Women have been portrayed as sexual objects in advertising for many years. Recently, female Instagram influencers (adopted by brands) depict sexualisation as a stance of individualistic choice and empowerment. In other words, they are empowered through the notion of individualistic choice through the power of their bodies. Influencers bring themes of sexualisation to branded content product themes including weight loss, clothing, lingerie, teeth whiteners and other beauty items. Influencers often use self-sexualised images to promote respective sponsored branded products. Researcher Kat Rezai (Edinburgh Napier University) questions: are Instagram ads just one more way of selling self-objectification?
