Undressed to succeed? Content analysis of self-objectification of influencers in Spain

Abstract

In the recent report The Impact of Influencers on Advertising and Consumer Protection in the Single Market the European Parliament mentions the use of nudity and sexual content and the role of perceptions and expectations towards body image and perfect images. What most moves consumers' attitudes and behavioral intentions is the credibility, attractiveness (both physical and in terms of familiarity and likability), expertise, trustworthiness, popularity, prestige and high power of the influencers. In Spain two White Papers on influencer marketing indicate that a common form of socialization, especially for girls and women, consists of showing a sexy or a perfect body and projecting an egocentric image. The aim of this research is to analyze the presence of self-objectification in top influencers in Spain and to identify its relationship with either social values of success and recognition or stereotypes. The methodology carried out has been a content analysis of 246 images of the first 14 top influencers that appear in the Report of the 500 most influential men and women influencers in Spain in 2022. From a previous literature review, the analysis has been conducted with a deductive-inductive research paradigm through coding with QSR Nvivo the following categories of self-objectification: (1) sexy self-presentation; (2) appearance-centered attitude towards one's own perfect body - egocentric image; (3) stereotypical gender representation; and (4) success, social recognition, or popularity. The results show that self-objectification is more predominant in women than in men, and that it has an important correspondence with the self-perception of the professions they have as well as with age, being mainly belonging to the Z Generation. Both women and men who self-perceive themselves as having professions in which physical appearance is relevant (models or actors) tend to objectify themselves more. However, success and social recognition are more evident in those male influencers who emphasize their professional facet and do not resort to self-sexualization of their bodies (businessmen, advertisers or youtubers).