Empowerment Language and Visual Objectification in Influencer Self-Branding on Instagram

Social media has blurred the line between authentic self-expression and commercial promotion, yet the sexual objectification of women persists. This study investigates the mechanism by which "empowerment" rhetoric conceals this visual reality. Here, we propose a quantitative framework to demonstrate that feminist language functions as a strategic "camouflage" for the commercialised body. Analysing a stratified sample of 500 Instagram posts, we measure the correlation between self-branding intensity, visual "fragmentation" (headless imagery), and empowerment keywords. We hypothesise that influencers use empowerment narratives to "mask" the objectification demanded by algorithms, thereby maximising engagement while mitigating criticism. This research provides a novel statistical test of "commodity feminism," bridging abstract theory with empirical data.