Perfectionism, Propaganda, and Patriarchy: The Role of Social Media in Perpetuating Gender-Based Violence against Women"

This article examines how social media, through influencers with large followings, perpetuates gender-based violence against women by promoting unattainable beauty standards and enforcing toxic ideals. It highlights how a culture of hyper-perfectionism around body image, skin, hair, and lifestyle has created a pressure-filled environment that harms women’s self-worth and physical and mental health. This paper argues that while social media provides a platform for empowerment, it often becomes a tool of misogyny, pressuring women to conform to unrealistic expectations that reinforce gender inequality. For instance, the advertisement featuring Nia Sharma promoting a vaginal tightening cream can be seen as a problematic development that may contribute to increasing pressure on women and exacerbating issues related to sexualisation and sexual violence. Such advertisement promotes the idea that women’s bodies must conform to a certain standard to be considered desirable or acceptable, which adds pressure for women to meet these often unrealistic and arbitrary norms. It creates a perception that the natural aging process or normal bodily functions are "problems" to be fixed, pushing an ideal that’s not attainable or necessary. These kinds of messages can subtly normalise coercive expectations around women’s sexuality, where a woman’s body is constantly under scrutiny and subject to judgment. The emphasis on "fixing" or "correcting" intimate aspects of a woman's body may encourage the mindset that women must submit to particular standards, potentially emboldening those who already hold misogynistic views or attitudes, leading to an increased risk of sexual violence.

Keywords: Hyper-perfectionism, Social media, Mental health, female sexuality, commercialization.