Did Beauty Influencers Change What We Think Is “Beautiful”?

[NicolaAnne]

Beauty standards used to come from magazines and celebrities. Now, influencers shape what millions consider “beautiful.”

Perfect skin, sharp features, tiny waists, flawless makeup—and often filters, editing, or cosmetic procedures.

Are influencers making beauty more diverse, or just creating a new unrealistic standard?

What do you think?

 

[danicao]

It’s not just a "new" standard, Nicola. it’s an algorithmic prison. We traded traditional media gatekeepers for a million micro-gatekeepers who profit off our collective body dysmorphia.

 

[frankielee]

It’s not just a "new" standard, Nicola. it’s an algorithmic prison. We traded traditional media gatekeepers for a million micro-gatekeepers who profit off our collective body dysmorphia.

Oh come on Danica, let’s not be dramatic. It’s simple market democratisation. Ten years ago, three magazine editors in New York decided what was attractive. Now, audience demand dictates it.

 

[danicao]

Oh come on Danica, let’s not be dramatic. It’s simple market democratisation. Ten years ago, three magazine editors in New York decided what was attractive. Now, audience demand dictates it.

"Democratisation"? Frankie, please. It’s an arms race of surgical "tweakments," face-tuned symmetry, and digital whitewashing disguised as relatable lifestyle content.

 

[frankielee]

"Democratisation"? Frankie, please. It’s an arms race of surgical "tweakments," face-tuned symmetry, and digital whitewashing disguised as relatable lifestyle content.

From a PR perspective, it’s just effective brand alignment. Influencers are personal brands. Naturally, they optimize their product which happens to be their face and body. It's basic consumer psychology.

 

[danicao]

From a PR perspective, it’s just effective brand alignment. Influencers are personal brands. Naturally, they optimize their product which happens to be their face and body. It's basic consumer psychology.

Reducing human beings, mostly young women to "products" that need continuous software updates and filler is precisely the problem!

 

[frankielee]

Reducing human beings, mostly young women to "products" that need continuous software updates and filler is precisely the problem!

But you’re ignoring the shift in representation! We have curve creators, mid-size models, disabled influencers, and skin-positivity advocates pulling massive numbers. That never happened on 90s catwalks.

 

[danicao]

But you’re ignoring the shift in representation! We have curve creators, mid-size models, disabled influencers, and skin-positivity advocates pulling massive numbers. That never happened on 90s catwalks.

Diversity shouldn't just mean "we now sell impossible ideals in every size and shade." A token curvy influencer who still uses FaceApp to smooth her skin isn't liberation; it's performative inclusion.

 

[frankielee]

Diversity shouldn't just mean "we now sell impossible ideals in every size and shade." A token curvy influencer who still uses FaceApp to smooth her skin isn't liberation; it's performative inclusion.

But why blame the creators for giving people what they want to see? Engagement metrics don't lie. Clean aesthetics and symmetry perform better because our brains like them.

 

[danicao]

But why blame the creators for giving people what they want to see? Engagement metrics don't lie. Clean aesthetics and symmetry perform better because our brains like them.

Our brains like them because we’ve been conditioned by decades of capitalist beauty standards to treat visible aging, texture, and fat as personal failures!

 

[frankielee]

Our brains like them because we’ve been conditioned by decades of capitalist beauty standards to treat visible aging, texture, and fat as personal failures!

Or... people just enjoy aspirational content? Nobody watches a luxury campaign to see their own living room. People follow influencers for an elevated, fantasy version of life.

 

[danicao]

Or... people just enjoy aspirational content? Nobody watches a luxury campaign to see their own living room. People follow influencers for an elevated, fantasy version of life.

When "fantasy" is passed off as "daily routine," it causes real-world harm. Teens aren't getting plastic surgery consultations because of Vogue; they’re getting them because an influencer pretended a $200 serum gave them a whole new jawline.

 

[frankielee]

When "fantasy" is passed off as "daily routine," it causes real-world harm. Teens aren't getting plastic surgery consultations because of Vogue; they’re getting them because an influencer pretended a $200 serum gave them a whole new jawline.

Which is why the smart brands are pushing disclosure mandates now. " #Unfiltered" is literally becoming a premium marketing hook. Authenticity is the next luxury commodity.

 

[danicao]

Which is why the smart brands are pushing disclosure mandates now. " #Unfiltered" is literally becoming a premium marketing hook. Authenticity is the next luxury commodity.

The fact that authenticity has to be packaged as a marketing hook proves my point completely

 

[frankielee]

The fact that authenticity has to be packaged as a marketing hook proves my point completely

It just proves that every cultural movement—including your body positivity—eventually becomes a strategy. Adaptation is how platforms survive.

 

[danicao]

It just proves that every cultural movement—including your body positivity—eventually becomes a strategy. Adaptation is how platforms survive.

Liberation isn't a strategy, Frankie. We won't actually break the cycle until we decouple a woman's social value from her aesthetics entirely.

 

[frankielee]

Liberation isn't a strategy, Frankie. We won't actually break the cycle until we decouple a woman's social value from her aesthetics entirely.

Good luck pitching that to an algorithm built on visual consumption. The medium is the message, Danica.