With Dr. Allycin Powell-Hicks

Beauty is often dismissed as superficial, yet it profoundly shapes how we think, feel, and are treated. This session examines the neurological and psychological mechanisms behind beauty perception and how media systems amplify and standardize these effects. Dr. Allycin Powell-Hicks connects research on bias, identity, and aesthetic capital to the lived realities of navigating appearance in a media-saturated world. The talk concludes with a discussion of how reconnecting to cultural and historical frameworks can expand and transform dominant beauty narratives.