Flawless Skin, Flawless Performance: The Commodification of Turkish National Volleyball Player Saliha Şahin in the Bioderma-Sebium Advertisement

Safter Elmas

doi:10.54141/psbd.1838860

Flawless Skin, Flawless Performance: The Commodification of Turkish National Volleyball Player Saliha Şahin in the Bioderma-Sebium Advertisement

Abstract

This study conducts a critical feminist analysis of Bioderma’s acne advertisement featuring Turkish national volleyball player Saliha Şahin, situated within the context of femvertising. The research aims to unveil how a female athlete’s body and success are commodified through the advertisement’s narrative of ‘flawless skin, flawless performance’. Employing a Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis methodology, the study deciphers the constructed causal relationship between athletic performance and skin condition within the ad. The analysis reveals a core finding: a significant exaggeration positing that ‘flawless’ skin is a prerequisite for ‘flawless’ performance. This narrative markets ‘flawed skin’ as a form of vulnerability and a performance-diminishing factor, ultimately reducing the solution to the consumption of a cream. The discussion unfolds along three primary axes: Under the theme of postfeminist discourse and the construction of a deficit approach, the study examines how the emphasis on individual consumption obscures structural problems. Within the section on sport, gender, and the rhetoric of ‘improvement’, it investigates how volleyball is instrumentalized as a gendered domain. The segment on commodification and the reification of feminist values demonstrates how the demands of feminism are hollowed out through their assimilation into consumer culture. Furthermore, within the Turkish context, the analysis highlights how the ‘modern’ and ‘powerful’ image of female volleyball players is commodified in this process. In conclusion, this study argues that femvertising does not promise genuine social transformation. On the contrary, it reinforces capitalist patriarchy by entrapping female athletes in a new cycle of vulnerability through the myth of ‘flawlessness’.

Keywords

Ethical Statement

This research focuses on content published in a digital public space that is accessible to everyone, does not require Ethics Committee approval, and is generally considered ‘public space data’.

Thanks

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Kubilay Kara, Elif Balıkçı and Oktay Kara for their invaluable support throughout this research process.

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Sociology of Sports, Sports Activity Management

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Safter Elmas ^*
0000-0002-8519-163X
Türkiye

Early Pub Date

July 16, 2026

Publication Date

-

Submission Date

December 9, 2025

Acceptance Date

February 16, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Number: Advanced Online Publication

DOI

https://doi.org/10.54141/psbd.1838860

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA34EK69YS

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Elmas, S. (2026). Flawless Skin, Flawless Performance: The Commodification of Turkish National Volleyball Player Saliha Şahin in the Bioderma-Sebium Advertisement. Pamukkale Journal of Sport Sciences, Advanced Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.54141/psbd.1838860

AMA

1.Elmas S. Flawless Skin, Flawless Performance: The Commodification of Turkish National Volleyball Player Saliha Şahin in the Bioderma-Sebium Advertisement. Pamukkale J Sport Sci. 2026;(Advanced Online Publication). doi:10.54141/psbd.1838860

Chicago

Elmas, Safter. 2026. “Flawless Skin, Flawless Performance: The Commodification of Turkish National Volleyball Player Saliha Şahin in the Bioderma-Sebium Advertisement”. Pamukkale Journal of Sport Sciences, no. Advanced Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.54141/psbd.1838860.

EndNote

Elmas S (July 1, 2026) Flawless Skin, Flawless Performance: The Commodification of Turkish National Volleyball Player Saliha Şahin in the Bioderma-Sebium Advertisement. Pamukkale Journal of Sport Sciences Advanced Online Publication

IEEE

[1]S. Elmas, “Flawless Skin, Flawless Performance: The Commodification of Turkish National Volleyball Player Saliha Şahin in the Bioderma-Sebium Advertisement”, Pamukkale J Sport Sci, no. Advanced Online Publication, July 2026, doi: 10.54141/psbd.1838860.

ISNAD

Elmas, Safter. “Flawless Skin, Flawless Performance: The Commodification of Turkish National Volleyball Player Saliha Şahin in the Bioderma-Sebium Advertisement”. Pamukkale Journal of Sport Sciences. Advanced Online Publication (July 1, 2026). https://doi.org/10.54141/psbd.1838860.

JAMA

1.Elmas S. Flawless Skin, Flawless Performance: The Commodification of Turkish National Volleyball Player Saliha Şahin in the Bioderma-Sebium Advertisement. Pamukkale J Sport Sci. 2026. doi:10.54141/psbd.1838860.

MLA

Elmas, Safter. “Flawless Skin, Flawless Performance: The Commodification of Turkish National Volleyball Player Saliha Şahin in the Bioderma-Sebium Advertisement”. Pamukkale Journal of Sport Sciences, no. Advanced Online Publication, July 2026, doi:10.54141/psbd.1838860.

Vancouver

1.Safter Elmas. Flawless Skin, Flawless Performance: The Commodification of Turkish National Volleyball Player Saliha Şahin in the Bioderma-Sebium Advertisement. Pamukkale J Sport Sci. 2026 Jul. 1;(Advanced Online Publication). doi:10.54141/psbd.1838860