Polarisation of Authenticity in the Search for Individuality Among Contemporary Women in Western and Central Lithuania

Abstract

The article analyses how women in western and central Lithuania in the twenty-first century construct their individuality through the concept of authenticity and everyday practices of body and beauty. Authenticity is understood as a dynamic process that takes place between the inner sense of self and external social norms and as a requirement of contemporary culture to constantly work on oneself. The study shows that the experiences of women in western and central Lithuania are shaped in a polarised cultural context. On the one hand, there is an emphasis on self-acceptance, body diversity, and the right to be oneself. On the other hand, the beauty industry, social networks, and visual culture create clear aesthetic and behavioural standards that limit this declared freedom. As a result, women’s identity is shaped by a constant tension between free choice and structural constraints imposed by the media, family expectations, the professional environment, and cultural stereotypes. Empirical survey data reveal that the discourse of authenticity has an ambiguous effect: it empowers women by promoting self-esteem and individuality on the one hand but disciplines them by determining what a ‘proper’ woman should be like – psychologically stable, aesthetically moderate, tidy, and socially acceptable – on the other hand. These two aspects usually do not operate separately; rather, they function simultaneously and form a subtle control mechanism. In the given context, the search for individuality by contemporary women is a consistent process comprised of several related phases, which is never completely finished. Here authenticity functions not only as a personal value but also as a cultural norm that shapes women’s self-awareness and the logic of beauty practices. The study shows that the polarisation between authenticity as liberation and authenticity as a norm is one of the essential features of contemporary culture that shapes the self-perception and beauty practices of women in western and central Lithuania.