Income inequality not gender inequality positively covaries with female sexualization on social media.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional ecological observational analysis across geographic units (design analogy).
PubMed 30131431 · doi:10.1073/pnas.1717959115
What was done
The authors analyzed aggregate patterns across 68,562 publicly shared sexualized self-portrait photographs ("sexy selfies") on Twitter and Instagram. They evaluated the association between the prevalence of these posts and indicators of gender inequality versus income inequality across 5,567 US cities, 1,622 US counties, and 113 nations. To test external validity, they examined US aggregate sales data for appearance-enhancement goods and services, including beauty salons and women's clothing.
What was found
Across US cities and counties, areas with higher sexy-selfie prevalence demonstrated greater economic inequality but were not more gender-oppressive. Across 113 nations, income inequality positively covaried with sexy-selfie prevalence, especially within more developed countries. Economically unequal, but not gender-oppressive, US localities also showed higher sales in beauty salons and women's apparel. Specific numerical effect sizes, correlation coefficients, and confidence intervals were not reported in the abstract.
Why it matters
These findings challenge the assumption that female sexualization primarily reflects patriarchal oppression, suggesting instead that it reflects status-seeking and intrasexual competition in environments with high income inequality.
Limits
The ecological and cross-sectional design cannot establish individual-level motives or causality. The abstract reports no numerical effect sizes or variance explained. Social media sampling from Twitter and Instagram may introduce platform-specific selection bias, and findings rely on aggregate proxies that may be confounded by local demographics or internet usage patterns.
Cited by
- supports A study by Khandis Blake found that living in an area with higher wealth/income inequality is correlated with increased self-objectification in photos posted online by women.