discourseanddicscovery

[discourseanddicscovery]

Beauty Youtube: How Influencers and Gurus Have Become Leaders in a Billion Dollar Discourse Community All About Makeup

The Beauty Industry amassed an estimated $89 Billion in gross revenue in the 2019, in the United States alone. A large reason for this is the world of Beauty on YouTube, from influencers, to beauty gurus, to cosmetic brand sponsored web shows and tutorial series, YouTube has created a space for all lovers of makeup to come together and be able to communicate. Like any other social media platform, YouTube has allowed and created a space where one does not need to be a professional in any field to take part in the conversation. Beauty YouTube is one of many subcultures on this platform, and it is heavily followed by professionals, makeup users, beauty brands, and people that like watching YouTubers apply their makeup for the exclusive purposes of entertainment or relaxation even if they themselves do not wear makeup, all have the ability to communicate with one another and speak a language exclusive to this discourse community. 

This research collected when learning about this peculiar discourse community will take a look at the sensationalism associated with being an influencer on YouTube, the rhetorical language this discourse community uses to explain identity and feminism in both the beauty and Beauty YouTube community, the subculture within a subculture (Black beauty influencers and YouTubers), how Beauty YouTube influences consumer purchases by advertising to viewing members of this discourse community, and the factors that make the beauty industry and Beauty YouTube a discourse community. 

Kristen Forbes, the author of “Examining the Beauty Industry’s Use of Social Influencers” states that a rather important factor for the widespread reach of social media influencers is how relatable they are to the audience they are attempting to reach, considering as well that whether a discourse community about the followers shared love for makeup and beauty, the influencers are ultimately career makeup merchandisers at a global scale, “These influencers, dubbed online as “Beauty Gurus” online, use their skills in makeup to partner with cosmetic brands, earning big bucks while building brand awareness around products. Influencers have gained popularity due to the rise of social media and their ability to connect with their consumer peers,” (Forbes 2016).

https://www.elon.edu/u/academics/communications/journal/wp-content/uploads/sites/153/2017/06/08_Kristen_Forbes.pdf

Florencia Garcia Rapp, the writer of the academic journal titled “The Digital Media Phenomenon of YouTube Beauty Gurus: The Case of Bubzbeauty” discusses the social requirements of being a Beauty YouTuber that amasses millions of dollars yearly in beauty brand recommendations and reviews, sponsorships, ambassadorships, and affiliate codes that get used and purchased by their subscribers. She also states that there is a correlation, however direct, between making money on YouTube as a beauty guru, and treating your subscribers like actual members of the community by keeping the fans and viewers a part of the conversation, “They usually treat their audience as friends, gaining feedback from them and offering tips by sharing personal thoughts on a variety of topics such as love, life, or career. Through this ongoing sharing of their personal lives and creativity to create looks and explanatory video tutorials, many have successfully positioned themselves as YouTube celebrities, enjoying the economic and social benefits this status entails,” (Rapp 2016).

Within the Beauty YouTube community, a subculture of YouTube already, there is what is known as Black Beauty YouTube. Much like Black Twitter. Black Beauty YouTube is a subculture of content creators that are predominantly or exclusively Black, and they engage in discourse that is political, based on their personal activism for the inclusion of rich and dark skin tones when in defense of Black consumers that cannot find their shade in the complexion category because brands do not make foundations, concealers, or powders in the darkest of shades because “they are not commercial enough.” Faithe J Day, the writer of the academic journal “Quaring YouTube Comments and Creations: An Analysis of Black Web Series through the Politics of Production, Performance, and Pleasure” writes that “while cultural productions acts as a way for Black artists and producers to speak back legacy networks, the role of cultural content producer can be seen as an inherent aspect of Black identity and the history of performance that Black people used to succeed and gain acceptance within society,” (Day 2018). She implies as well that when it comes to engaging in discourse about the Black identity on YouTube or other social media outlets, it is imperative that Black voices be the ones leading the discourse.

 https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/145831/fjday_1.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

As an example of this phenomenon, one can observe the Black YouTuber Jackie Aina who since starting her career has collaborated with major beauty brands like Anastasia Beverly Hills and Too Faced. Most Specifically, because of her following that has upwards or three million followers, she, along with her fans throughout all social media platforms were responsible for the launch of eighteen new complexion shades that included the darkest, as well as the fairest of skin tones in their line of foundation titled “Born This Way,” This is just one of many examples where black content creators have challenged brands to be more exclusive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cprGVN3_nFA

When answering the question of who in reality is allowed to partake in the discourse community that is Beauty YouTube, it is of relevance to state that the rhetoric of identity and feminism is both of importance to this discourse community, and at the same it is not exclusively necessary to engage in this particular rhetoric to be a successful member of this online group. Lehua Ledbetter, the author or “THE BUSINESS OF FEMINISM: RHETORICS OF IDENTITY IN YOUTUBE’S BEAUTY COMMUNITY” talks about her experience as a Beauty YouTuber in which she felt as if she was lying to her audience, as well as other members of the community for actually being an academic but not portraying that in her videos. She then realized that what is being discussed is the makeup, the techniques, and the brands, something she also came to learn because of her ability to monetize her videos because of the number of views she was receiving.  

What was of highest importance to Ledbetter was to acknowledge that her internal struggle of trying to be a feminist while also exploring the income earning features of YouTube is that there is nothing more feminist than a female entrepreneur, “I was thinking entrepreneurially while also thinking critically about my entrepreneurial actions,” Ledbetter 2014. In other words, what could be more feminist than a woman making money while looking as powerful as her bank account. Fundamentally, that is one of the most appealing things about this particular discourse community, the ability to connect with women, men, and queer people that have a love for makeup, but that also post, share, and show off their recreations of YouTuber tutorials or original looks they create themselves. Anyone has a potential to influence in this community because everyone is needed for this community and the consumer aspects of beauty YouTube to be as popular and high grossing as they are. 

One of the most important, if not the most important aspect of this discourse community is that consumer aspect this community engages in for the purpose of promoting, and further advancing the reach of this discourse community. Kyungji Lee, the writer of the academic journal “The Influence of Beauty-Related YouTube content on Consumers' Purchase Intention” states that “the emergence of the Internet, consumers are able to share their opinions with others without a face-to-face interaction. In addition, due to the characteristics of the Internet, consumers are able to provide and share their opinions related to products with people who are known as well as total strangers,” (Lee 2018). 

https://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6558&context=utk_gradthes

To further explain the influencer phenomenon, the reason consumerism is such a large aspect of this community is because of two specific reasons. The first is the simple fact that YouTube, whether a video or the comments section of a video allows anyone to share their opinion, the second is that a consumer purchase intention is implied for any member of this discourse community, particularly because one must purchase makeup to be able to use it. Tanjeet Nijjar also states that the reason this discourse community is as popular as it has become is because of the how involved all members of this discourse community are, “In order to thrive in a certain discourse community, one must be very involved and knowledgeable on the goals and communication methods that belong to that group of people. Every community may have members of different levels of involvement included in their group,” (2017). As stated before, any member of this community can buy, share, rate, review, or recommend products to any other member of Beauty YouTube.

http://fycjournal.ucdavis.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Makeup-as-a-Discourse-Community.pdf