Jia Tolentino warns ‘Instagram face’ erases human imperfection
8 reported
Writer Jia Tolentino, who coined the term "Instagram face" seven years ago, argues in a new New Yorker piece that social media optimization has driven a proliferation of plastic surgery among young people chasing an AI-based beauty standard. Tolentino describes the look as featuring lifted cheeks, plump lips, bigger eyes, and a heart-shaped chin, similar to celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Bella Hadid. She notes that procedures like Botox and fillers, once associated with middle age, are now popular among teenagers and young adults, with plastic surgeons reporting an uptick in patients under 30 and men engaging in "looksmaxxing." Tolentino says the drive for optimization has "come to roost in our faces and bodies and souls," and warns that when every face can be filtered or surgically refined, the face loses its status as evidence of a life lived. She does not consider changing one's looks immoral but worries about the messages young women receive online, stating there is no system telling them "Your face is good as it is." Tolentino also describes "Mar-a-Lago face" as a version of Instagram face seen among women in the second Trump administration, which she says flaunts its lack of relationship to human reality.
What’s reported
Jia Tolentino is credited with coining the term "Instagram face" seven years ago in The New Yorker.
The look includes lifted cheeks, plump lips, bigger eyes, and a heart-shaped chin, resembling Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, and Emily Ratajkowski.
Tolentino argues social media optimization of Instagram face has led to more plastic surgery among young people chasing an AI-based beauty standard.
Botox and fillers are now popular among teenagers and young adults, with plastic surgeons reporting an uptick in patients under 30 and men engaging in "looksmaxxing."
Tolentino says the face loses its status as evidence of a life lived when every face can be optimized or filtered.
She does not think changing one's looks is immoral but worries about messages young women receive online.
Tolentino describes "Mar-a-Lago face" as a version of Instagram face seen among women in the second Trump administration, which she says flaunts its lack of relationship to human reality.
She notes that people against trans health care display a beauty look that is "fundamentally gender-affirming surgery."
Key figures
Jia Tolentino: New Yorker staff writer, author of Trick Mirror
Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, Emily Ratajkowski: celebrities mentioned as examples of Instagram face
Sources: NPR
