Kroppens yttre utseende har varierande betydelser i människors liv, men alla har en uppfattning om hur de tänker och känner kring sin kropp. Vår kroppsuppfattning influeras oftast av yttre faktorer, inklusive sociala medier som presenterar innehåll som kan påverka vårt tankesätt. Under det senaste decenniet har Instagram blivit en integrerad del av vårt vardagliga liv och spelar en avgörande roll för att utveckla vår attityd och inställning till vårt utseende.  Uppsatsen syftar till att undersöka hur unga kvinnor i åldrarna 18-25 får upplever framställningen av skönhetsingrepp på Instagram, vidare ligger uppsatsen fokus på om respondenterna själva upplever att de vill, eller redan har genomgått ett skönhetsingrepp med Instagram som bidragande orsak. Med hjälp av kvalitativa fokusgrupper och en kvantitativ enkätundersökning har vi undersökt om kvinnorna själva upplever att Instagram är en bidragande orsak till att vilja förändra sitt eget utseende genom skönhetsingrepp.  Studiens syfte har uppnåtts med följande frågeställningar:  -  Hur upplever unga kvinnor framställningen av skönhetsingrepp på Instagram? -  Upplever respondenterna att framställningen av skönhetsingrepp på Instagram är  en bidragande faktor till att förändra sitt utseende med hjälp av estetiska ingrepp?  Resultatet har analyserats i enlighet utifrån teorierna ideologi i visuell kommunikation, parasociala interaktionsteorin, teorier om identitet och interpellationteorin samt utifrån tidigare forskning kring ämnet. Sammanfattningsvis visar resultatet av enkätundersökningen att majoriteten upplever att det finns ett rådande skönhetsideal på Instagram och att de känner sig pressade att se ut på ett visst sätt. Kvinnorna fick även ta ställning till huruvida framställningen av skönhetsingrepp på Instagram påverkar dem i den mån att de själva vill förändra sitt utseende och mer än hälften menar att dem är påverkade. / The external appearance of the body has varying meanings in people's lives, but everyone has an idea of how they think and feel about their body. Our body image is most often influenced by external factors, including social media that presents content that may affect our way of thinking. Over the past decade, Instagram has become an integral part of our daily lives and plays a crucial role in developing our attitudes towards our appearance.  The essay aims to investigate how young women aged 18-25 may experience the presence of beauty procedures on Instagram, furthermore, the essay focuses on whether the respondents themselves feel that they want to, or have already undergone a beauty procedure with Instagram as a contributing cause. With the help of qualitative focus groups and a quantitative survey, we have investigated whether the women themselves feel that Instagram is a contributing reason for wanting to change their appearance through beauty procedures.  The purpose of the study has been achieved with the following questions:  -  How do young women experience the portrayal of beauty procedures on Instagram? -  Do the respondents feel that the presentation of beauty procedures on Instagram is a contributing factor to changing their appearance with the help of aesthetic procedures?  The results have been analyzed by the theories ideology in visual communication, parasocial interaction theory, theories of identity, and interpellation theory and based on previous research on the subject. In summary, the results of the survey show that the majority feel that there is a prevailing beauty ideal on Instagram and that they feel pressured to look a certain way. The women also had to decide whether the presentation of beauty procedures on Instagram affects them to the extent that they want to change their appearance and more than half believe that they are affected.

This master thesis' main topic is fashion and lifestyle blogs and the impact of the brands and the ideal of beauty that is widely promoted in the media on them. The aim of this thesis is to find out which type of the brands can be mostly found in the blog posts with personal style of the successful bloggers and if there is a type of physical appearance that prevails among them. I am using the quantitative image analysis of Gillian Rose to test these hypotheses on photographs of bloggers. I was inspired by the work of Catherine Lutz and Jane Collins. My hypotheses are tested on photographs from three websites (Lookbook, Chictopia, Bloglovin') where bloggers are hierarchized. Bloggers are opinion leaders. This means it is advantageous for the marketing departments of brands to collaborate with them because bloggers can effectively influence their readers. Brands play an important role in life of people that believe brands can non-verbally tell the character of the brand consumer. In these days the Eurocentric ideal of beauty and the ideal of thin bodies are forced especially on women by media. The thinness is in the advertisements connected with attractiveness and successfulness, which is transferred also in the real life of people. The conclusion of this thesis indicates that there are most often...

The topic of this thesis is the issue of beauty perception among adolescent girls and influence of youtubers in this area. The aim of this thesis is to find out, how adolescent girls are constructing image of their own beauty and beauty in general and what role youtubers play in forming their opinion. The first part of this thesis is focused on theoretical knowledge, including maturation process, social and medial construct of beauty, opportunities of new media, youtubers and their audience and influencer marketing. The second part is centred around my own research, where half structured interviews were used. There are also formulated research questions and more information provided about the ethics of research, research sample and the method of analysis. The results of analysis are interpreted in detail and discussed further.

Det har länge varit känt att de kropps- och skönhetsideal som råder i samhället långt ifrån inkluderar alla typer av kroppar. Modebranschen har framförallt utmärkt sig på den här punkten, och det är väl känt att det allt som oftast är smala modeller som representeras i branschen. Vår valda problemformulering grundar sig i att normbrytande kroppar är underrepresenterande i samhället och i modebranschen. Vårt syfte med den här uppsatsen var att undersöka hur Veckorevyn förhåller sig till sitt manifest de kallar Size Hero. Det här manifestet grundar sig i en protest mot de rådande kropps- och skönhetsideal som råder i samhället. I samband med detta ska vi även analysera hur många normativa kontra normbrytande kroppar som totalt finns representerande i tidningen, och hur de framställs. Vi ämnar även att problematisera begreppet ”plus size”, dess användning och betydelse. Den valda metoden för vår analys grundar sig i flermetodsforskning, och valet av den här metoden gjordes då vi ville ha svar på hur underrepresenterade de är men även hur de framställs när dem väl gör det. Vårt material består av alla Veckorevyns utgivna tidningar under ett år. Vi har analyserat dessa med hjälp av en semiotisk bildanalys och genom en kvantitativ metod. Tillsammans med den semiotiska bildanalysen så har vi använt oss av Hansen och Machins bärare av denotationer och konnotationer för att analysera bilderna. Vårt resultat visade att Veckorevyn uppfyller sitt manifest men i det stora hela är de modeller med normbrytande kroppar fortfarande väldigt underrepresenterade. / It has been known for a long period of time that the body and beauty ideals in society do not include all types of bodies. The fashion industry is known to be exceptional good at excluding bigger bodytypes, and it is well known that it is slim models that is representing majority of it. Our chosen problem for this essay is based on the fact that norm-breaking bodies are underrepresented in society and in the fashion industry. Our purpose with this essay was to investigate how the fashion magazine Veckorevyn relates to their manifest, called Size Hero. This manifest is based on a protest against the prevailing body and beauty ideals that exists in society. We will also analyse how many normative vs. norm-breaking bodies there are as a total representation in the magazine, and how they are presented. We also intend to problematize the concept of the word "plus size", its use and meaning. The chosen method for our analysis is based on a multimethod research and the choice of this method was made because we wanted to have an answer to how underrepresented the norm-breaking bodies are and how they are being portrayed when so. Our material consists of all of Veckorevyn's published magazines for one year. We have analyzed them with the help of a semiotic image analysis and through a quantitative method. Together with the semiotic image analysis, we have used Hansen and Machin's bearers of denotations and connotations in order to analyze the images. Our result showed that Veckorevyn is fulfilling their manifest but on the whole the norm- breaking bodies were still very underrepresented.

This thesis deals with the influence of TV series and their strong heroines on female audience. The aim of this work is to find out whether selected female characters influence the general view of the femine beauty ideal, whether the viewers were in any way inspired by strong female characters and whether these series have opened up some social issues. These goals were formulated into three research questions, which will be answered in the conclusion. The work is divided into three main parts - theoretical, methodological and practical. The theoretical part aims to acquaint the reader with the theoretic basis needed to understand the researched issues. The methodological part presents research methods with all its advantages and disadvantages. The last practical part is focused on research and interpretation of the obtained data. A qualitative method is used to achieve the results, specifically the grounded theory, which is used for the analysis and subsequent interpretation of data obtained from interviews.

The purpose of this study was to find out if young adults, more specified in the ages between 15-30 years old, are affected by beauty ideals on social media and if so, how they are affected. Furthermore, the study wanted to find out if there are any gender differences and age differences in the matter, and how often an individual person publishes content on social media. The theoretical frameworks we applied and used as support was Uses and gratification theory, Social cognitive theory and Sociocultural perspective on body image. We also applied the research on “Why do people use social media?”. In order to find out the purpose of the study and get statistics we created and used a quantitative poll survey. The survey was made with Google Forms and contained 21 variables with closed-ended questions. A random sample was applied through publishing the survey on Facebook. A total of 146 people answered the survey. To get statistics through diagrams we used Google Forms as well as SPSS Statistics. For example, Google Forms introduced how many out of our total target audience who felt themselves being affected by beauty ideals on social media meanwhile SPSS Statistics introduced results where different variables were merged, e.g. comparing genders and influence of beauty ideals.   The survey results stated that women are affected by social media to a greater extent than men are. According to our results, women generally have a lower self-esteem than men do, and they are also more prone to comparing themselves with others. They also experience a stronger self-esteem when posting on social media. In opposite, according to the survey results, men generally have a higher self-esteem and are less affected by social media than women are. The categories “Body” and “Exercise/diet” is a common denominator for both men and women, as both genders experience themself being most affected by them. However, women proved to be more affected in these categories than men. It was furthermore very common with both genders to be affected both positively as well as negatively by social media.   To summarize, the results we got from the analysis of our empirical material agrees well with the theoretical frameworks we used and the research we found. For instance, the theories bring up that girls from an early age are exposed by unrealistic ideals, which can explain our results. / Syftet med undersökningen var att ta reda på om unga vuxna, som specificeras till 15-30 år, påverkas av skönhetsideal på sociala medier och på vilket sätt de påverkas. Undersökningen ville vidare ta reda på om det fanns en skillnad av påverkan mellan könen och åldersgrupper samt hur ofta en person publicerar innehåll på sociala medier. De teoretiska ramverk vi utgick från och tog stöd av var Uses and gratification theory, Social cognitive theory och Sociocultural perspective applicerat på kroppsbilden. Vi använde oss även av forskningen “Why do people use social media?”. För att ta reda på syftet och få fram statistik användes en kvantitativ enkätundersökning. Enkäten skapades i Google Formulär och innehöll 21 variabler med icke-öppna frågor. Ett bekvämlighetsurval tillämpades genom att enkäten publicerades på Facebook. Enkäten fick in totalt 146 respondenter. För att få fram statistik genom diagram användes Google Formulär samt SPSS Statistics. Google Formulär presenterade exempelvis hur många av vår totala målgrupp som upplevde sig påverkade av skönhetsideal på sociala medier medan SPSS Statistics istället presenterade resultat där variabler kopplats samman, exempelvis för att jämföra kön och påverkan av skönhetsideal.   Utifrån enkätens resultat gick det att anta att kvinnor påverkas i högre grad och i större utsträckning än män av sociala medier. Enligt våra resultat har kvinnor generellt en lägre självkänsla och stor tendens till att jämföra sig med andra, och de får även stärkt självkänsla vid publicering på sociala medier. Män har enligt enkätens resultat tvärtom generellt högre självkänsla och påverkas mindre av sociala medier än vad kvinnor gör. Kategorierna “Kropp” och “Träning/kost” är gemensam nämnare hos både män och kvinnor, då båda könen upplever sig påverkas mest här. Däremot visade resultatet att kvinnor påverkas mer än män inom dessa kategorier. Det var vidare vanligt förekommande att påverkas både positivt och negativt av sociala medier hos båda könen.   Sammanfattningsvis har resultaten vi fått fram via analys av vårt empiriska material stämt bra överens med de teoretiska ramverk som använts och den forskning som hittats. Teorierna tar bland annat upp belöning och att flickor i tidig ålder utsätts för orealistiska ideal, vilket kan förklara vårt resultat.

A well digitalized world has contributed, in many ways, to a simpler and more communicative everyday life among people, both privately and through work. However, this societal structure of constantly being connected and active on social media has not only had a positive impact on people and their everyday lives. As the cues for appointments within healthcare, hospitals and psychiatric wards are increasing and the number of mental illnesses drastically increases, many studies have investigated the connection between social media and mental illness. Based on previous knowledge, the purpose of this study is to investigate how users' attitudes towards Instagram's algorithms and functions relate to the use of the application, and if there’re technical measures that could promote the users' experience on the platform and work to counteract the beauty obsession on social media, mainly in this study, Instagram. There is a clear pattern around social media and self-achievement, where the individual strives to gain interactions and affirmation on these various platforms. There is also a technical aspect where the apps' algorithm triggers a dependency on the users to continue scrolling as well as notifications that ring, which also makes it more difficult to completely disconnect from the application. In order to carry out the study and answer the question, a quantitative survey and qualitative interviews were conducted with influencers active in the social media industry, as well as the study's target group: young adults. The result of the study shows that the attitude the users have created towards the platform Instagram is that it comes with feelings of self-criticism and body dissatisfaction to a certain extent. There is also a pronounced dependence on the application, which further creates a feeling of inadequacy in the users. / Den globala digitaliseringen, som skett och sker dagligen världen över, har på många sätt bidragit till en enklare och mer kommunikativ vardag för människor. Att konstant vara uppkopplad och aktiv på sociala medier har dock inte endast för med sig positiva effekter. I takt med att köerna till vården blir längre och att den psykiska ohälsan drastiskt ökar, har flera studier undersökt sambandet mellan sociala medier och psykisk ohälsa. Med förankring i tidigare vetskap är denna studies syfte att undersöka unga svenska kvinnors attityder gentemot Instagrams algoritmer och funktioner samt hur det påverkar den upplevda skönhetshetsen. Även ifall det finns tekniska åtgärder som skulle kunna främja användarnas upplevelse på plattformen och arbeta för att motverka kroppshetsen på Instagram. Det finns ett tydligt samband mellan sociala medier och självpresentation, där den enskilda individen strävar efter att få interaktioner och bekräftelse på dessa olika plattformar. Det finns även en teknisk aspekt där Instagrams algoritmer och utformning framkallar ett beroende hos användarna till att fortsätta scrolla, samt notifikationer som är riktade mot den specifika användaren, vilket gör det svårt att helt koppla bort sig från applikationen. För att genomföra studien och besvara frågeställningen har en kvantitativ enkätundersökning och kvalitativa intervjuer genomförts med kreatörer som är verksamma i sociala medier-branschen, samt studiens målgrupp, unga kvinnor. Resultatet av studien visar att attityden användarna utvecklat gentemot plattformen Instagram är att den i viss utsträckning för med sig känslor av självkritik och kroppsmissnöje. Det finns även ett uttalat beroende av applikationen som framkallar en känsla av otillräcklighet hos användarna.

Skönhetsideal och strävan efter dessa är inte ett nytt fenomen, utan har funnits i olika kulturer och samhällen genom tiderna. Däremot har vi idag nya metoder i form av skönhetsingrepp för att korrigera och uppnå det rådande idealet. Genom dagens sociala medier är det dessutom tillgängligare och lättare än någonsin att påverkas av både skönhetsideal och skönhetsingrepp. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka unga kvinnors förhållningssätt till skönhetsideal och skönhetsingrepp, samt hur de upplevde att sociala medier påverkade dessa.  Detta gjordes genom åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer med kvinnor i åldrarna 18-29. Materialet analyserades genom en tematisk innehållsanalys som resulterade i temana (och kategorierna) Skönhetsideal (Naturlig skönhet, Idealkropp, Strävan, Skönhetsingrepp), Social påverkan (Trender och normer, Socialt sammanhang, Social feedback, Samhällets dubbelmoral) och Självbild (Införlivade ideal, Självkänsla, Medvetet undvikande). Resultatet visade att kvinnorna upplevde att deras syn på skönhetsideal och skönhetsingrepp utformas genom interaktion med individens sociala omgivning. Genom samhällets trender och normer, social kontext och social feedback uttrycktes, med olika grad av medvetenhet, internaliserade ideal som påverkade kvinnornas självbild och välmående. / Beauty ideals and the aspiration to adhere to them is not a new phenomenon, but one that has existed in different cultures and societies throughout time. However, today we have cosmetic procedures as an increasingly accessible method to achieve the prevailing ideal. In addition, today it is more available and easier than ever to be exposed to beauty ideals and cosmetic procedures through social media. The purpose of this study was to explore how young women view beauty ideals and cosmetic procedures, and how they experience that social media affects these. This was done through eight semi-structured interviews with women of the ages 23-29. The material was analysed through a thematic analysis, which resulted in the themes Beauty Ideals (Natural Beauty, Ideal Body, Striving, Cosmetic Procedures), Social Influence (Trends and Norms, Social Context, Social Feedback, Society’s Double Standard) and Self Image (Internalised Ideals, Self-worth, Conscious Avoidance). The result showed that they experience their beauty ideals and opinions on cosmetic procedures as being created through the interaction with the social context of the individual. With different levels of awareness the women expressed their ideals as being internalised through society’s trends and norms, the social context and social feedback. These ideals affected their self image and well-being.

The thesis "The Influence of Media on Body Image with Emphasis on the Issue of Eating Disorders" deals with the impact of media on body perception regarding the current beauty ideal, the cult of slenderness as well as the causes of eating disorder spreading in today's world. This thesis aims to determine how media influences body image of the current society and what part it has in the origin of eating disorders. In terms of this aim, the thesis is divided into theoretical background, a part about body image, followed by the part about beauty ideal, then eating disorders and research. The theoretical part discusses the theory of social and media reality, expected media impacts on people as well as selected theories concerning the media impact on body image. The next part deals with the term body image. The third part involves discussion about the ideal of beauty and introduces three current theories about direct impact of media on body image. It also shows some examples from today's media concerning the topic. The fourth part deals with the eating disorders and their media discourse, followed by few examples of their spreading trend and also campaigns against them. The quantitative analysis aims to find out about today's population body image, the importance of appearance and connection between media...

The purpose of this thesis is to identify practices that constitute plastic surgery in current Republic of Korea with emphasis put on relationships between participating human beings, materials and technologies. It focuses on practices proceeding inside and outside the clinic of plastic surgery. In accordance with M. Lock's concept of local biology this thesis introduces Korean plastic surgery as a set of practices shaped by mutual interaction of local technologies and Korean bodies. The actor network theory approach (ANT), which emphasizes relational open-ended forming of entities, is applied to examining various aspects of plastic surgery. This approach also provides new ways of exploring how the entities and practices described in the medical anthropology as medicalization, medical tourism or local biology are produced. Key words plastic surgery; Republic of Korea; Actor - Network Theory (ANT); bodily practices; local biology; beauty ideal; medicalization.