Lip Fillers, BBLs und Feminismus. Zum Diskurs über kosmetische Eingriffe auf TikTok aus feminismustheoretischer Perspektive

Abstract

The following paper meant to analyze the characteristics of the discourse surrounding cosmetic procedures with regard to feminist theory on TikTok. While the app has shown continuous growth in popularity over the last years, there has been evidence that TikTok itself can influence body image and body surveillance in its users (Bissonette Mink & Szymanski, 2022). The feminist theories at hand consist of the male gaze à Mulvey (1999a), objectification theory à Fredrickson & Roberts (1997), beauty standards as well as neoliberal feminism such as choice feminism which focuses on empowerement through freedom of choice (e.g. Thwaites, 2017) and postfeminism (e.g. Gill, 2007). After conducting a discourse analysis according to Keller, the findings were compared to the aforementioned theories. Feminist concepts are used to criticize but also justify the reasons as to why women would undergo cosmetic procedures. While attitudes towards neoliberal feminism, specifically choice feminism, are mixed, users are in large part critical of neoliberal feminist rhetoric. Thus, the range of opinion about the matter at hand is wide, yet largely postfeminist.