The double bind of beauty work

Abstract

Despite marketing's influence on beauty standards, beauty work, defined as practices performed to enhance physical appearance, is underexplored in marketing. We review existing research and introduce a conceptual framework around a central tension: Consumers are pressured to alter their bodies to meet societally enforced beauty standards, yet they are simultaneously expected to present an image aligned with their natural appearance, lest they be viewed as misrepresenting their true selves. Because physical appearance shapes inferences of internal characteristics, beauty work evokes conflicting negative moral appraisals: Too little elicits disgust or accusations of laziness, while too much signals inauthenticity or vanity. Thus, consumers are caught in a double bind. Within a narrow latitude of acceptance, consumers perform expected beauty work to meet minimum standards, while avoiding excessive beauty work that deviates too far from their innate appearance. We discuss how moderators of agency, outcome, and sociocultural factors inform future research.