Micro-Influencers' Construction of Bodypositive (Instagram Case)

Student: Petrova Natalia

Supervisor: Olga Logunova

Educational Programme: Advertising and Public Relations (Bachelor)

Year of Graduation: 2021

The aim of this study was to identify the components of "body-positive" image constructed by micro-influencers in the context of the Russian online space illustrated by the case of Instagram publications. We analyzed 300 Instagram posts published by social media users with the number of followers ranging from 10 to 100 thousand. The publications were analyzed in terms of their compliance with the classic body positivity themes, positive body image themes, and the correspondence of the presented visual body image with the established ideological foundations of the "body positivity" social movement. The data analysis showed that the image of "body positivity" in stated context differs from the classical one, where the main emphasis in the presented publications was not on the themes of self-acceptance and positive body image formation regardless of socio-cultural standards of beauty, rather, on the appearance (and its improvement) -focused themes.

Student Theses at HSE must be completed in accordance with the University Rules and regulations specified by each educational programme.

Summaries of all theses must be published and made freely available on the HSE website.

The full text of a thesis can be published in open access on the HSE website only if the authoring student (copyright holder) agrees, or, if the thesis was written by a team of students, if all the co-authors (copyright holders) agree. After a thesis is published on the HSE website, it obtains the status of an online publication.

Student theses are objects of copyright and their use is subject to limitations in accordance with the Russian Federation’s law on intellectual property.

In the event that a thesis is quoted or otherwise used, reference to the author’s name and the source of quotation is required.

Search all student theses