Cultura

Curated Selves, Fractured Society: How Digital Identity Performance Mirrors And Magnifies Social Stratification

VOLUME 22, 2025

The Role of Targeted Infra-popliteal Endovascular Angioplasty to Treat Diabetic Foot Ulcers Using the Angiosome Model: A Systematic Review

VOLUME 6, 2023

Dr. Bishwajit Khumukcham, Dr. Buchi Mayanglambam, Dr. Ningombam Andropov Singh, Merina Henam

Abstract

This paper argues that the pervasive cultural practice of digitally curating one's identity functions as a potent new engine of social stratification. Moving beyond the view of social media as a mere reflection of inequality, we contend it actively reproduces and deepens existing social hierarchies through three interconnected mechanisms: aesthetic labor that performs class distinction, capital conversion that monetizes identity, and psychological stratification that internalizes inequality. Employing a comparative qualitative case study design, this research analyzes influencers Sophie Shohet ("quiet luxury" aesthetic) and Brittany Broski ("relatable authenticity" aesthetic) to demonstrate how Pierre Bourdieu's forms of capital economic, cultural, and social are converted within the digital attention economy. The findings reveal a vicious cycle where aesthetic performance creates distinction that is monetized, fueling further performance and exacerbating both economic and psychological inequality. This process is insidiously masked by a neoliberal narrative of individual choice and entrepreneurialism, legitimizing these deepened fractures. The paper concludes that recognizing this dynamic is crucial for reimagining a digital public sphere that prioritizes connection over competition and solidarity over stratification.

Keywords : Social Stratification, Digital Identity, Cultural Capital, Influencer Culture, Neoliberalism, Aesthetic Labor, Digital Inequality.
Erin Saricilar
Lecture in accounting. University of Basrah, College of Administration and Economics, Department of Accounting.

Abstract

Atherosclerotic disease significantly impacts patients with type 2 diabetes, who often present with recalcitrant peripheral ulcers. The angiosome model of the foot presents an opportunity to perform direct angiosome-targeted endovascular interventions to maximise both wound healing and limb salvage. A systematic review was performed, with 17 studies included in the final review. Below-the-knee endovascular interventions present significant technical challenges, with technical success depending on the length of lesion being treated and the number of angiosomes that require treatment. Wound healing was significantly improved with direct angiosome-targeted angioplasty, as was limb salvage, with a significant increase in survival without major amputation. Indirect angioplasty, where the intervention is applied to collateral vessels to the angiosomes, yielded similar results to direct angiosome-targeted angioplasty. Applying the angiosome model of the foot in direct angiosome-targeted angioplasty improves outcomes for patients with recalcitrant diabetic foot ulcers in terms of primary wound healing, mean time for complete wound healing and major amputation-free survival.
Keywords : Diabetic foot ulcer, angiosome, angioplasty