Olivia Culpo is done with keeping things to herself. She talked about what gatekeeping means at South by Southwest (SXSW) 2023 during an Allē-sponsored SHE-Media panel on Sunday, March 12, about authenticity and what it means in an age of social media.
In the Co-Lab discussion “Authenticity in the Age of Social Media” moderated by Vanity Fair contributing editor, Leah Faye Cooper, model and influencer Culpo, Queer Eye star Bobby Berk, digital creator Felicia Walker and TikTok-famous board-certified dermatologist Dr. Muneeb Shah, talked about what being authentic meant for them and why they’ve chosen to be so transparent on their respective platforms. Culpo was asked about how her followers were so open about asking the creator about what stuff she uses. “I hate the idea of gatekeeping and gatekeepers, that’s why I always tag like everything that I’m wearing,” Culpo said staunchly. “It occurred to me that other people didn’t want people to know the brand of their skirt, because what if God forbid they get the same one and I was just like, that is so freakin lame.”
Image: SHE Media
She then explained how she turned around from that. “I do think that it goes back to my roots of being a sister and just having sisters saying “What’s mine is yours and like you I’m going to tell you everything that you want to know and I would expect you to tell me the same thing back. Miss Universe 2012 also emphasized that having people behind your back and supporting you helps your mindset. “You need a community because you also want to be able to fact check, then you feel less alone.”
“I feel like there’s a lot of freedom in being honest,” said Culpo, with a combined social media following of close to six million, who attributed growing up surrounded by two sisters to her desire to be authentic. “When it comes to other people online or even just friends in a room when you’re honest with them, it allows them to be honest with you and it makes you closer. And that’s what I’ve always loved about social media and my platform.”
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