How Humor on Social Media Pushes Moral and Social Boundaries
By ALEX LIM ‘26 and JULIA ZHOU ‘27
Physical attractiveness is a social construct that has long shaped the way we view ourselves and others. The aesthetic beauty of one’s appearance has always been a defining factor that drives feelings in life like love, trust, and happiness. Now, with modern emphasis on social media, people with conventionally exceptional levels of beauty have experienced patterns of being catapulted into extraordinary levels of fame and wealth thanks to their appearances. Especially in the age of platforms like Instagram and TikTok, where content can be launched to screens all across the planet, it’s so easy to amass an enormous following or a great deal of affluence due to an appearance.
Just recently, a number of young women have experienced this phenomenon of gaining a great deal of attention due to their aesthetic appeal. For example, 23-year-old Leah Halton was recently introduced to fame after a TikTok video she posted of herself lip-synching to YG Marley’s “Praise Jah in the Moonlight” went viral, amassing nearly 600 million views and nearly 50 million likes as of April 14, 2024—numbers uncharacteristic even for TikTok’s over one billion monthly active users. In the same vein, 16-year-old Anna Frey was recently thrust into fame by her beauty and resemblance to 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, and has gained two million followers on TikTok following a series of TikTok videos on user @kitch_mimball’s account. Eight out of the user’s top nine most popular videos feature Frey, the most popular of which has been viewed 25 million times and features over two million likes.
The newfound stardom experienced by these young women has manifested in a variety of ways: Frey was invited to the Super Bowl in February, and Halton has grown an audience of over seven million users—each of her videos gaining millions upon millions of views overnight.
Another less positive facet of their celebrity status seems to be the immense amount of jealousy and hate that plagues their comment sections. Responses to Halton’s video are filled with comments like, “She’s not even that attractive” or “She doesn’t deserve 50 million likes based on her looks alone.” Disturbingly, recent trends on social media have revolved around comparing oneself or other female celebrities to Anna Frey, often in a derogatory manner, often labeling Frey as “average” or “mid” in comparison. Additionally, a troubling trend in comment sections involves elevating the appearance of one teenage girl with remarks like, “she’s way prettier than Anna Frey or that other girl who went viral.”
It’s disheartening to witness the rise of a culture that supposedly celebrates the appearances of these women while simultaneously tearing them down based on that same appearance following their ascension to fame. The comments sections of these platforms have become breeding grounds for jealousy and negativity. This not only perpetuates harmful beauty standards but also fosters an environment where women are encouraged to compete with each other rather than support and uplift one another. There seems to be a double standard that celebrates women for their beauty but also tears them down for not being notable for another reason other than their appearance. Women never seem to be seen as deserving of fame or a platform.
What’s particularly concerning is the normalization of this behavior. Trends that involve comparing and ranking women based on their looks only serve to reinforce the damaging notion that a woman’s worth is determined by her physical attractiveness.
If we truly want to empower women, let’s reject this pattern of comparison and instead focus on celebrating the diverse strengths that women bring to the table. More attention should be brought to the platform Halton has created on YouTube, gaining over one million subscribers thanks to her devotion to her content creation. More attention could be brought to Frey’s talent as a tennis powerhouse.
We must recognize that every woman is worthy of respect, regardless of how closely she conforms to society’s narrow standards of beauty. In addition, the idea that it’s shameful for a woman to gain fame solely for her appearance is harmful, because it perpetuates the idea that women are nothing more than pretty faces. We can refute the idea that someone’s appearance isn’t all that special by recognizing how special every single woman is.
Rather than tearing each other down, let’s build each other up. Let’s support and encourage one another with respect to our passions and potential. Let’s celebrate the beauty of every woman. Let’s find joy in the spotlight being pointed on others.