Fixing Social Media Final Project
Daniella DiPaola, Nina Lutz, Anastasia Ostrowski
Filter History
Our Project Considers Beauty Through the Decades
Humans have been editing themselves for centuries. Our project focuses on beauty standards in the United States from the 1940s to now. Thin, white women have been the standard of beauty since the United States was conceived. And standards of beauty have evolved with markets and the idea that a woman's body is for the male gaze.
This is what young girls are faced with and social media has made it easier and more visible than ever to face what you look like and have the option to edit it. This project is in no way exhaustive, but we hope to give an idea of the historical context behind these unrealistic standards and how they evolved.
How it works
1. We have gathered historical research and summarized it into 6 categories:
Media
Ideas from mainstream media.
Body
Female body standards of that decade.
Fashion
Fashion trends and popular brands.
Hair
Popular hairstyles and products.
Makeup
Popular makeup trends and products.
Counter
Things outside the beauty ideal of that decade.
2. We have compiled research and utilized computation to analyze and present trends from both written and visual sources.
3. We have used this information to inform an analysis and interviews regarding Generation Z and their usage of photo taking and editting.
4. We have presented this analysis and speculations from it along with visual feedback in this website.
1940s - Wartime Fashion
World War II placed pressure on women to start emerging into the work place.
Media
Avoid the “too-skinny look”
Encouraged to "look the part" of a working woman
Body
More curvaceous
“Fit” bodies linked with productivity
Fashion
Emphasized natural waist
Detailed suits, trousers, platform shoes
Practical, quasi-military styles
Hair
Short hair
Precision grooming
Makeup
"Lovely" faces with blush and red lips
Counter
Increased pressure on women of color to straighten and contain natural hair texture.
1950s - The Natural Look Men Look For
"It was not until the 1950s that cosmetics companies first targeted teenage girls." (Rice, 2014)
Media
Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly
Cosmetics targeted teens
Heteronormative pressures and images
Body
Busty, voluptuous hourglass
Girdles to achieve shape
Fashion
Hourglass silhouettes
Fuller, longer skirts and stockings
Unisex styles and jeans
Rock and roll, denim and gingham
Hair
Expectation to use beauty products
Makeup
Expectation to use beauty products
Feminine face, flawless skin
Sculpted brows and neutral eyes
Counter
The black community sees accessorized suit styles, popularized by artists like Miles Davis.
1960s - "Feminist" and Confused
"Thus, while women, and young women in particular, were receiving messages about liberation, equality and emancipation, they were also receiving messages that indicated that all of this happens only to thin women." (Parker 2009)
Media
Twiggy, Beatniks, Jackie Kennedy, Elizabeth Taylor
Body
Thin and androgynous
Fashion
Hippie-influenced looks
Miniskirts, PVC and paper dresses
Colorful geometric prints, pop art, pantyhose
Hair
Long, flowy hair
Beehive, Sassoon cuts, bouffants, flick ups
Headscarves and home hair dye
Makeup
Pinky, shimmering lips
Graphical liner, bright shadows
Powdered foundations for "brunette-toned" complexions
Counter
Natural hair movement in the mid-late 60s, including the afro in the black community during the Civil Rights movement.
1970s - Long, Lean, and "Chill"
Vogue proclaimed "There are no rules in the fashion game now" due to overproduction flooding the market with cheap synthetic clothing (Oxfam GB 2017)
Media
Jane Fonda, Farah Fawcett
Disco and musical influences
Body
Anorexia nervosa escalates as thin is still valued
Fashion
Hippie and disco styles
Color returns to menswear.
Layered looks, jersey and knitwear popular
Hair
Farah flick, shorter cuts, face framing
Perming and cornrows
Punk hairstyles start emerging
Makeup
Minimal “natural look”
Disco influence with red lips and smoky eyes
Drugstore makeup grows
Counter
First black woman on Vogue
More makeup diversity
Perm trend from disco culture
Stonewall Riots saw increased street fashion in the queer community
1980s - Music Meets Fashion
Travel and work favor easy dressing as women take up more executive roles in the workplace” (Jones, 2011)
Media
Fitness empires
Rise of supermodels
Street versus high style epitomized by icons Madonna and Princess Diana.
Body
Thin (dieting) + fitness emphasis (toned bodies)
Fashion
Punk, anti-fashion, street fashion, bondage clothing
Unisex dressing.
Cult of the healthy body, sportswear, stretch jersey.
Hair
Perms and big hair
Mullets and punk styles and Diana
Makeup
Foundation lighter than skin tone
Vibrant eyeshadows and blushes
Bright, glossy lips
Counter
Emergence of goth and hard metal scenes
AIDs crisis changes gay expression through the decade
1990s - The Binary Grunge
"As images of obesity flashed across media screens as a part of public health outreach efforts, in contrast so did images of skinny models." (History of the Ideal Woman)
Media
Kate Moss, Tara Reid, Calvin Klein, and other fashion megas
Images of obesity as a part of public health outreach efforts
Models and thin actresses rise to more fame.
Body
Heroin chic, large breasts, and thigh gaps
Anorexia deaths increase
Extreme thinness celebrated in fashion and increased obesity marketting
Fashion
Patent leather and space infused styles
Acid wash jeans
Prints
Hair
"The Rachel" - structured flip bobs
Crimping and small inserts and accessories
Makeup
Dark lip liner, frosty glosses, dark reds
Thin, dark eyebrows with light, metallic eyeshadows
Counter
Hip hop style gains stride in black communities
Internet communities emerge with new aesthetics
2000s - Sporting Accessories
Personal Trainers and Spray Tans
Media
Britney Spears
Giselle Bundchen
Jessica Simpson
Paris Hilton
Body
Abs and toning
Athletic, strong, and thin
Fashion
Low-rise jeans
Pocketless jeans
Pants will messages on the butt
Halter tops
Bedazzled tops
Hair
Straight hair
Side Bangs
High-contrast highlights
The pouf
Flipped ends
Makeup
Glossy lips
Bronzer/fake tans
Thin eyebrows
Rosy cheeks
Counter
Calls for embracing curves and against the diet industry
More discourse in employer discrimatination regarding appearance
2010s - Curves and Photoshop
Kardashian butts and social media influencers
Media
Kardashians
Editing as the new normal
Body inclusivity movements
Social media influencers
Body
Wide Hips
Tiny waist
Full lips
Curvy with flat abs
Fashion
Ath-leisure
Millenial Pink
Streetwear and consumerism fashion
Mom jeans and skinny jeans
Hair
Natural hair movement with reemergence of the perm
Ombre hair and brighter hair colors
Wavy and long
Braids
Makeup
Bold Eyebrows
Heavy liner and smoky eye
Rising beauty guru influencers
Contouring and highlighting
International beauty trends
Bold, matte lips
Counter
Rising gender nonconformity
Body positivity movements and demand for representation of all shapes and colors
Increased accountability of cultural appropriation
Vogue and Bodies
There were a lot of trends throughout our historical analysis. One of which we considered was Vogue, one of the leading fashion magazines, and data around the average BMI of celebrities and average women.
BMI Trends
We looked at BMI trends of women throughout the decades.
Vogue Covers
We ran analysis on Vogue covers over time, noting dominant
BMI Trends
We are able to see that the gap between the average woman and the celebrity widens as time goes on. Furthermore, the average woman's BMI goes up dramatically compared to the celebrity BMI which has stayed more the same. BMI of course is a flawed measurement, but an informative trend to see over time and large population. And this gap is concerning to see widen, as it puts more and more women in the sitaution that they will not be able to see bodies like theirs wihtin media.
DISCLAIMER: BMI is not an inclusive measurement and does not capture the full information of the human body. Furthermore this is not a medical study and should not be read as one.
Vogue Cover Analysis
Vogue has been an American staple since the 19th century. It has long had a place in the fashion and cultural world, especially pre internet. In fact you could argue that magazines like Vogue were the first social networks. Below we have analyzed trends of Vogue covers over the decades, in paritcular through looking at the average of the photos and their composition and lines.
If we consider all the decades over time, we can see some trends emerge.
Overall, one of the trends we can see is that the 1940s and 1950s had a large variety of covers from photos of women to abstract art and pop culture announcements. In the 1960s we see a trend more towards photos of women and in the 1970s and 1980s each photo is focused more on the faces of the models. It is in the 1990s and on that we see larger editorial photoshoots around the whole body.
DISCLAIMER: Vogue covers from Vogue archives. This is computationally generated and subject to error.
Teens, Social Media, and Beauty
It is undeniable that the internet has radically changed how we consume media. As part of this project, we conducted semi-structured interviews with four Gen-Z women ranging from ages 18-24. The goal of these interviews was to get more insights into the photo taking process for these women, from the moment they decided to take a photo to the moment they posted it. Here are some of our findings:
As part of this analysis we interviewed members of Gen Z about their use of photo editting and filtering. We also examined 6 Generation Z influencers and their use of photo editting, by running popular posts of their feeds through software to understand which photos are editted and by what measures they are editted.
Lighting
Photo light edit either pre or post photo
Angle
The angle at which the photo is taken
Skin Edit
Editting of the skin
Color Edit
Editting color and contrast of the photo
Body Edit
Editting the body
We analyzed 20 of the top posts from 5 major influencers pictured below.
Charli D'Amelio
15 years old, 16.9 million
Loren Gray
18 years old, 19.3 million
Emma Chamberlain
18 years old, 9.3 million
Kylie Jenner
22 years old, 173 million
Maddie Ziegler
17 years old, 13.6 million
Below are the breakdowns for each influencer in context of these filters.
As you can see, Kylie actually has the most editting while stars that are younger and gained more popularity via TikTok and video apps that cannot be as editted have less editting. However almost all of these photos have some pretty intense editting, in particular with angles and lighting. This gives more evidence to involvement in the picture taking process than it does into the editting one. There is also a high trend towards utilizing sunlight over unnatural lighting. Some examples are below.
DISCLAIMER: All of these results are by computational methods and are subject to error. This is not verified.
So What Are We To Do?
Aesthetic standards change over time; this is natural given that culture evolves and creates new art and movements. The "ideal body" is an ever moving target-- one that we continue to aim for. However, humans have been using advanced photography and intesive methods to modify their bodies to match these changing standards.
Social media has made filtering and editing part of their visual experiences. You cannot scroll through your Instagram feed without interacting with filters-- though disguised as "natural". And many users are aware of this to some level, and yet many still find themselves moving towards this target. There are still comparisons and an influx into the filtered lives of stars and friends alike.
