.005.
36
Chae, Jiyoung. “Virtual Makeover: Selfie-Taking and Social Media Use Increase Selfie-Editing
Frequency through Social Comparison.” Computers in Human Behavior 66 (2017): 370–
76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.10.007.
Mead, George H., and Charles W. Morris. “Section 21 The Self and the Subjective.” Essay. In
Mind, Self, and Society: From the Standpoint of a Social Behaviorist, 173–74. Chicago:
Univ. of Chicago Pr., 2005.
Top 10 Chinese Buzzwords of 2015, December 17, 2015.
https://www.sohu.com/a/49154191_119586.
KOREA Dispatch. BTS Groups. June 19, 2019. BTS HD PHOTO SLIDE #3.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwaZtZPJy3k.
Shona Sculpture. Thesculpturepark.com. Accessed February 17, 2022.
https://www.thesculpturepark.com/shona-sculpture/.
Han, Jeon. 2014 Pastoral Visit of Pope Francis to Korea. Korean Culture and Information
Service , August 17, 2014. https://www.flickr.com/photos/koreanet/14758513027/in/set-
72157646006317609.
Fromm, Erich, and Karl Marx. “Chapter 5 Alienation.” Essay. In Marx's Concept of Man. with a
Translation from Marx's Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts by T.B. Bottomore.
with an Afterword by Erich Fromm. New York: Ungar Pub. Co., 1968.
https://www.marxists.org/archive/fromm/works/1961/man/ch05.htm.
Sanaria, Apurva D. “A Conceptual Framework for Understanding the Impression Management
Strategies Used by Women in Indian Organizations.” South Asian Journal of Human
Resources Management 3, no. 1 (March 21, 2016): 33–39.
https://doi.org/10.1177/2322093716631118.
Dion, Karen, Ellen Berscheid, and Elaine Walster. “What Is Beautiful Is Good.” Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology 24, no. 3 (1972): 285–90.
https://doi.org/10.1037/h0033731.
Wolf, Naomi. Essay. In The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used against Women, 184-
255. William Morrow & Co, 1991.
Silver-greenberg, Jessica, Katherine Rosman, Sapna Maheshwari, and James B Stewart.
“'Angels' in Hell: The Culture of Misogyny inside Victoria's Secret.” The New York
Times. The New York Times, June 16, 2021.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/01/business/victorias-secret-razek-harassment.html.
37
Fredrickson, Barbara L., and Tomi-Ann Roberts. “Objectification Theory: Toward
Understanding Women's Lived Experiences and Mental Health Risks.” Psychology of
Women Quarterly 21, no. 2 (June 1, 1997): 173–206. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-
6402.1997.tb00108.x.
Debord, Guy. “Separation Perfected” In Society of The Spectacle. Detroit: Black & Red, 1977.
https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/debord/society.htm.
de, Vries Dian A., Peter, J., Nikken, P. et al. “The Effect of Social Network Site Use on
Appearance Investment and Desire for Cosmetic Surgery Among Adolescent Boys and
Girls.” Essay. In Social Media and Online Self-Presentation: Effects on How We See
Ourselves and Our Bodies, 55–57. S.l: s.n., 2014.
Toma, Catalina L., and Jeffrey T. Hancock. “Looks and Lies: The Role of Physical
Attractiveness in Online Dating Self-Presentation and Deception.” Communication
Research 37, no. 3 (April 7, 2010): 335–51. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650209356437.
Mills, Jennifer S., Sarah Musto, Lindsay Williams, and Marika Tiggemann. “‘Selfie’ Harm:
Effects on Mood and Body Image in Young Women.” Body Image 27 (August 24, 2018):
90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2018.08.007.
Haferkamp, Nina, Sabrina C. Eimler, Anna-Margarita Papadakis, and Jana Vanessa Kruck. “Men
Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus? Examining Gender Differences in Self-
Presentation on Social Networking Sites.” Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social
Networking 15, no. 2 (February 9, 2012): 91–98. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2011.0151.
Festinger, Leon. “A Theory of Social Comparison Processes.” Human Relations 7, no. 2 (1954):
117–40. https://doi.org/10.1177/001872675400700202.
Borges, Adilson. “The Effects of Digitally Enhanced Photos on Product Evaluation and Young
Girls' Self-Esteem.” Recherche et Applications en Marketing (English Edition) 26, no. 4
(December 1, 2011): 5–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/205157071102600401.
Moradi, Bonnie, and Yu-Ping Huang. “Objectification Theory and Psychology of Women: A
Decade of Advances and Future Directions.” Psychology of Women Quarterly 32, no. 4
(December 1, 2008): 377–98. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2008.00452.x.
Phillips, Katharine A. “Chapter 2 What Is Body Dysmorphic Disorder.” Essay. In The Broken
Mirror: Understanding and Treating Body Dysmorphic Disorder, 21–36, 83-140. Oxford:
Oxford University Press (OUP), 2005.
38
Baudrillard, Jean. 1994. Simulacra and Simulation. Translated by Sheila Glaser. The Body in
Theory: Histories of Cultural Materialism. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
Foucault, Michel. “Chapter 3. Panopticons.” In Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prision.
New York: Vintage Books, 1977.
Abstract (if available)
Abstract
We are living in an era in which media has engaged increasingly different and new aspects of people’s lives. The convenience of digital technology motivates people to use social media platforms like Tik Tok and Instagram to share aspects of their daily lives, perhaps most frequently in the form of a “selfie”. Due to the widespread accessibility and the growing prevalence of digital retouching and editing programs or options, selfies have become increasingly detached from their “real” purpose of self-expression for specific groups. Instead, self-presentation on social media becomes a strategy for individuals to build and maintain social relationships and gain acceptance through shared recognition of their identity, and in some cases sustains a livelihood.
This thesis explores the relationship between contemporary social media users and the ways in which they curate their self-images and self-identity through certain platforms. Although posting selfies on social media seems like an opportunity to present one’s real self, the “natural” self, the beauty and advertising industries are actually the driving force of much of women’s self-presentation. Motivated by their interpretation of what society wants, these individuals post selfies that reflect a “designed” self.
Linked assets
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
Conceptually similar
PDF
The influence of Chinese internet slang
PDF
Exploration and reflection: a precipitation of personal memory and experience
PDF
The crying project: understanding emotions through an investigative eye
PDF
Existence and response: living in quarantine during a pandemic
PDF
A sense of joy
PDF
Past imagination, present creation and the reality of tomorrow: explore the impact of Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Mixed Reality (MR) design
PDF
Lost and found: escape from the longing past towards the uncertain future of art and design
PDF
The futuristic world with metallic cyber plants
PDF
Using fantasy storytelling to raise awareness on environmental issues
PDF
Shadows in socialization
PDF
Post modern UI/UX, an anti-design manifesto for 21st century
PDF
The application of photography technology in modern graphic design: the beauty of astrophotography
PDF
My spaces (2020-2021)
PDF
Memories of the scent of orange blossoms
PDF
The life of Jeff: a series of digitally animated experiences addressing the anxieties and joys of a generation
PDF
Invisible shackles: self-actualization of China's Post-90s generation
PDF
Reconnecting with nature
PDF
Bento: space design
PDF
Silenced no more: examining gender stereotypes in Chinese language and culture
PDF
Family legacy and the evolution of contemporary Chinese youth
Asset Metadata
Creator
Han, Jinxiu
(author)
Core Title
Am I ugly? The impact of selective self-presentation selfies on self-awareness
School
Roski School of Art and Design
Degree
Master of Fine Arts
Degree Program
Design
Degree Conferral Date
2022-05
Publication Date
04/16/2022
Defense Date
05/13/2022
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
appearance anxiety,body dissatisfaction,digital editing apps,impression management,male gaze,OAI-PMH Harvest,self-awareness,self-identity,selfies,self-objectification,self-presentation,social media,spectacle,subjectivity
Format
application/pdf
(imt)
Language
English
Contributor
Electronically uploaded by the author
(provenance)
Advisor
Wojciak, Ewa (
committee chair
), Burruss, Laurie (
committee member
), O'Connell, Brian (
committee member
), Zoto, Alexis (
committee member
)
Creator Email
jinxiuha@usc.edu
Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC110964846
Unique identifier
UC110964846
Document Type
Thesis
Format
application/pdf (imt)
Rights
Han, Jinxiu
Type
texts
Source
20220417-usctheses-batch-927
(batch),
University of Southern California
(contributing entity),
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
(collection)
Access Conditions
The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright. The original signature page accompanying the original submission of the work to the USC Libraries is retained by the USC Libraries and a copy of it may be obtained by authorized requesters contacting the repository e-mail address given.
Repository Name
University of Southern California Digital Library
Repository Location
USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA
Repository Email
cisadmin@lib.usc.edu
Tags
appearance anxiety
body dissatisfaction
digital editing apps
impression management
male gaze
self-awareness
self-identity
selfies
self-objectification
self-presentation
social media
spectacle
subjectivity