UNPACKING DIGITAL BEAUTY STANDARDS: SKIN LIGHTING NARRATIVES ON SRI LANKAN SOCIAL MEDIA

Skin lightening is a socially ingrained practice in Sri Lanka, shaped by historical processes. With the expansion of digital media, social networking platforms play a significant role in producing, circulating, and reinforcing beauty standards, including those related to skin lightening. While previous research has predominantly focused on cultural and health dimensions, there remains limited sociological analysis of how digital platforms contribute to the construction and normalisation of these practices. This study explores how skin–lightening narratives are produced, circulated, and normalised on Facebook and TikTok in the Sri Lankan context. The study adopted a qualitative digital netnographic approach, analysing 20 publicly accessible contents (including influencer and non–influencer content) published on Facebook and TikTok platforms between May 2024 and December 2025. The dataset includes videos, images, captions, hashtags, group posts and user interactions. Content from both platforms was analysed comparatively, with attention to differences in format, audience engagement, and modes of presentation of skin whitening practices. Findings from thematic analysis results indicate that fairness is discursively constructed as desirable social currency tied to ideals of femininity, respectability, and upward mobility in contemporary society. It was normalised as part of skincare regimens, and potential health risks were displaced through the reification of colorist ideals. Additionally, influencers serve as agents of legitimising skin lightning through emotional narratives, visual evidence, and promotion. The study also identifies how digital spaces may create pressures related to gendered beauty norms, influencing how individuals present and evaluate bodies online. In some instances, within the dataset, skin lightening appears to function as a strategy through which certain users including some gender nonconforming individuals navigate visibility and social recognition in digital contexts. However, these observations are limited to the scope of the selected sample and should not be generalised beyond it. Overall, the study contributes to existing literature by highlighting the role of social media in shaping beauty standards. It underscores the importance of critically examining how digital platforms may reproduce existing social inequalities, while also pointing to the need for more inclusive and informed digital discourses around beauty practices.