Beauty is no frivolous subject
By Wanying Zhou In 2024, Wanying Zhou took an interview with Sonar Magazine from KU Leuven to share her personal journey and academic reflections on beauty standards and social inequality. Drawing on her own experience of different beauty standards in Belgium and China, she argues that beauty is far more than a matter of personal […]
Report on the rise of boutique fitness in Brussels
By Sanne Pieters What does the rise of boutique fitness studios as a place for networking say about Brussels? Sanne was featured in Politico Europe to give her insights on “sweatworking”, where people in Brussels visit high-end gyms for networking purposes. From the article: “Sanne Pieters, a PhD researcher at KU Leuven investigating […]
Fieldwork experience
By Narges Pirhayati Managing My Appearance in the Field During my fieldwork with cosmetic surgeons in Tehran/Iran, I realized that my appearance was not a peripheral matter. On the contrary, it became a critical part of my fieldwork toolkit —something I had to carefully manage to gain access to the highly exclusive and sensitive world […]
Movie Review – The Substance
By Narges Pirhayati Beauty Standards and Identity in The Substance The film The Substance explores an identity crisis related to the body. It shows the fear of aging and physical change and how a famous person struggles with growing older and losing her beauty, leading her to take extreme measures to regain her lost […]