Visual Self-Presentation in Social Life

Anna Akbari, visual sociologist & Co-founder of Splice (a social media tool that organizes your 'friends' by strength of relationship) recently gave a lecture at Hofstra University. I took the time to read some of her PhD thesis, Fashioning Power. In her thesis, Akbari "focuses on fashion's modern manifestation in [NYC], an urban globalized setting." Akbari goes on further explaining that "fashion is more of a cultural issue, a politically charged tool for negotiating one's social capital." The majority of her thesis explains the importance of style and fashion in the human culture and it's relation to social status.

The chapter that intrigued me most was Commodified Flesh. Akbari talks about how we "commodify our own flesh in exchange for ease in visual correctness." We as humans, are constantly trying to find
ways to look younger and more attractive. Our society is plagued with diet pills, anti-aging creams, and plastic surgery. The human society dwells so much on physical appearance. Akbari takes this obsession and relates it to "We manipulate our appearances with the attention of a paid employee eager to move up the corporate ranks." We believe our physical upkeep directly relates to our professional success. 

But what says that this belief is wrong? It's not very often that a man with head of dreads leads a business meeting. In many cases, the correlation between success and physical appearance holds true, is because we allow it to. Our society focuses so much on physical appearance that it has become factor in deciding who holds a certain job position.

Akbari's thesis is a very interesting one that I briefly touched upon. I would greatly recommend reading over some of what Akbari writes. You may come to realize alot about the human race you never noticed before.