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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: 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?