About Us
About Aesthetic Capital
Due to the rise of social media and increased visibility of our physical appearance, aesthetic capital is becoming increasingly determinative for our social opportunities, arguably equally as important as cultural or social capital. Cultural capital is essentially "where you fit", what lifestyle you lead. Social capital is "who you know", your professional and close social network for example. Now aesthetic capital has entered the game which is yours, and others' judgment of your appearance. In fact, since 2014 our Dutch Social Cultural Planbureau has been measuring (this downloads their 2023 report) our aesthetic capital as part of the matrix that determines your socio-economical position. The questions they asked on aesthetic capital are: "I like my appearance just the way it is" (1 [strongly disagree]to 10 [strongly agree]) and "Most other people think I look good". To this they added a combination of height and weight that people had to fill in themselves in the questionnaire. With the rise of tech capitalism, social media, the cosmetic industry and of course the possibilities within plastic surgery, the demands we place on our appearance have increased drastically. We seem to be entering a society in which everyone is obsessed with their own reflection. It is time to ask ourselves: is there a way to escape the seemingly unstoppable rise of 'The Instagram Face', Or TikTok face? And in what ways does the influence of aesthetic capital shape our society and our daily choices? Doortje would like to investigate these types of questions with the Aesthetic Capital podcast. With you, the listener, and special guests.
About the Host
Doortje Smithuijsen (1992) studied philosophy and is now a prominent jounalist/columnist, documentary-maker, writer, speaker, day chairman and of course podcast host. You can find her website here. The mission of her work is:
“To make people think about the systems around us that influence our lives, and how we look at ourselves and the world. For a long time, I was intrigued by digitization and the phenomena that arise from it, such as cancel culture. In the meantime, I try to broaden the scope also coming to the issue of failing capitalism, for example.”
This is where our podcast host comes into Aesthetic Capital.
As journalist and columnist she writes for NRC, Vrij Nederland, de Volkskrant and has a biweekly column in Trouw about digital dilemmas. She made documentaries about the world of influencers, “the social tribunal” that is social media and vlogging for the VPRO. Her first book , Golden Mountains: Portrait of the Digital Generation (2020) was shortlisted for the Brussels Prize 2021. In it, she looks at the world of influencers, by following them over a year. In 2022, her book Everyone Addicted? was published. It offers an enlightening analysis of the consequences of digitization, but also a critical interpretation of the current times.Smithuijsen has given interviews, in Vogue notably, and talks about her books’ insights. Given her experience in public speaking, she is also a chairman of the day for conferences, panels, and so on.
Finally, our host also runs another podcast called VSR (formerly shameless Randstedlijk) with co-host Perre van den Brink. This is a medium she is very fond of as it allows her to speak her mind, having run a previous podcast with best friend Lena Bril called “Monica Geuze Fanpodcast” about living in the age of social media.
