Prompt 1: Compare three celebrities with a social media presence that represent at least two different gender identities (man, woman, transgender, cisgender, gender non-conforming, etc.). Collect and analyze data from their social media performances and evaluate the comments from others to these three celebrities online. What are the differences, if any, between the three celebrities emerged? Why do you think there are (or are not) differences? What conclusions can be drawn about gender performance and social media?
The three celebrities that I have chosen are Jordan Torres, @officialjt, Sydney Sweeney, @sydney_sweeney, and makeup artist Leslie Quezada, @leeexlieee. I decided to choose three celebrities who have more of a social media presence than being the exact definition of “celebrity”. The one with the most social media following is Sydney Sweeney, who is an actress on HBO’s show Euphoria, with 1.2M followers. I wanted to do it this way to show that even influencers who aren’t necessarily big celebrities yet, still get criticized. I narrowed in just focusing on their social media profiles on Instagram to get a better view and understanding to better analyze.
The first person that I started analyzing was Jordan Torres. When trying to gather some date on his comments, I realized that a majority of his posts had the comments turned on. The ones that do have the comments on are ones that he would post on his Insta-story about. He posts the photo on his story saying to comment on certain emojis, or just plain leave a comment. And those posts specifically are the ones where he is either shirtless or has less clothes on. Jordan is a built, attractive man which is why it’s no wonder that he would promote those specific posts of himself. I also feel that because of that fact that he knows he is attractive, he turns off the comments so that he won’t get any hate or vulgar comments. He is a very humble person and tries to motivate his followers, which is why he knows what comes from being an influencer. He does not want to go through those types of comments because he doesn’t want any negativity in his life. He also doesn’t live on social media. From past posts and stories, he would go on excursions and just enjoy life without the pressure of social media.
Sydney Sweeney’s and Les Do Makeup’s social was very different. They were comments about how pretty or good she looks in her posts. They agree with what she captions the posts. Fans are exclaiming how much they love them and inspire them. For Les, she gets comments about being a new mom, especially when she posts photos with her son, Gael. They don’t have comments turned off for their posts. What I did notice was that there wasn’t a lot of hate comments or trying to tear them down. This doesn’t mean that they don’t get any in their Direct Messages, but that is something that is not seen, unless posted by them.
I believe that there are differences because of how society sees men and women in social media. Especially on Instagram, where it has “tricked” people into thinking that one type of body or face is attractive. That is a conversation that we as a society need to have because it has lead to a lot of self hatred within this generation. “Through blogs and self-branding, women have built both cultural and social capital by developing online followings that cross over into traditional media.” (Humphreys 143). This is similar to what Les Do Makeup has done. She started on YouTube making content that then lead to sponsorships and having her own brand and merchandise. I think overall, the reactions that celebrities or influencers face online come from how we view men and women in society. We need to change as a whole how we view people and start to see them more as human beings than sex objects.
Humphreys, A. (2016). Social media: enduring principles. New York: Oxford University Press.
Juan Bonete 