It is shameful to be ashamed: About the changes in the perception and representation of carnality

Abstract

The article draws attention to the changes in the approach to carnality that are currently visible in social media. A content analysis has been conducted concerning the thread of “fashion for ugliness”, which was initiated in the Internet space by Agnieszka Kaczorowska-Pela’s post and caused a media stir. The text describes such phenomena as body positivity, body neutrality or body shaming in order to point to the changing narration around the perception of carnality. The trend, described as the title “it is shameful to be ashamed”, manifests itself primarily on Instagram and concerns people active in the digitized reality, i.e., mainly the youth. The analyzed reactions of the Instagram community indicate that one should not feel ashamed of how one looks, but rather should be proud of one’s appearance regardless of whether it fits into the current canon of beauty or not.