Beauty in RED: How Social Media Influencers Construct Aesthetic Norms of Chinese Women

Abstract

Abstract: With the widespread use of social media in contemporary society, a large number of social media influencers have appeared in public view and have influenced the lives of the public. This study takes the Chinese social media platform RED as an example to analyze the construction of social media influencers’ aesthetic norms for women. The research method used in this study is visual methodology. Two prominent social media influencers on the RED platform, “Cheng Shian” and “Doudou-babe”, were selected as the subjects of this study. The researcher selected 39 posts from the posts made by these two social media influencers to be discussed in this study. By analyzing the posts of the selected social media influencers, the researcher concluded that the combination of the social media influencers’ own gender identity and the social media influencers’ presentation of their own gender identity on the social media platform and the interaction of the audience resulted in the construction of per appearance and female beauty norms. The results of this study are of reference value and significance for future research on the influence of social media influencers on the public.