The production of the self as a brand in Instagram: intersections between femininity and neoliberalism in women influencers’ aesthetic and body images

Abstract

This article will address the gendered production of women influencers’ public image regarding their aesthetic and body image as a brand. The relevance of this research topic is justified due to the influencers’ position as cultural engineers who contribute to channel and legitimate identity interpellations that encapsulate specific ways of being. These identity interpellations take place in a context where neoliberal demands are expanding and being intertwined with specific gender mandates. We will focus on the pictures shared through Instagram. Specifically, we will analyse the strategic use of a certain (female) body image as a legitimising tool in the process of self-production as a brand. We will also pay attention to how the relationship between this body projection and the production of a certain ethos and the mobilisation of an emotional government that capitalises on emotions such as happiness is developed.