Social Media and The Cosmetic Body Culture Among Nigerian Women

Abstract

This paper examines how social media influences cosmetic body culture among Nigerian women, focusing on the interaction between digital beauty standards and local cultural norms. Drawing on a conceptual review and sociological theories such as Symbolic Interactionism, Foucault’s disciplinary power, Bourdieu’s cultural capital, and Goffman’s dramaturgy, the study explains how platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook promote idealised images of slimness, lighter skin, and enhanced body shapes. These digital portrayals intensify social comparison, body dissatisfaction, and pressures to conform to globalised beauty practices, including skin lightening and cosmetic surgery.
The review also highlights how Nigerian women negotiate these ideals, blending Westernised aesthetics with indigenous perspectives, particularly Yoruba epistemologies that link physical appearance with moral and spiritual identity. Intersectional factors; gender, class, and age; further shape women’s experiences of beauty and cosmetic consumption, while the psychological implications include lowered self-esteem, anxiety, and heightened self-surveillance. Ethical concerns related to body commodification, inequality, and unregulated cosmetic markets are identified.
The paper concludes by emphasising the need for media literacy, culturally informed interventions, and regulatory frameworks to promote healthier beauty practices in Nigeria’s digital era.