A Study on Cyborgized Body Presentation in Social Media and the Identity Anxiety of Young Women
Abstract
In the contemporary digital milieu, the bodily presentation of young women on social media is undergoing a profound process of cyborgization. Through the pervasive use of beautification filters, AI-generated avatars, and cosmetic surgery discourses, the human body is perpetually edited, enhanced, and reconstructed, creating a cyborgized entity that transcends physical limitations and blurs the boundary between the real and the virtual. This paper aims to investigate the construction mechanisms of this phenomenon and its consequential impact on the identity anxiety of young women. Drawing upon key theoretical frameworks from post-humanism, surveillance studies, and social theory, this study analyzes the primary construction pathways of the cyborgized body. It critically examines how this mode of presentation exacerbates identity anxiety by fostering a severe online-offline identity schism, perpetuating relentless social comparison under a pervasive algorithmic gaze, and framing the body as a perpetually unfinished project that demands constant optimization. Finally, this study moves beyond a narrative of victimization to discuss the complex agency and potential for resistance among young women, acknowledging that the cyborgized body is simultaneously a site of intense discipline and a potential nexus for empowerment, creative self-expression, and ambivalent negotiation.
References
[2] Haraway, D. J. (2016). A cyborg manifesto. University of Minnesota Press. https://doi.org/10.5749/minnesota/9780816650477.003.0001
[3] Mulvey, L. (1975). Visual pleasure and narrative cinema. Screen, 16(3), 6–18. https://doi.org/10.1093/screen/16.3.6
[4] Cheney-Lippold, J. (2017). We are data: Algorithms and the making of our digital selves. New York University Press.
[5] Noble, S. U. (2018). Algorithms of oppression: How search engines reinforce racism. NYU Press.
[6] Zuo, H., & Wang, T. (2019). The looking-glass self in a smart-mirror: An empirical study of young women's self-perception in the context of selfie-editing. Media, Culture & Society, 14, 58–75.
[7] Rodgers, R. F., Slater, A., Gordon, C. S., McLean, S. A., Jarman, H. K., & Paxton, S. J. (2020). A biopsychosocial model of social media use and body image concerns, eating disorder symptoms, and cosmetic surgery acceptance. Body Image, 49(2), 399–409. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01190-0
[8] Lupton, D. (2016). The quantified self. Polity Press.
[9] Baudrillard, J. (1994). Simulacra and simulation. University of Michigan Press. https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.9904
[10] Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. Doubleday.
[11] Tiggemann, M., & Slater, A. (2015). The role of self-objectification in the mental health of early adolescent girls: Predictors and consequences. J Pediatr Psychol, 40(7), 704–711. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsv021
[12] Fardouly, J., Diedrichs, P. C., Vartanian, L. R., & Halliwell, E. (2015). Social comparisons on social media: The impact of Facebook on young women's body image concerns and mood. Body Image, 13, 38–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2014.12.002
[13] Wang, Y., Li, Z., & Zhang, Y. (2022). Short-form video viewing and social comparison on TikTok and body satisfaction among female college students: The roles of body surveillance and body appreciation. Sex Roles, 10, 58–71.
[14] Widdows, H. (2018). Perfect me: Beauty as an ethical ideal. Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.23943/9781400889624
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
1.png)
