Beauty Standards: The Influence Divide
In the age of Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, fashion influencers and celebrities have become the new billboard — curating how women should look, dress, and define their worth. This page is a cultural comparison of two contrasting forces in digital fashion culture: those who uphold unattainable beauty standards and those who disrupt them by embracing body diversity, transparency, and realness.
As part of my campaign to reclaim the gaze, this research highlights why my work exists — and who it speaks to. If young women are constantly comparing themselves to polished, filtered and surgically enhanced ideals, how can they ever feel “enough”? By celebrating the influencers who show the beauty in imperfection, I aim to shift the narrative from unrealistic aspiration to radical acceptance.
The Filtered Fantasy
The Filtered Fantasy
In today’s digital landscape, the beauty ideal is more polished than ever before — yet it is increasingly detached from reality. Fashion influencers and celebrities like Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, and countless others have become the faces of a highly curated visual culture. These women are not just fashion icons — they are media machines. Their posts are meticulously edited, their appearances shaped by access to wealth, surgery, lighting, filters, and Photoshop. The result is a visual standard that is not just difficult to attain — it’s manufactured.
These carefully constructed images dominate platforms like Instagram and TikTok, where face symmetry, cinched waists, high cheekbones, poreless skin, and hourglass figures are endlessly recycled as the norm. These bodies are not inherently wrong — but the problem lies in their exclusivity. When one version of beauty is amplified above all others, anything outside of it becomes “less than.” This is where the cultural damage begins.
According to Festinger’s Social Comparison Theory (1954), individuals evaluate themselves by comparing to others — particularly in the absence of objective standards. Young women, especially between the critical ages of 16–25, are particularly vulnerable to this internalised comparison. When every scroll offers another filtered face or sculpted body, it becomes difficult to separate fantasy from reality. This leads not only to dissatisfaction, but to a disconnection from one’s own body.
Further supported by Fredrickson and Roberts’ Objectification Theory (1997), this environment encourages women to view themselves through an external lens — constantly assessing their appearance, measuring their worth by how closely they align with this curated standard. Fast fashion feeds this cycle. Brands collaborate with these influencers, sell the illusion, and present fashion as a tool to “fix” what you lack.
But what’s sold as empowerment is often a repackaged form of control.
This is the system my project pushes against. Through painted bodies, raw textures, printed fabrics and slogans like “Redefine Your Shape”, I confront the illusion of the filtered fantasy. I want viewers to question: who benefits from this ideal, and who is left out of it?
Disrupting the Norm
Amidst the glossy perfection and hyper-curated visuals dominating fashion media, a powerful counter-movement has emerged — one that champions visibility, honesty, and complexity over aesthetic conformity. This is the real revolution: led by influencers, activists, artists and everyday women who dare to show themselves without apology.
The Real Revolution
Figures like Jameela Jamil, Paloma Elsesser, Barbie Ferreira, Tess Holliday, Gina Harrison, and Stephanie Yeboahhave become pivotal disruptors in fashion culture. Through unfiltered posts, body-positive campaigns, and vocal critiques of industry norms, they reclaim space for bodies that have historically been excluded. Their social media feeds don’t promise perfection — they offer connection. Instead of idealised templates, they present reality: bloating, rolls, scars, cellulite, and skin that moves. These women are not just influencers — they are mirrors for those who rarely see themselves reflected.
This movement is not without risk. Visibility often comes with backlash. But in embracing their vulnerability, these women give others permission to do the same. Their influence isn’t based on aspiration — it’s rooted in identification. You see them and think: that could be me.
This is directly aligned with the heart of my practice. When I paint women’s bodies — unidealised, full of stretch, curve, softness and strength — I am building on their legacy. When I print those paintings onto fabric and wear them, I am carrying their message. When I create risographs of those bodies layered with slogans like “Her Body, Her Image” or “More Than One Standard”, I am amplifying what they started.
According to Identity Theory (Stryker & Burke, 2000), the way we present ourselves externally shapes how we see ourselves internally. These influencers reclaim identity through clothing, storytelling, and raw visual truth. They don’t just challenge the beauty standard — they stretch it wide open.
By highlighting these women in my work, I show the alternative: fashion that includes rather than excludes, bodies that are lived in rather than manipulated, and beauty that is defined by the person wearing it — not the system selling it.
This is not a trend. This is cultural repair.
Why This Matters to My Project
This comparison isn’t about shaming one group and praising another — it’s about visibility and impact. Young women are bombarded with curated perfection, often without knowing it’s unattainable. My work pushes against this illusion. By creating clothing from real women’s bodies, visual art of bodily truth, and campaigns that speak to reality, I offer an alternative gaze. This is why this project exists — not just to critique, but to offer a different mirror. One we can recognise ourselves in.