Date

5-22-2024

Department

School of Communication and the Arts

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Communication (PhD)

Chair

Kami Anderson

Keywords

Black Consonance and Dissonance theory, social media, beauty standards, Black women, adolescence, identity development

Disciplines

Communication

Abstract

Media messages play a crucial part in teaching people how to view themselves and others through the representations of things like gender roles, racial groups, and perceptions of what is deemed beautiful. There is an abundance of stereotypical images of Black women in the media. In addition, they are also inundated with unrealistic beauty standards reflective of Eurocentric ideals of attractiveness that do not include them. Social media allows for content containing stereotypes about Black women and beauty criteria that do not include them at unprecedented rates. This narrative qualitative study aimed to examine how social media content used by Black young women in late adolescence impacts how they define beauty and articulate their self-identity. This study’s findings have contributed to Goode-Middleton’s emerging Black Consonance and Dissonance theory.

Included in

Communication Commons

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