March Issue v

More documents

Recommendations

Info

10FeaturesDesign by Emily Zhang ‘23Photography by Sophia Ran ‘23Social Media, Shopping,and the Role of theInfluencerSocial Media Influencers are Making Waves and Taking the Retail Industry by StormBy KAITLYN O’MALLEY ‘22The past year has made it more apparentthan ever that influencers significantly impactthe consumer marketthrough their socialmedia platforms. Numerouscompaniesare now promotingtheir products bypartnering withsocial mediainfluencers.HyramYarbro, betterknown as@skincarebyhyramorjust “Hyram,”is one such starinfluencer. Hyramhas a whopping 6.8million followers onTikTok and 4.39 millionfollowers on YouTube.Hyram has been a critical contributor to theskincare brand CeraVe’s increase in revenue. He oftenpromotes relatively-affordable brands throughvarious platforms, subsequently creating a frenzyamong his followers as they attempt to find a productsuch as CeraVe’s Foaming Facial Cleanser, which isoften sold out as soon as it’s placed on shelves.TWITTER TWITTER TWITTER TWITTER TWITTERTIK TOK TIK TIK TOK TIK TTIK TOK TIK TIK TOK TIK T$$#$$$##$#$ $ #$$However, CeraVe is not the only brand tobenefit from Hyram’s prominence in the beauty industry.Kosas, a beauty brand sold at Sephora, hasalso seen a significantincreasein their sales after their company’s associationwith Hyram. According to The New York Times,merchandise sales on Kosas’ website tripled afterHyram spoke highly of their products.Hyram is only one example of the connectionbetween social media, influencers, and sales. The socialmedia platform TikTok has created and shapednumerous fashion trends over the past few years, includingthe VSCO girls, E-girls, and now, the redefinitionof the “preppy style.”While previously, the preppy clothing stylefeatured plaid and penny loafers with the occasionaldress from Lilly Pulitzer, social media has drasticallychanged the articles of clothing and brandsthat make up the preppy style. Now, frilly skirts andmatching sets from brands such as Love Shack Fancyand Roller Rabbit appear in Tik Tok posts tagged#preppy.Social media helps generate revenueforonline stores, suchas Starfit, where“sold out” labelsadornmany oftheirproducts.TheInterneta l -lowsc o n -sumers tofind storesthat offer new,drastically differentproducts from those advertisedthrough web browsers.INSTAGRAM INSTAGRAM INSTAGRAMAdditionally, social media has created supportfor small businesses, especially those operating solelyonline. The public attention they receive throughvarious social media platforms can be a defining factorin their very existence.Social media, and the well-known influencerswho populate the apps, have allowed new brandsand products to thrive in the ever-changing retail industry.These influencers will likely continue to playa part in the retail market well into the future.
Features 11Baby DOLls or Bulldozers:How external factorscontribute toa child’sExamining the psychologybehind gendered toysand their impact onchildhood developmentexpressedgenderBy AVA OLSON ‘21When you were growing up,did you own a miniatureplastic toolbox or a pinktutu? Did you play withfake swords or fake baking sets?Toys are one of the many influenceson a child’s early life. According to a studyby the National Association for the Educationof Young Children (NAEYC), girls’toys are often associated with physical attractivenessand domestic skill—such astaking care of a baby doll—and boys’ toys,like miniature racing cars, are typicallymore “violent, competitive, and exciting.”Furthermore, the NAEYC concludedthat more masculine toys “encouraged achild’s physical, cognitive, academic, musical,and artistic skills more so than moderatelyfeminine ones,” suggesting thattoys geared towards young boys are morestimulating on a child’s developing brainthan toys created for young girls.However, Dr.Valerie Braunstein‘01, a supervisingpsychologist, believesthat pressuring achild to play with toytrucks or Barbie dollsis only one of the manyways parents influencetheir child’s perception of gender expression.“There are little ways children canpick up on the sentiment that ‘It’s not okayto be me,’” said Dr. Braunstein.Braunstein is the founder of PhillyPsychology, where her clients includeyoung children, high schoolers, collegestudents, and early career professionals.Braunstein specializes in anxiety disorders,behavioral problems, depression, andparenting.While toys do affect a child’s perceptionof gender expression, Braunsteinargues that the opinions and reactionsof a child’s parents play a moresignificant role intheir child’s life.“Parents don’trealize the impactthey can have on theirchild,” Braunstein said.“A parent might be anxious themselves,or might want to protect their childfrom a world where their child might bediscriminated against, but the parents havea lot more power than they think to protectthe child, and if they just led with love andlet the child feel loved for who they are andexpress themselves for who they are, thenthat’s going to be so much more importantthan all of the things the parent is trying toprotect the child from.”Similarly, families that try to changetheir child’s identity or prevent their childfrom coming out inflict lasting psychologicaldamage upon their children.Compared to LGBTQIA+ youth thatare accepted by their parents, childrenwho’ve been rejected by their families areeight times more likely to attempt suicide,six times more likely to have higherlevels of depression, three timesmore likely to use illegaldrugs, andthree timesm o r elikely toacquirea sexuallytransmitted disease, according to Braunstein.Therefore, Braunstein believes thatparents should follow an open-minded,tolerant approach to encourage their childrento have healthy views of their genderidentity.“I don’t think you can change yourchild’s gender identity solely with toys,but it’s important to listen to your child,”Braunstein said.“If they don’t want to play with dolls,don’t force it. If you have a boy who wantsto play with dolls, let him. Follow yourchild’s lead, provide them with differenttypes of toys, and see what they want toplay with.”Most importantly, Braunstein emphasizedthe importance of exposing childrento the diversity of the LGBTQIA+ communityfrom an early age to promote confidenceand freedom.“It’s important for families to talkabout gender identity early on, so when thechild starts to think about it, the child feelsthat it is okay rather than getting mixedmessages from the family,” Braunsteinsaid.Every child and young adult shouldhave an environment where they feel supportedand safe, regardless of their genderidentity. However, it can be especiallyhard at an all-girls school, where there’san expectation to express a certain gender,to have open discourse about one’s genderidentity. As a school community andBaldwin family, we must be cognizant ofthis struggle and work on creating a spacewhere we “lead with love.”For more resources and support,please reach out to Ms. Koster atliz.koster@baldwinschool.org.Photography by Skylar Zachian ‘21Graphics and design by Hana Ahanger‘21
Page 1 and 2: TheHourglassmarch 2021volume 60 iss
Page 3 and 4: Photography by Melody Hao ‘22Grap
Page 5 and 6: news 5Graphics and design by Anna W
Page 7 and 8: centerfold 7The WhiteMan’s TimeBy
Page 9: Photography by Izzy Antanavicius

March Issue v

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?