The anti-ageing myth : a study on advertising imagery, beauty ideal and women in Singapore

• Main Author: Soo, Xiao Ting
• Other Authors: Premchand Varma Dommaraju
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Sociology
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/62466
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Recent years have seen an exponential growth in skin care consumerism. The late-modern beauty industry is dominant in the ‘flawless’ category of advertising, which sees the intensive sales of anti-ageing products, as youthful-looking skin becomes the new ideal. This study seeks to examine discourses on anti-ageing mythology, Singaporean Women’s attitudes toward skin care regimens and whether they find beauty imagery in media aspirational. The Critical Theory framework is used to analyze data collected through in-depth interviews with ten women of ages 18 to 58. Findings indicate that beauty culture operates as a “false consciousness” which manipulates individual needs and perceptions through symbolizations such as beauty ideals. This paper concludes that women adhere to commercial skin care routines and interpret beauty imagery as aspirational, despite exhibiting distrust towards manipulative advertising.