1. Introduction

Nowadays, with the rise of independence consciousness, “Women’s Independence” has become a popular topic in social media and in consumer culture. In the process of applying "female independence" to marketing, many brands have symbolized and labeled it, resulting in a superficial "empowerment" trend - as Shao [1] pointed out, "female festivals" are packaged on platforms like Weibo as a consumption spree rather than a structural reflection.This symbolic construction of "independent women" often occurs in the context of post-feminism, in which female empowerment is reinterpreted as consumption choice and self-image management, rather than structural criticism or collective action. This is precisely Banet-Weiser's [2] core argument: empowerment has turned into brand rhetoric, masking the criticism of structural injustice.

This paper aims to illustrate the commercialized process and inner spreading logic concerning the topic of “Women’s Independence” in the social media era. It focuses on how the concept of “independence” has been commercialized and labeled, how social platforms and sellers have participated in this trend, and how this phenomenon simultaneously promotes positive values while intensifying stereotypes. This is in line with the viewpoint proposed by Ghasemaghaei [3]: The algorithm not only performs information distribution, but also restructures users' perception of "importance" and "value". Based on theories of gender studies, communication studies, and consumer culture, this study comprehensively integrates approaches such as textual analysis, case examination, and public sentiment observation. By analyzing typical discourses and user interactions on social platforms like TikTok, Xiaohongshu, and Weibo, combined with brand cases, it seeks to uncover the relationship between narrative influence and public reception.

In this section, the paper will mainly illustrate how the topic “Independent Women” arises, how its commercialization process unfolds, how its commercialized spreading logic operates, and how the public reacts. To begin with, before talking about the ways that brands and companies use for marketing, how “Independent Women” arises should be taken into account. With the changes in women's rights, women's status is shifting with society. Beginning from the end of the 19th century, the idea of independent women has emerged. Various subjects appeared to represent women’s independence. Women's education and initial employment broke away from the previous traditional women's status. This change represents a significant shift in the status of women, and it also marks the beginning of an era known as “New Women,” which signifies a new social status for women. This stance evolved, was deconstructed by post-feminism, and absorbed by consumer culture. Not only women's rights, but also the viewpoints on women from different parts of the world should be considered. Although today some countries still adhere to the idea of “men only” - such as Mauritius - women in these countries have different rights compared with men. Besides this country, there are still some developing countries facing this problem, such as China. The difference between women’s and men’s rights, though reduced significantly, still includes several inequality factors faced by women when they are interviewing for jobs. For example, careers in STEM in China lack female labor force participation. Thus, this issue remains a problem and requires more comprehensive solutions. The problem still exists, so it is easy to see the change in women's rights in current society. Women's rights have changed significantly, especially when compared with those of the past several decades. With the rise of technology, the internet, and social media, the roles of women are reconstructed repeatedly. Ideas of independent women can spread at high speed on the internet, and people’s potential consciousness is gradually affected. These phenomena indicate that women’s status has risen significantly, and many companies have adopted “female independence” as one of their tactics to boost product sales and business popularity.

2. Commercializing the “independent woman”

On social media platforms such as TikTok and Little Red Book, female images are not constructed by themselves on the platforms. These images are shaped primarily by algorithmic recommendation systems and tag-based cultural mechanisms. Women do not shape themselves into whatever they want on the internet. As Du [4] argues, those female content that are characterized as "professional" or "non-consumptive" will be marginalized by the algorithm. Therefore, women have to cater to 'consumptive' logic to gain visibility. These platforms utilize personalized recommendation algorithms based on user behavior—such as likes, clicks, viewing duration, and interaction frequency—guided by a core logic of maximizing traffic and sustaining user engagement. Consequently, female representations that offer strong visual appeal, emotional resonance, and consumer potential are more likely to receive algorithmic amplification. As Metzler & Garcia [5] pointed out, 'the selectivity of algorithms is not a neutral technology, but rather a feedback mechanism for embedding social values.' This precisely aligns with the earlier argument regarding the 'amplification of consumable female images'.

This overall spreading logic makes some content creators find a way to engage more viewers and likes. Typical examples such as “white, youthful, and thin” beauties, the “refined mother” lifestyle bloggers, and the so-called “slash-goddess” figures who combine career success with aesthetic self-discipline. This is precisely the manifestation of what Logan [6] refers to as "post-feminist digital feminine identity", which is packaged with empowerment through consumer aesthetics and self-monitoring. As the public follows these trends, more and more creators are increasingly adopting similar approaches to promote their videos and posts. Inside this, their inner core is similar compared with each other, which is to become famous and gain profits. These public tags assigned to women are one of the ways creators can make their content popular. As we can see, many videos have tags under them, and we call these tags “hashtags”. The use of hashtags—such as #aestheticgirl, #early_lateA, or #beauty transformation—not only facilitates algorithmic classification and distribution but also operates as a cultural mechanism for value alignment and identity expression.

These hashtags serve as tools of self-categorization while also functioning as implicit regularity norms: content creators seeking greater visibility often tailor their outputs to conform to dominant aesthetic and behavioral codes embedded in trending tags. Within this individualization, individuals are encouraged to pursue uniqueness, but within a framework shaped by economic logic and social norms.

As a result, the algorithm-tag forms a techno-cultural mechanism that continuously amplifies certain idealized, consumable female images, marginalizes diverse and complex female subjects, and further disciplines women’s expressive space in the digital sphere. Tags also contain a function called “value directing”. This can guide user communities toward similar directions. A content creator produces a video, adds tags, gains popularity, is imitated, and the tags are refined—eventually leading to content reproduction. This dissemination chain establishes the basic direction and internal logic for spreading the 'Independent Women' narrative. The platform algorithms and the label culture jointly established a female image ecosystem centered around consumption. Commercial advertising increasingly appropriates the language of female empowerment; examples include Tmall's Queen's Day and SK-II's 'Marriage Market Takeover' campaign. Slogans include: 'Buy it for yourself' and 'You don’t need a boyfriend, you need SK-II.' Brands construct a vision of the “Independent Women” centered on self-care, emotional resilience, and financial autonomy. The result is a commercial version of independence—one that resonates emotionally but eventually redirects feminist discourse toward a market-friendly direction.

3. Commercial discourse and public response

On social platforms such as Xiaohongshu and Bilibili, key opinion leaders (KOLs), especially those creators in the fashion field, play a crucial role in constructing and disseminating the image of "elegant and independent women". This aligns with Zhou and Li’s [7] findings on postfeminist labor on Xiaohongshu: the 'self-presentation' of these KOLs is essentially a form of digital labor and a visual discourse project jointly shaped by platform algorithms and brand demands. They use planned content to convey minimalist aesthetic concepts, self-disciplined living attitudes, and meticulous self-management methods, shaping a highly female role model: independent and autonomous, yet always elegant and approachable. This reflects the "commoditized elegance" described by Zhang and Luo [8]. as embedded in the platform-driven shaping of female characters, where aesthetics and independence are intertwined with the logic of consumerism. This content presents elements such as 'daily schedules,' 'morning habits,' and 'office space arrangements.' It not only shares life skills but also subtly promotes a lifestyle philosophy that merges independence with consumer behavior, personal development, and brand loyalty. Sponsorship content is integrated into these narratives, guiding fans to imitate their lifestyle by purchasing related products. This approach blurs the boundary between identity expression and commercial operations for these KOLs, thereby transforming the concept of 'independence' into a symbol with both aesthetic and market value. Zhang and Luo [8] also noticed similar findings. They believe that platforms like Xiaohongshu actively shape women's identity expression through algorithmic mechanisms that reinforce purchasing behavior. In the comment sections of Weibo and Xiaohongshu, contradictory voices can be observed: on the one hand, people praise those "successful in career, with good appearance and self-discipline" women; on the other hand, criticism of the homogenization and performance-like characteristics of the so-called "independent" identity is also intensifying. For example, questions about the authenticity of phenomena such as "refined poverty" or "working fairy" have become popular topics, reflecting a new perception — these meticulously crafted lifestyles are often beyond the reach of ordinary women who are subject to actual economic and social constraints. When the "independent" image is overly idealized, it not only becomes desirable but also makes people feel distant and unrealistic. This model of female independence centered on standardization has given rise to a phenomenon known as "independent anxiety". This is a kind of psychological pressure that makes women feel the need to rely on external images and material conditions to continuously improve, display, and verify their own autonomy. This phenomenon forms an internal driving force that prompts individuals to pursue specific and narrow ideal standards, which may lead to self-restraint, physical and mental exhaustion, and the loss of identity. When women strive to meet these ideas defined by digitalization, they may experience a sense of "apparent autonomy", which means that people seem to be practicing autonomous choices but are bound by business logic and algorithmic frameworks. Ultimately, this model brings about only a symbolic enhancement of power rather than substantive changes, further revealing the profound contradiction between visual autonomy and true liberation.

4. Discussion

Conceiving of a future with more varied and conscientious accounts of women's empowerment necessitates a multifaceted approach, calling for the collaboration of various stakeholders. From a policy perspective, gender-sensitive guidelines for mainstream ads and influencer marketing can help restrict those misleading or one-sided expressions. As Fraser et al [9]. highlight in their platform accountability roadmap, regulatory pressure and adherence to public-interest standards play a critical role in addressing gender-based misrepresentations and algorithmic bias.Digital platforms need to explore the transparency of their algorithms, which will help them support creators by boosting their content in the recommendation systems of their platforms. As Ghasemaghaei [10] argues, algorithmic opacity undermines user agency and perpetuates concealed commercial interests, which influence content exposure and the construction of identity in digital environments. Equally important is educating the users. Through media literacy programs that train viewers to apply a critical lens when consuming commercial material, the blind adoption of unrealized fantasies and ideas can be minimized. At its core, regaining control over the discourse of independence refers to re-establishing the idea from solely the commercial arenas to the center of personal experience, critical thinking, and collective power.

5. Conclusion

In our contemporary world, where social media and consumerism impact each other, the matter of "independent women" has evolved into a symbolic and stylized phenomenon that becomes viral and easy to consume. An analytical study of the platform algorithm, tagging system, and marketing strategy proves that traffic logic and market imperative create discourse framing. The consequence of this is that the visual content loses much appeal, depth, and artistic stance, which are crucial for the communication process. Discourse that was once a part of social criticism and bitingly constructive due to its emphasis on exploring the self and society has now, through digital dissemination, turned into a mapped-out image popular out there on algorithmically supported information and social media accounts. In the issue of "independent women", the aesthetic standards driven by the platform have formed a specific style of stock images and pushed more underrepresented or critical portrayals of gender to the margins by means of selective exposure. Finally, the discussion calls for diverse independent expressions, corporate responsibility, and platform responsibility.

In today's age of e-commerce convergence, the spread of feminist ideology in the market means it can easily be transformed into an advertising tool. This is a daily fact regarding the current way of disseminating the idea of "independent women". When the discourse of empowerment is closely linked to product promotion, independence is no longer merely about collective action or political identity, but more about emotional connections and consumer behavior. This paper might serve as a foundation for future research to examine the role of brands' monopolization of empowerment-related information and their visibility across various platforms. However, platform tagging systems and marketers have "rules" that preferentially cater to ideas about appearance and behavior rather than allowing for diverse expressions.

Although visibility has become more pronounced, studies show that representation has not become more diversified in that regard. On the contrary, the message is limited to the palaces of some social classes, and usually of those who are on the verge of changing social values and lifestyles. As an example, the difference between various cultures (such as the Western message of "female bosses" and the Eastern one of "fairy sisters") might be the key to elucidating the market logic of which types of "independencies" are deceivingly preferred all over the world. These factors have generated a high pitch of anxiety and confusion among many women, trying to bring their cherished deep desire concrete and significant. This shows that there is a tremendous opportunity for digital platforms to move away from dual exclusions instead of making gender discourse more inclusive.