TOKONI UTI t.uti@rgu.ac.uk
Research Student
The lifecycle of a social media beauty trend: a case study of the Instagram body. [Article]
Uti, Tokoni; Marcella-Hood, Madeleine
Authors
Dr Madeleine Marcella-Hood m.marcella-hood@rgu.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer
Abstract
This article explores the evolution of the Instagram body as an example of a social media beauty trend and theorises an updated lifecycle model to convey this phenomenon. The advent and evolution of social media has led to an online beauty culture and ecosystem, with new influential creators, and consumers driving trends and standards in online spaces. Lifecycle models exist across a range of contexts, with the fashion lifecycle being the most relevant to the current study. However, these models have not been adapted to reflect the phenomenon of social media and the current study aims to address that gap. The current research consists of a qualitative case study of the Instagram body as an example of a social media beauty trend. Interviews were carried out with influential stakeholders (fitness professionals, content creators and a cosmetic surgeon) who could observe and provide insights into changing behaviour and beauty ideals. Archival data were collected through an analysis of song lyrics and music videos to underpin the timing of specific stages in the lifecycle. A six-stage life-cycle model is proposed, consisting of emergence, mainstreaming, normalisation/peak, criticism/fatigue, discard and retrospective phases. Themes around gender disparity in the production and consumption of contemporary beauty trends were uncovered, providing direction for future research in this area. This research has implications for future research in body image, fashion, media and cultural studies.
Citation
UTI, T. and MARCELLA-HOOD, M. 2025. The lifecycle of a social media beauty trend: a case study of the Instagram body. Cogent arts and humanities [online], 12(1), article number 2472544. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2025.2472544
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Acceptance Date | Feb 21, 2025 |
Online Publication Date | Mar 10, 2025 |
Publication Date | Dec 31, 2025 |
Deposit Date | Mar 20, 2025 |
Publicly Available Date | Mar 20, 2025 |
Journal | Cogent arts and humanities |
Electronic ISSN | 2331-1983 |
Publisher | Taylor and Francis |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 12 |
Issue | 1 |
Article Number | 2472544 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2025.2472544 |
Keywords | Social media; Instagram; Beauty; Lifecycle; Trend; Ideal; Body; Influence |
Public URL | https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/2715196 |
Related Public URLs | https://doi.org/10.48526/rgu-wt-2071810 (MPhil Thesis) |
Files
UTI 2025 The lifecycle of a social media (VOR)
(2.2 Mb)
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Publisher Licence URL
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Copyright Statement
© 2025 the Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
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