

Thinking Face Emoji
Gepresenteerd door The Hmm
Ooit gehoord van girlbosses, sigma males en post-Soviet girls? Thinking Face Emoji, een Engelstalige podcast van het Amsterdamse onlinecultuurplatform The Hmm en het Institute of Network Cultures, draait om internetpersona’s en genderexpressie. Elke aflevering duikt in een uitdrukking die online veel gebruikt wordt, zoals looksmaxxing of Gigachad. De afleveringen starten vlot met een fragment en uitleg van de term, maar het tempo zakt daarna wat in. Toch zorgen de inzichten van onderzoekers en andere gasten voor een diepgaand panelgesprek over onze online-identiteit. Ook zonder voorkennis van sigma males of looksmaxxing kun je je verliezen in de absurditeit van sommige internet-tropes.
Afleveringen

The Future of Girlhood
<p>In the sixth and last episode of the season we delve into the future of girlhood in online culture. Since 2023, the so-called “year of the girl” with trends like girl math, girl dinner, and the Barbie movie’s influence, girlhood has become a widely discussed cultural and theoretical concept. We’ve learned that the figure of the girl has evolved into a digital strategy rather than a fixed identity, one that is shaped by algorithms, aesthetics, and performance. Together with one of the initiato

Post-Soviet Girl, or the Sad Girl Trope
<p>In the fifth episode of Thinking Face Emoji, Margarita Osipian from The Hmm and Anielek Niemyjski from the Institute of Network Cultures are joined by writer and independent researcher Salome Berdzenishvili, to discuss the online aesthetic of the post-Soviet sad girl. Together they dissect the sad girl industrial complex to explore how this aesthetic emerged, and how it shapes and reflects the visual and emotional archives of Soviet and post-Soviet eras.</p> <p>Mentioned in this episode:</p>

Sock, the Bushwick enby
<p>In this episode, Maja Mikulska from The Hmm and Anielek Niemyjski from the Institute of Network Cultures are joined by Maya B. Kronic - co-author of Cute Accelerationism and Head of Research and Development at Urbanomic - to discuss all things <em>Sock</em>. From Bushwick enbies to memes and fancy foot cover-ups, the conversation focuses on what it means to explore gender nonconformity, both online and offline.</p> <p>Mentioned in the episode:</p> <p><a href="https://ifunny.co/picture/having-

Gigachad, or the Surge of Nu-genics
<p>In the third episode of Thinking Face Emoji, Margarita Osipian from The Hmm and researcher Mita Medri, are joined by writer and cultural commentator Ana Sumbo, to discuss the online phenomenon of looksmaxxing. Hunter vs prey eyes, the canthal tilt, siren vs. doe eyes, angel vs witch skull, or a FYP filled with Gigachad jawlines. This is the landscape, or some might say cesspool, of looksmaxxing. With its incel-verse undertones and radical history, we discuss whether this phenomenon is just an

Sigma Male, or How Incel Terms Went Mainstream
<p>In this episode Salome Berdzenishvili, from the Institute of Network Cultures, and Sjef van Beers, from The Hmm, talk to Dr. Daniël de Zeeuw, from the University of Amsterdam’s department of Mediastudies, about how terms originally associated with incel and femcel communities seem to have reached the mainstream.</p> <p>Mentioned in this episode:</p> <p><a href="https://oilab.eu/publication-teh-internet-is-serious-business-on-the-deep-vernacular-web-imaginary-and-its-discontents/">“‘Teh Intern

Girlboss, Through the Years
<p>In this inaugural episode of Thinking Face Emoji, Margarita Osipian and Sjef van Beers from The Hmm, are joined by Sam Cummins, of Nymphet Alumni, to discuss the <em>girlboss</em>. Overly familiar with the many critiques this online stereotype has gotten over the years, we shift our focus to look at the cultural and aesthetic environment that led to the girlboss, her inception, and the impact she made on our (online) culture today.</p> <p>Mentioned in this episode: <a href="https://www.youtub
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