Can listening to “Subliminals” make you beautiful? Many women believe this

“Do you think? About me?

So asks a disembodied voice at the beginning of A Tik Tok From the user @velvet.mind. The question is followed by hypnotic musical beats, hissing, and distorted, accelerated human speech. Accompanying photo: A montage of elegant, perfectly groomed women who could all be models — in fact, some of them probably are. The text overlaid on the video says “Extreme beauty is subliminal.”

The one-minute clip has nearly 300,000 likes and 1.4 million views. Why all this sharing for a little ephemera? Because the online community of young women sincerely believes that constant exposure to these sounds and images will improve their physical appearance.

According to the creator, the indecipherable lyrics are a series of affirmations that include, “My face is naturally symmetrical, balanced, and amazing” and “I have flawless, pore-free, glowing skin.” Listeners are supposed to internalize and manifest these ideals unconsciously; They echo that language in their responses, speaking their aesthetic goals into existence. “I’m so cool,” one comment reads.

Welcome to the world of Subliminal, a female self-improvement subculture that relies on the power of suggestion and hypnosis. While recent media coverage has scrutinized the radicalization of youth,”com. looksmaxxingStrategies to Enhance Their Features Originating from misogynistic web forums in the mid-2010s, this subliminal genre is perhaps even older (one subreddit dates back to 2012), albeit with much less mainstream recognition.

The diversity of these audio-visual artefacts shows their branching development over time. Some of them take the form of musical snippets. Others are ASMR monologues or ambient sound clips that make use of white noise effects like the patter of falling rain. Some of the shoots feature shots of attractive celebrities – check this out video Which aims to make the viewer more like actress Megan Fox, while others rely on triangular abstract shapes and colors.

Although there are “alternatives” for every change imaginable (fuller lips, curvier hips, smooth hair, a smaller nose, larger breasts, longer legs, and even eyes of a different shape or color), this practice extends to all aspects of well-being. The right subliminal is supposed to help you pass a test, achieve financial success, or make your crush fall head over heels for you. No matter what you want to change in your circumstances, there is a subconscious feeling about it.

However, appearance-focused videos are by far the largest category, with the recent proliferation of subliminal influencers using terms including “com. looksmaxxing“”com. facemaxxing“,” and “com. beautymaxxing“To clarify, they have links to anxiety about perceived physical defects that continue to radicalize young men in online communities. Those with a masculine appearance have sometimes expressed curiosity about And discuss it Technologies involved. Last week, a Redditor on r/subliminal he asked If someone could point him to a subliminal “male enhancement” device that would double the size of his penis.

Of course, young women have always been under enormous pressure to meet unrealistic body standards. Clearly, the Internet has pushed a large group of them towards this quasi-spiritual solution rather than the brutal gym routines, hormonal treatments, and radical surgeries favored by disillusioned youth.

Kayla, 20, told WIRED that at a very young age, she was unhappy in life but then discovered feelings of “self-love,” which aims to change the listener’s image of themselves. (She asked that her last name be withheld for fear of her professional standing.) “Once I realized I was looking at myself more positively and feeling happier with who I am, I tried some other medications to lose weight and get my desired features,” Kayla says, admitting how “crazy” it sounds to claim she has achieved results. “I’ve lost 70 pounds and reached a healthy weight when I was previously overweight, without radically changing my lifestyle,” she says. Kayla continued to create her own subliminal devices to help her solve other problems and find a relationship. Since then I have achieved both goals.