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SELFIES. Whether you love them or you hate them, they're constantly flooding our social media feeds.
For women it's often about being seen as sexy or looking glamorous. But why?
Well, researchers have figured it out. And the reason is not what you might think.
University of New South Wales researcher Khandis Blake says the next time you see a woman adjusting her bikini provocatively with her phone at the ready, don't think of her as vacuous or a victim.
"Think of her as a strategic player in a complex social and evolutionary game," says Dr Blake said [sic].
The study revealed women tend to sexualise themselves in environments with greater economic inequality, rather than where they might be oppressed because of their gender.
Analysing tens of thousands of social media posts across 113 countries, they tracked photos where people had taken selfies and then noted that they were tagged sexy, hot or similar.
[...] "That income inequality is a big predictor of sexy selfies suggests that sexy selfies are a marker of social climbing among women that tracks economic incentives in the local environment," Dr Blake says.
"Rightly or wrongly, in today's environment, looking sexy can generate large returns, economically, socially, and personally."
(Score: 4, Funny) by Bot on Friday August 31 2018, @08:07AM (4 children)
"Think of her as a strategic player in a complex social and evolutionary game"
Bringing interaction to counter homogeneity, as I always say.
Might as well turn that into an acronym. O wait.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 31 2018, @08:40AM
No need for that just because - womens hankering overtly represents endogenous selfies.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by AthanasiusKircher on Friday August 31 2018, @08:59AM (2 children)
Huh. Social media has elements of a "game," where people compete against each other. Who'd have thought that?
I mean, most posts seem to consist of people showing off how cool they are, trying to accumulate more "likes." And women tend to post photos of themselves that are more flattering to get more likes! No way!
[/Sarcasm]
For those who don't realize it (apparently these researchers among them), social media is obviously a game. And the goal for photos is to make yourself look as awesome as possible... However you think "awesome" is defined in your peer group.
For many young women, I'm sure that's being "sexy" or "glamorous." If you are friends with a bunch of foodies, it's likely showing complex plated dishes -- you don't take a photo of the mac-and-cheese you really eat most nights; you post a photo of the one night that month you made a real meal. And you dim the lights, light a candle in the background and put a glass of wine strategically in the photo to make you look more cultured. If you're friends with the book club, you post photos of your library or stacks of books with the most interesting or "important" books prominently displayed (even if you have to rearrange your shelves for the photo), even if you've never managed to read them.
Etc., Etc. That's how the social media game works. Which is why I don't play because it's superficial and silly. It's just like attending a cocktail party and trying to chat up strangers -- for women, you put on your "little black dress" and talk about stuff you think people want to hear, showing off strategically what attributes you think will attract your desired audience.
It's not a very "complex" game at all. It's the same social game people play all the time in groups, just "on the internet."
(Score: 3, Insightful) by AthanasiusKircher on Friday August 31 2018, @09:34AM
Oh, one correction: I should say "the peer group you aspire to." That's often your most important target audience on social media (and in real life). Garnering likes from your friends is important to many people, but most people are really looking for approval from a wider audience on social media.
Poor people may not have as many options to impress people with material goods to show off in photos or photos of exotic locales they go on vacation or whatever... So they resort to highlighting their looks.
Again, why should anyone be surprised by this?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 31 2018, @02:09PM
Strange game, Professor Falken. There seems to be only one way to win...