Are these algorithmic beauty standards merely reproducing age-old sexist and racist stereotypes, or might they also disrupt them? How do concepts from feminist theory – like the male gaze, intersectionality, or data feminism – help us critically understand this new digital beauty culture?

Companies capitalize on our insecurities, perpetuating a cycle of consumption. These standards of self-care set for women pressure women to remain "beautiful" at any time, regardless of their career, age, and background. They keep us buying, keep us conforming, and keep beauty tightly bound to neoliberal ideas of worth and discipline within the international political economy.

These anti-corruption protests target the government for its weak investment in adequate infrastructure, failure to pass reforms, and take accountability for the damages. In recent months, students have been demanding larger changes, mainly snap elections (Euronews 2025) to end the twelve-year rule of President Aleksandr Vucic.