Decoding the Instagram Beauty Standard

By | Health & Fitness

Influencers have now become the new beauty standard.
But what exactly is the new beauty standard? Well, I decided to find out for myself. I made a list of the Top 100 female Instagram stars purely based on following. Then I came up with 22 attributes that each woman would be judged on. These included things like:

Hair color
Hair length
Neck length
Face shape
Body shape
Eye color
Clothing size
Flatness of stomach
Lip size
Eye size
Nose size
Skin color
Chest size
Prominence of butt
Age
Height…etc

After a couple weeks of gathering data and categorizing data, I can tell you that there is most definitely a formula and a specific beauty standard that the 100 most followed women on Instagram adhere to.

Watch the video to find out the results and to see me get photoshopped into a Top 100 Female Instagrammer!

Here is where I get all of my music! Epidemic Sound:

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Cassey Ho is an award-winning fitness instructor, entrepreneur and online personality. As the creator behind Blogilates, the #1 female fitness channel on YouTube, she’s transformed millions of lives through helping them achieve their strength and weight-loss goals. She focuses on making fitness fun and the results are evident. Cassey's unique format, POP Pilates©, which launched as a workout video on YouTube in 2009, has become a live fitness class that can be taken at gyms all over the world with over 3,000 POP Pilates classes being taught monthly. Her authenticity continues to shine through, making her one of the most relatable fitness icons online and beyond. She's also the author of the best-selling book, Hot Body Year Round and is the designer of her own activewear line, POPFLEX.

With a wide range of free workout videos available, Cassey's channel focuses on ab exercises, butt & thigh exercises, arm exercises, pilates, cardio routines, fat burning workouts, high intensity interval training workouts (HIIT), stretching and flexibility routines and so much more!

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DISCLAIMER:

Blogilates and oGorgeous Inc. strongly recommend that you consult with your physician before beginning any exercise program.

You should be in good physical condition and be able to participate in the exercise.

You should understand that when participating in any exercise or exercise program, there is the possibility of physical injury. If you engage in this exercise or exercise program, you agree that you do so at your own risk, are voluntarily participating in these activities, assume all risk of injury to yourself, and agree to release and discharge Blogilates and oGorgeous Inc. from any and all claims or causes of action, known or unknown, arising out of Blogilates' and oGorgeous Inc.'s negligence.

About the Author

  • jasmine says:

    Such an important topic! Thank you Cassey you are so uplifting 💕

  • yena says:

    I really think this video’s gonna blow up over the internet.
    And I hope it does and people get a slap on their face and start loving themselves the way they are and don’t try to fit in.

  • Chatarina says:

    This was uploaded just as I finished my blogilates workout haha

  • Elyza Ramirez says:

    I actually found this really interesting. I’ve always loved and appreciated you Cassey, thank you for always providing us insight and words of wisdom. And of course for always encouraging us. I love you as you are, and who you will be as you continue to improve. This was something I’ve come to learn from following you after just a year. Thank you Cassey!

  • Chris Bang says:

    Instagram can also be very toxic, even though people just like to scroll and have a little laugh but still get slapped in the face with “perfect models” and how thin and beautiful they look. We fail to realize that most of these popular people have someone editing their pics behind the camera which means what they put out is FAKE. No one could possibly reach those standards and no one is FORCING us to do so. Let’s learn how to love our bodies the way they are and not follow any trends cuz we’re all different and beautiful in our own way. You keep going, you’re doing good. ♡

  • Evie says:

    Such an interesting video, Cassie. I am not suprised tbh that this is the new beauty standart. So weird how the ‘perfect’ woman fits perfectly men’s preferences when it comes to women.

  • Danica J says:

    Holy crap. This was such an amazing video! Hands down, Cassey! The media, despite it being open to everyone, still somehow makes it hard for majority of people (especially ones belonging in the younger generation) to accept their bodies for how they are and I think that it’s a big wall to break down, but I’m always grateful that there are celebrities who speak up genuinely about their struggles of accepting themselves and their body, despite what media shoves to the public as a “perfect figure”.

  • blogilates says:

    What fact blew your mind the most?

  • georgiaisprocrastinating says:

    I like to think I’m someone who’s not swayed by media or standards but seeing this video made me think why I am eating healthier and working out. My instinct is to say because I care about my health and I like how it makes me feel but seeing this made me realize there is at least a little part of me that wants to look like that. I’m guilty of looking up VS model diets and workouts and small things like that. But seeing Cassey’s videos help. She doesn’t look exactly like every one of those top 100 models but that doesn’t mean she’s not fit. I’ve seen her dominate ab workouts alongside guys with 6 packs who can’t keep up. She’s been an encouraging voice through shin raises and squats. Part of me wants to look like the top 100 girls but a bigger part of me wants to look and be like Casey because on top of being incredibly strong, she’s incredibly caring and hardworking.

    • Roxie K says:

      georgiaisprocrastinating same honestly. To all of it. When I think about what I want to “fix” about my body, slimming my thighs is the first thing I think of, then a small waist and finally strengthening my upper body and back 😕 I don’t use Instagram much but maybe in some small ways, I am still being influenced by it

    • georgiaisprocrastinating says:

      Lenka Su there are so many “health” influencers who put a lot of focus on how they look, it would be hard not to! Cassey is the exception, she’s gorgeous but she doesn’t make that her selling point. Her strength and endurance and positive spirit are what make her channel exceptional in my mind.

    • Vernon Katipa says:

      Cassey your incredible.

    • Shandra MacNiven says:

      Yes! I would rather look like a real person than a mannequin any day.

  • Areej Khan says:

    your photoshopped pics especially the selfie.. I’m scared!!! i wish people would stop idolizing these beauty standards and appreciate natural beauty!!!!

  • Ula Gorska says:

    that’s so accurate after watching this video I realized that this is exactly how the most popular women look like right now.

  • Elif B. says:

    “the hot girls of instagram” they all look the same to me. I don’t understand why would people follow her, her, her, her, her and her too.

  • Marias Cakery says:

    In your selfie you looked so much better without all the slap on your face.

  • xxGuItArGiRLxx89 says:

    Also straight hair not curly. And you should have mentioned most, if not all have had surgeries – from botox to huge silcone butt implants.

  • Caris Not Charis says:

    A B-cup by most is still considered small chested. It’s only really when you get to a D-cup when you’re considered to have a large chest

  • potato dono says:

    I’ve noticed that while many influencers talk about body positivity on Instagram, they don’t talk about ig’s beauty standards. also how many ppl praise slim thick but don’t like when thicker people have a smaller chest or butt. they still don’t like visible hip dips and I haven’t seen any of the 100 with visible body hair. also, many followers do prefer eurocentric beauty, whether its physical features or being light skinned, hair (like texture) or part of your ethnicity
    [also noticing that while it definitely influences younger ppl more, younger ppl are more likely to be “attractive” and I know its more of a society thing but still toxic for sure]
    :/ I was so happy you talked about this, but also sad realizing you’re one of the only people addressing it so directly and thoroughly. thank you for helping the world in this way as well 💙

    • Dani Derpasaurus says:

      I kinda doubt any of these IG girls are naturally slim thick in the first place. It’s probably photoshop, fillers and surgery. It makes actual thicker girls feel inferior because we don’t always have the out-of-proportion tiny waist or perfectly round butt

  • Jana Eiskonfektknisterpapier says:

    The photoshopped photos makes you look like all the others, nothing special. The little ‘mistakes’ makes a face (and body) interesting and special

  • AmaiMaya ~ says:

    Please do a research on beauty standards for men too! I’m really curious to see.

  • Anthea Denz says:

    I think this is a really interesting video and that you did a great job with it. However, as a very very very light-skinned person, I don‘t quite agree on the light skin tone that you found to be the most common one, since a lot of these instagram influencers seem to try very hard on looking very tan. I agree that the majority of them are officially light-skinned caucasions, but I also think it says a lot about our beauty standards that they are tanning a lot to be less light-skinned. This post is not at all meant to be offensive and I really do think the video is great and well researched. This is just something that I notice on a daily basis on instagram and in real life and maybe I am the only person feeling that way, but maybe not. 🙂

    • Anthea Denz says:

      Mariia R that is really sad knowing that the skin color does still have such a huge influence, I have heard stories like that from Latin American and Asian friends too… So it might be interesting to see where the people following those top 100 female instagrammers are actually from to see if these ideals are global and applying to the average world population or who „had a say in this“

    • Lady Divine says:

      There’s a big diff between a dark skinned POC and a tanned light skinned person, and therein lies the rub.

    • Alondra M. says:

      Yeah I agree with you but it would have complicated her message. But majority of the most followed women on ig are white and they do tan a lot. So tanned white women who are trying to look more ethnic. It’s another issue on Instagram they call it black fishing.

    • Dani Derpasaurus says:

      When she said “light skinned” and showed Huda I glanced at my pink-toned paper-white skin and chuckled lmao

    • Zoe Thompson says:

      Despite people “tanning” they are still tanning to a degree that fits them into the category of being light-skinned – none of those influencers could be termed as dark skin. So yes, the beauty standard still 100% glorifies light skinned / light tanned and white skin colour.

  • Frances B says:

    Statistics aren’t in a vacuum, I’d be interested in how these compare to the world population percentages

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