SubsidieMeestersBeauty and Inequality: Physical Appearance, Symbolic Boundaries and Social Dis/advantage in Five Global Cities
This multidisciplinary project examines how physical beauty influences social inequality across five global cities, aiming to develop a new theory on beauty as capital intersecting with existing inequalities.
Projectdetails
Introduction
How does physical beauty contribute to social inequality? This innovative multi-disciplinary comparative project aims to build a comprehensive new theory that explains how evaluations of physical appearance work, and how they re/produce durable inequalities in today’s media-saturated, service-based consumer societies.
Hypotheses
The project hypothesizes that:
- In contemporary societies, beauty is an important form of capital for all genders over the life-course.
- Beauty as a form of capital intersects with existing axes of inequality like gender, race, class, age, sexuality, and nationality.
- The growing importance of appearance spawns new forms of inequality.
Research Scope
The project investigates these hypotheses in 5 global cities on 4 continents:
- Accra
- Brussels
- Buenos Aires
- Hong Kong
- Tehran
An international team will employ a mixed-method design to study how aesthetic evaluations of appearance are shaped, and identify the mechanisms by which these evaluations shape social dis/advantage.
Methodology
This high risk/high gain project breaks new ground in our understanding of human beauty and its consequences. It brings together scattered insights from many disciplines in a new theoretical model, and tests and refines this model with:
- Explorative methods (Q-sort, survey, ethnography)
- Hypothesis-testing methods (lab/field experiments)
Societal and Scientific Challenges
The project addresses central societal and scientific challenges by foregrounding the importance of a “soft” cultural factor in shaping social divides, and the growing role of media in shaping social dis/advantage and exclusion.
Subprojects
All subprojects study two domains where mediatization has made appearance more salient:
- Dating
- Job search
Project Structure
The project structure is designed to tackle its high risks: its global scope, multidisciplinarity, and its ambition to simultaneously develop novel methods and a new theory.
Leadership
The project is led by a cultural sociologist with a strong track record in interdisciplinary and comparative research, and in analyzing the serious consequences of frivolous topics.
Financiële details & Tijdlijn
Financiële details
| Subsidiebedrag | € 2.499.333 |
| Totale projectbegroting | € 2.499.333 |
Tijdlijn
| Startdatum | 1-1-2023 |
| Einddatum | 31-12-2027 |
| Subsidiejaar | 2023 |
Partners & Locaties
Projectpartners
- KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVENpenvoerder
Land(en)
Vergelijkbare projecten binnen European Research Council
| Project | Regeling | Bedrag | Jaar | Actie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Understanding and Alleviating Inequalities in Digital News ConsumptionThis project aims to identify and mitigate inequalities in digital news consumption and political knowledge through innovative interventions and a mixed-methods approach in diverse global contexts. | ERC Starting... | € 1.196.778 | 2023 | Details |
Network Fairness: A novel complex network approach for tackling inequalities in society and algorithmsThe project aims to develop a network fairness framework and software to systematically detect, forecast, and mitigate social inequalities driven by complex interactions and algorithms. | ERC Starting... | € 1.481.736 | 2025 | Details |
City buzz: Quantity, quality, and variety implications of the urban environmentThis project analyzes urban interactions, consumption patterns, and firm hierarchies using anonymized data to understand the evolving dynamics of cities and their impact on social connectivity and economic outcomes. | ERC Advanced... | € 2.491.628 | 2024 | Details |
Things for Politics' Sake: Aesthetic Objects and Social ChangeTHINGSTIGATE explores how aesthetic objects influence sociopolitical transformation through imagination and emotions, using interdisciplinary methods to assess their role in social change. | ERC Starting... | € 1.499.586 | 2023 | Details |
Semi-Structural Econometric Methods for the Analysis of InequalityThis project aims to critically evaluate existing statistical tools for measuring inequality and develop new methods to provide robust structural interpretations, enhancing policy insights for reducing inequality. | ERC Consolid... | € 1.580.832 | 2025 | Details |
Understanding and Alleviating Inequalities in Digital News Consumption
This project aims to identify and mitigate inequalities in digital news consumption and political knowledge through innovative interventions and a mixed-methods approach in diverse global contexts.
Network Fairness: A novel complex network approach for tackling inequalities in society and algorithms
The project aims to develop a network fairness framework and software to systematically detect, forecast, and mitigate social inequalities driven by complex interactions and algorithms.
City buzz: Quantity, quality, and variety implications of the urban environment
This project analyzes urban interactions, consumption patterns, and firm hierarchies using anonymized data to understand the evolving dynamics of cities and their impact on social connectivity and economic outcomes.
Things for Politics' Sake: Aesthetic Objects and Social Change
THINGSTIGATE explores how aesthetic objects influence sociopolitical transformation through imagination and emotions, using interdisciplinary methods to assess their role in social change.
Semi-Structural Econometric Methods for the Analysis of Inequality
This project aims to critically evaluate existing statistical tools for measuring inequality and develop new methods to provide robust structural interpretations, enhancing policy insights for reducing inequality.