The Most Influential Women Online: Beyond Searching Nude Celebs And The Kardashians

For International Women's Day (Sunday 8th March) we had a look at who the most searched women since the last IWD were, and the results were interesting.

Using Yahoo Search data we discovered that everybody's fave Royal, 'Kate Middleton' - the Duchess of Cambridge came top, pushing wannabe internet-breaker Kim Kardashian into second place.

The obsession with the Duchess' fashion choices, parenting style and growing baby bump was so intense this year, that it even eclipsed the public's desire to see Kim Kardashian in the buff.

The Top Ten Most Searched-For Women on Yahoo In The Last 12 Months Were:

1.    Kate Middleton
2.    Kim Kardashian
3.    Peaches Geldof
4.    Katie Price
5.    Susanna Reid
6.    Jennifer Lawrence
7.    Ariana Grande
8.    Kelly Brook
9.    Cheryl Cole
10.   Holly Willoughby

Sex And Death

It wouldn’t be in the spirit of International Women’s Day to have a pop at any of these women, and their success isn’t something we’re knocking. But there’s no denying all but Kate are from the entertainment industry and all owe much of their extraordinary search popularity to their bodies. Kim Kardashian, Katie Price and Kelly Brook overtly, the others as a byproduct of their being in the public eye.

And while the public interest in their bodies and fashion choices enables them to promote everything from their businesses to charities, why should women have to rely on their bodies to do this?

Third on the list is Peaches Geldof, who died in February 2014. She wasn't especially highly searched before her death and the subsequent skyrocketing interest just shows the morbid fascination we have with a young woman's premature death. Unsettling, we can all agree.

It's not only search results that reveal our obsession with women as objects. According to research by Starcount for The Female Lead, 92 per cent the 200 most followed women on social media represent just five professions: singer, actress, model, TV star, WAG, emphasising the narrow focus on celebrity status among women.

And it's young people who are the most likely to follow female celebrities on Twitter - 86 per cent are under 20.

Women And Men On Social Media

This study highlights our ingrained and extremely problematic perception of role models.

Men look up to academics, politicians and other people of clout, where women are encouraged to idolise fame, money and looks.

While the top 200 most followed males also contained a high proportion of performers, they derived from a far broader professional spectrum, including comedians, music producers, business figures, politicians, religious figures, authors, world leaders, sports stars, academics and film directors.

Bea Appleby, editor of The Female Lead, commented: “Social media has been heralded as a democratising force – a new form of media created away from the formal constraints of the traditional media.

"And in lots of instances this is true. However, our research demonstrates that the most popular females on social media present a more one-dimensional portrayal of womanhood than their male counterparts."

So while it's great that there are hundreds of women with impressive follower numbers on social media, and people are interested in searching for women - let's make it about what they say and do rather than their boobs, shall we?

What can you do? Go and follow a female author, sports star, politician or scientist. And next time you find yourself searching for the latest Kim K belfie, question your motives and you're sure to find something more inspiring to search for.

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