The Chosen One

[unhelpfultarot]

Ace of Cups and Ten of Swords

You're enormously cheered up to discover how much nobody liked that guy.

[empress-of-dragons]

[dionysianivy]

𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐞

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What is Beltane?

Beltane is a fire festival celebrated on the night of April 30th into May 1st in the Northern Hemisphere, and around October 31st into November 1st in the Southern Hemisphere. It marks the midpoint between the spring equinox and the summer solstice, honoring fertility, passion, and the sacred union between the divine feminine and masculine. Traditionally, it signals the beginning of the light half of the year, a time of growth, abundance, warmth, and blooming life. Beltane celebrates freedom, love, lust, creativity, and the return of life to the natural world, bringing with it new, flourishing beginnings. May 1st is a day of joy and play. After a harsh winter, it becomes a celebration of renewal, of aliveness, and of nature’s wild rebirth.

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The History of Beltane

The name Beltane comes from Old Irish Beltene, meaning "bright fire" or "The fires of Bel". Some people link it to the Celtic god Belenus, a solar and healing deity, while others have drawn comparisons to Baal, a fertility god, though that idea is debated and not widely accepted.

Historically, Beltane was celebrated in Celtic regions, most notably Ireland and Scotland, as a pastoral festival. Bonfires were lit on hilltops, and cattle were driven between two of them to protect them from disease and ensure fertility. People would jump over the flames, not just for luck, but as a way to connect with sacred fire and invoke fertility, health, and courage for the coming summer season.

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Beltane and the Fairy Realm

Beltane is a liminal time, one of the two key points in the year (along with Samhain) when the veil between our world and the Otherworld grows thin. While Samhain leans into the realm of spirits and ancestors, Beltane belongs to the fae.

It is said that on the eve of Beltane, the Fair Folk wander freely, drawn to laughter, music, and offerings left with care. In many old traditions, people avoided disturbing fairy mounds or sacred groves during this time, choosing instead to leave gifts like milk, honey, or sweet bread beneath hawthorn trees. These offerings were meant to honor the fae, invite blessings, and protect against mischief.

Wearing a crown of bluebells on Beltane Eve is said to help one see the faeries, as bluebells are sacred to them. A ring of blooming bluebells is also believed to be a favorite gathering spot for garden faeries.

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Beltane and the Hawthorn Tree

Few trees are more sacred to Beltane than the hawthorn. Often called the “fairy tree” in Irish and Scottish folklore, it is said to guard the entrances to the Otherworld. Blooming right around May 1st, its soft white-pink blossoms carry the energy of protection, love, and the unseen.

In Celtic tradition, hawthorn trees were deeply respected as portals to the realm of the fae. During Beltane, it was common to tie ribbons or small offerings to the branches while making heartfelt wishes, not demands, but gentle hopes whispered like prayers. Damaging or cutting a hawthorn tree, especially during this sacred time, was believed to bring terrible luck or stir the wrath of the Fair Folk.

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The Sacred Fire

Fire is the central symbol of Beltane. The festival’s original name literally refers to Bel’s fires, honoring the sun and invoking purification and fertility.

Traditionally, two large bonfires were lit at Beltane, and people, along with their animals, would walk, dance, or even leap between them for blessings, healing, and protection. In some regions, ashes from the sacred fire were scattered over fields to encourage fertility. Couples, especially newlyweds, often passed hand-in-hand through the smoke as a symbol of unity and renewal.

The fire wasn’t just a ritual, it was a living spirit. Lighting it the old way, through friction rather than matches or lighters, was seen as a sacred act, calling upon the raw elemental force of nature itself.

Even today, many Beltane celebrations honor this ancient custom through bonfires, candle magic, and fire rituals. You don’t need a blaze on a hilltop, even a single flame, lit with intention, can carry the sacred spark of Beltane into your home and heart. :D

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The Maypole

The maypole is one of the most central symbols of modern Beltane celebrations. Though it has roots in English May Day traditions, it’s been beautifully woven into Beltane for its rich symbolism of life, fertility, and union.

The tall, phallic pole rising from the earth represents the God, masculine energy, vitality, and the spark of creation. The colorful ribbons and flowers spiraling around it, often held by dancers weaving in circles, represent the Goddess, the womb, fertility, and abundant life. Together, they form a sacred spiral: a dance of harmony between the masculine and feminine, of earth and sky, movement and stillness.

As dancers move around the maypole, their steps create a living mandala, a spell in motion, tied with laughter and bright ribbons.

The dance itself is a celebration of harmony between forces, of weaving ourselves back into the rhythm of the land.

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Beltane x Handfasting

Beltane is also a favored time for handfasting, a traditional pagan betrothal or wedding ritual where a couple’s hands are bound together with ribbons, cords, or braided threads to symbolize their union. In ancient times, a handfasting ceremony could last for a year and a day, after which the couple had the choice to stay together or part ways. Today, many modern pagans choose Beltane as a powerful and romantic time to make such commitments, drawn to the fertile energy of the season. Handfastings are often held outdoors, in nature, near fire, under blooming trees, or surrounded by loved ones in sacred space. The vows exchanged during these rituals can be traditional or deeply personal, as the magic of the ceremony lies in the heart connection and the intention to walk beside each other, bound by love and commitment.

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Magic Correspondences

Planets: Venus

Season: Midpoint between spring and summer

Element: Fire

Time of the Day: Noon

Tarot Cards: The Strength, The Lovers, The Sun, Three of Cups

Colors: Green, Red, Pink, Yellow, Purple, White, Sky Blue, All Pastel Colors

Herbs: Mint, Rosemary, Thyme, Ivy, Nettle, Sage, Basil, Juniper, Clover, Mugwort

Fruits: Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, Bananas, Lemon, Cherries

Vegetables: Cucumbers, Carrots, Garlic, Lettuce, New Potatoes

Crystals: Emerald, Bloodstone, Rose Quartz, Carnelian, Red Jasper, Green Aventurine, Moonstone, Fire Agate

Runes: Kenaz, Wunjo, Ingwaz

Trees: Hawthorn, Elder, Willow, Birch

Goddesses: Artemis, Diana, Brigid, Aphrodite, Flora, Gaia, Hera, Astarte, Venus, Juno, Freyja, Epona, Bastet

Gods: Pan, Cernunnos, Belenus, Dionysus, The Green Man, Bacchus, Priapus, Faunus, Eros, Ra

Dragons: Sairys, Fafnir

Flowers: Lilac, Bluebells, Daisy, Lilies, Foxglove, Lily of the Valley, Marigold, Tulips, Violets, Primrose, Peony, Poppy, Honeysuckle

Animals: Frogs, Swans, Cows, Deer, Squirrels, Sheep, Ducks, Cats, Bees, Rabbits, Swallows, Leopards, Lynx, Hares

Magical Powers: Love, Sex, Fertility, Protection, Cleansing, Transformation

Symbols: Maypole, Ribbons, Phallus, Bonfire, Flowers, Faeries, Sex, Floral Crowns, Frogs, Celtic Knots

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Activities to do:

🌸 Make flower-shaped biscuits

🌸 Do candle magick

🌸 Find a local hawthorn tree and make a wish to the faeries

🌸 Wear flowers in your clothes, hair, or as bracelets

🌸 Leave offerings for faeries, as this is the season when they’re most present, you can leave them honey, milk, or biscuits

🌸 Go out for a walk in nature and feel the arrival of summer

🌸 Make a fire in the yard and dance around it (only in safe circumstances, of course); if you don’t have resources, you can light candles in your room (again, be careful)

🌸 Eat anything with oats, as it’s associated with Beltane, such as oatmeal, oatcakes, or other oat-based foods

🌸 Do a tarot or rune reading in the morning of Beltane

🌸 Take care of the trees in your yard or nearby by watering them

🌸 Honor all deities associated with fertility

🌸 Practice faerie magick

🌸 On the morning of Beltane, open your windows or door to warmly welcome the energy of the sabbat.

🌸 Make a Beltane magick jar

🌸 Water your flowers

🌸 Listen to music and dance :D

🌸 Celebrate life, fertility, love, and union

🌸 Take care of your garden, plant seeds, clean dried leaves, and prepare for summer

🌸 Make special Beltane treats

🌸 Casting your circles with oats around this time of year is also a good idea, as oats are a traditional Beltane grain for good luck

🌸 Have a picnic with your loved ones, or organize a gathering with food and grilling

🌸 Honor your ancestors

🌸 Place decorations in your garden

🌸 Plant a tree with any intention you want and take care of it

🌸 Draw runes and specific symbols on paper and burn them

🌸 Do self-love activities

🌸 Practice sex or love magick

🌸 Look for hawthorns in your area and honor them with water and offerings for faeries

🌸 Make a maypole

🌸 Collect flowers

🌸 On the morning of May 1st, wash your face with May Dew or natural spring water

🌸 Connect with the fire element

🌸 Read about the fair folk

🌸 Have a bonfire with your loved ones

🌸 Place ribbons or colored thread in trees with intentions for each, you can use color magick to attract what you need in your life right now (pink for love,

🌸 Meditate

🌸 Make flower crowns and wreaths

🌸 Perform spells for fertility, purification, and love

🌸 As this is a day of love, if you are of an appropriate age, comfortable, being sexually active is part of the celebration

🌸 Buy seeds and plant them in your garden, welcoming the growth of new life

🌸 Create a Beltane altar

🌸 If you don't have a maypole you can dance around your favorite tree <3

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Food and Drinks:

Oats in all forms (oatmeal, oat cookies, oat bread, oatcakes, bannock), strawberries, blueberries, honey, whipped cream with oats, strawberry biscuits, oat and honey bread, blackberry pie, lavender cake, cheese (including Swiss), seasonal potato dishes, fresh fruit salads, tomato and cucumber salads, dairy or plant-based milks, vanilla-flavoured foods, ice cream, grilled food, BBQ, spicy dishes to honor the fire element, May Day wine, white wine, regular wine (with a strawberry placed at the bottom of the glass if you wish), tarts with cheese, mayonnaise.

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[onedirection4eversstuff]

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[hiddiesontour]

HIDDIES ON TOUR

-LOT23, Wembley N4 ( @bethandbono )

[theycallmethechosenone]

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzJ4nWqYI6s)

Hey y’all, thanks for sticking with me all semester and reading my shambled ramblings. My video is kind of a long one because I decided to do a visual podcast with some great women in my life. 

I’ve attached the description to the video here that has my sources as well as my definition of affective economies!

Congrats on finishing another semester, and to my fellow seniors out there: Good luck I believe in you!

Video Description: Final Project for WST 394: Cyberfeminisms

Topic: Affective Economies + Women of Color in Digital Journalism

Works Referenced Ahmed, S. (2004). Affective Economies. Social Text 22(2), 117-139. Oluo, I. (2017). The Heart of Whiteness: Ijeoma Oluo Interviews Rachel Dolezal, the White Woman Who Identifies as Black. The Stranger. Retrieved from http://www.thestranger.com/features/2017/04/19/25082450/the-heart-of-whiteness-ijeoma-oluo-interviews-rachel-dolezal-the-white-woman-who-identifies-as-black

Working Definition of Affective Economy as Defined by Tori Jackson in reference to Affective Economies by Sara Ahmed In Ahmed’s article, “Affective Economies,” Ahmed discusses affect and affective economies. She argues that ““emotions play a crucial role in the “surfacing” of individual and collective bodies through the way in which emotions circulate between bodies and signs” and the tangible benefits of constructing bodies to play certain roles in social scripts. Important in Ahmed’s definition of these affective economies is that there is a subject and an object of an emotion, and that the emotion has fluid motion to slide between subjects and objects. Ahmed discusses this sliding of emotion between subjects and objects often talking about how white/national bodies become the subject of affect while POC become the objects Ahmed also claims that these affects have historic constructions that act as scripts for present bodies. One of the emotions that Ahmed discusses is fear and how the affective economy of fear has been set up between white and black bodies. Ahmed states that “ fear opens up past histories that stick to the present,” meaning that present white bodies are not the “authors” of fear but the subject in the subject/object relationship of fear between black and white bodies. Black bodies have been historically constructed as the objects of fear and as threats to whiteness. Therefore, while current white bodies did not personally write this construction, they are written as those being frightened by black bodies.

This relationship can be seen clearly in online spaces, and it’s tangible benefits for white bodies are evident.

[superwoodlandwoman-blog]

The Things That Bind Us

(Source)

If there is one thing this course has taught me, it would be how easy it is for an idea to reach people. The online actions of one person, be it Beyoncé, Signe Pierce in American Reflexxx, or even a webcam performer, can reach millions. Intentional or not, the dissemination of information has sparked conversations and encouraged people to utilize the internet as a tool for feminist collaboration and activism. These collaborations unite us by giving us spaces to transcend our physical selves and interact with those who may believe in our causes. The internet has provided countless platforms to push back against that which oppresses us, either online or in real life. Conversations which occur in chat rooms and on subreddits are transformed into physical action.

It’s always easy though, to gloss over the negative aspects of this heightened sense of collaboration and increased pushback against oppressive formations. I think the biggest issue facing feminist groups is inherent to any collaboration. Formation of in-groups automatically creates out-groups, those who are excluded from the conversation and activism. Cyberfeminist collaborations are subject to a tyranny of the majority, and this has been seen many times, especially for those who are trans, or young, or a person of color. Feminism is not only for white women, and although cyberfeminist collaborations are increasingly including underrepresented groups, there is still much work to do. 

So, what do we do going forward? The world around is changing. We always have access to the internet of things; anything is at our fingertips: food from any restaurant, insight to our acquaintance’s lives, or even hookups. “These emergent technosciences – Facebook and Google – seek to reinforce a notion of everyday life even as they change it almost beyond recognition” (Kember, 2012). The gradual change feels unassuming and normal until we look back. Five years ago, “Overly Attached Girlfriend” and “Gangnam Style” were going viral. Don’t they seem ancient now? Internet history moves so fast. The world may move too quickly, and there may be no place for an overhaul of thought. Cyberfeminist interventions may simply need the seeds for us to view our online content through a feminist lens.

(Source 1 and 2) 

Feminism, though, will grow and develop as our relationship to the online world continues in flux. As Kember states in her piece, Notes Towards a Future Feminist Manifesto, there is a “tendency in current forms of theorizing to regard processes of affect and relationality as solutions to asymmetries of power rather than as questions we have begun to pose to them” (2012). Recognition of ways to create spaces and solve problems are only the first step for a cyberfeminist intervention and cyberfeminist-welcoming future. 

What will this intervention look like? Well, I would argue that it might not seem like an intervention at all. In fact, I think we all might take a note from Tavi Gevinson, a young person. At 11, Tavi Gevinson had a fashion blog called Style Rookie, which gained notoriety quickly. The publicity she had magnified the criticisms and uncertainty she had through her teenage years. She was always at a crossroads, “you can’t be smart and pretty, you can’t be a feminist who’s interested in fashion, you can’t care about clothes unless it’s for the sake of what other people, usually men, will think of you” (Gevinson, 2012). She realized that reconciling her confusion became easier when she realized that as a feminist, she didn’t have to play by a rulebook and that she could, as a woman, figure things out and change her mind. 

I honestly believe that this realization, for people everywhere, will be the basis of cyberfeminism. Feminism is not a code of conduct for how to act, whether in real life or online. It is, however, a mindset to experience, think, and support that which serves you and those who advocate for.  

Tavi launched a magazine, Rookie, in September of 2011. In her first editorial, she commented, “Rookie is not your guide to Being a Teen. It is not a pamphlet on How to Be a Young Woman. It is, quite simply, a bunch of writing and art we like and believe in.” Rookie is a space for young women to be represented, and to inspire them to give themselves “permission to ask their own questions and find their own answers” (Gevinson, 2012). I think this a beautiful thing. Online, we can abandon the façade we put up for real life and create these large collaborative spaces where we can all use each other to help us figure out what we actually support.

(Source)

[theycallmethechosenone]

I have personally experienced the creation of an in-group and an out-group in feminist spaces. I think this is a drawback both in the digital world and in our lived, day to day realities. The idea that there will continue to be a “tyranny of the majority” even in collaborative spaces is a truth that I think many feminists don’t want to acknowledge--especially when they feel that they are already not participating in western/white feminisms. Yet, we see this inequality throughout all feminist spaces. The quest for there to be a single right answer is ever present and I think magnified in online spaces. In these digital spaces of activism there are too many voices to filter through, so there tends to be a smaller group that think similarly that decide that their answer is the correct answer. We often forget that there are so many pathways to similar conclusions of equity.

I am so appreciative and love you solution for an “intervention.” Maybe instead of looking for overhauls or forcing people to come to similar conclusions, we should carve our own paths. This could take so many forms from privileging oppressed voices to launching a brand like Tavi. The options are endless if we work together by working on ourselves.

[thatsgrace]

What advice would you give to someone who struggles with stress and/or depression?

[theycallmethechosenone]

For this week I wanted to talk about YouTube as a business and all of its young creators that are currently being silenced. In their article, Cote and Pybus discuss Myspace and other social networking sites as environments in which immaterial labor is performed. They define immaterial labor as “ activity that produces the cultural content of the commodity – that is, “activities involved in defining and fixing cultural and artistic standards, fashions, tastes, consumer norms, and, more strategically, public opinion’” (89). YouTube is currently the most popular site through which a young demographic is defining public opinion and consumption. Many are lucky enough to make this a now somewhat normal career, but in the past few weeks a sudden shift towards demonetization of certain content on YouTube.

As many of you may know, YouTube drama began earlier this month with PewDiePie’s anti semitic video, which lead to (a probably already in talks) restricted mode. Many of the content creators have been affected, but more so queer creators, videos on mental health, and many people of color’s content has been affected disproportionately. Furthermore, now ads are being taken off of videos that are deemed controversial. So, not only are creators being discriminated against, but their videos can no longer be monetized.

As seen in the article, “Black Teens Are Breaking The Internet And Seeing None Of The Profits,” movements or cultural phenomenons created by minorities often become a part of culture, but the creator themselves are never acknowledged for their contribution. Young creators on YouTube, such as Hannah Hart, are promoting self care, educating on queer activism, and also producing comedy content; however, they are being attacked by YouTube’s new monetization systems. While they are making major waves in culture change, and producing affective labor, they are starting to become silenced and without payment for their labor.

YouTube as a site for cyberfeminism, a place to privilege voices, and an environment to choose to support content creators who could not make it in traditional entertainment media was one of the best platforms. Audiences could come to the sight for empowering messages, quality content, and creators who they could relate to on all levels (race, class, gender, sexuality, etc.). However, with this imbalance now in place it is harder to see YouTube as an empowering site for young creators. It is clear that the voices of creators of color and queer creators are being silenced. While the audiences are still there, watching and supporting in any way possible, YouTube itself is making it clear that these creators are no longer welcome. The concept of the site is still sound. I believe being able to support creators just by watching them is empowering and privileging, but with the imbalance in the affective economy it now feels more exploitative.

Attached is a video explaining some of the controversy. The video is by h3h3 and he has since put out other content on these issues. However, this information is on a lot of channels with big names talking about it (i.e. Jenna Marbles, PewDiePie, FunHaus).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQ489KjPqlc

[abigailtasu-blog]

Economics of Cam-ing, but what about marginalized bodies??

I thought the film was an interesting look into the industry of cam-ing. I don’t think there’s any doubt that the essence of cam-ing and sex work is entrepreneurial and an effective way to make money in the global economy, and it also conjures up a very visible model to look at in terms of sexual economies. Though money is exchanged for services in sex work, there is also an exchange of sexual and emotional affects between the cam girl and the viewer. By this transfer of actions, we can also ascribe a symbiotic relationship that exists in a capitalistic lens; both provide feedback to each other to create a more profitable and enjoyable business platform. I liked how the women discussed the financial side of cam-ing to give us a look into how the businesses are run. I thought it was interesting that one of the women talked about paid vacations and healthcare not existing unless you work hard to make up for taking breaks. This struck me as both the purest form of capitalism and conjured up ideas of Marx. By depending on your work to support you, with no assistance or riding on laurels, cam-ing can be viewed as direct capitalistic exchange of goods and services for currency to sustain a lifestyle. But also, the good and services are intrinsically Marxist because they are a part of the worker; workers are more comfortable when they are with their nature, and if their labor and nature are one, workers are comfortable and own their labor without alienation. There is a question about exploitation, but Jiz Lee explains that that is remedied by paying for porn from people willingly making it.

The thing I found lacking in the film was the discussion of non-normal bodies. Ruberg talks about the performance of pornography, and we can apply it to Cam-Girlz because the documentary did not discuss the different experiences of the services beyond some bodies. Though the documentary did not only show thin, white, cis, able bodies, it did however show mostly white, cis, able bodies. There must be a different experience cam-ing while a being pat of a marginalized group, but this film lacked showing that experience.

�^Q:��

[theycallmethechosenone]

I believe your description of camming as an affective community is apt. Throughout the film, and especially in the VICE interview with the director, Sean Dunne, it is quite clear that this specific type of sex work provides a comfortable space for both the worker and the consumer to exist in. When introducing the interview, Aidan Johnston describes the work “as a place where cammers get gratification from their work, finding confidence amid the orgasms.” This particular type of sex work, because of the control that the workers have over their environments and bodies, allows the performers to feel safe. Furthermore, because of the “like” and “popularity” system discussed, it is a space that naturally breeds confidence for the performer. By doing well in this profession, the performers are told that they are beautiful and worthy. Furthermore, Dunne describes camming as a “highly interactive, highly emotional thing.” This is true for both the consumer and the performer. The type of work they do is a shared relationship. As you noted, it’s a pure form of capitalism. A service is provided for an exchange of money. However, what makes capitalism so emotionally removed are all of the people, machines, and tape you have to get through to exchange money for services. In cam work, you see who you are paying for the service you are receiving and often get to know them on a semi-personal level. The exchange naturally goes beyond a services for money relationship because of that.

[dicksplit]

[x]

[theycallmethechosenone]

https://www.youtube.com/user/ThePrinceSane/videosThis week, in looking at trans vloggers, I decided to start with Laura Horak’s article on trans visibility through YouTube. I knew that I wanted to talk about Stef Sanjati who is a trans youtuber that I follow on and off. She has been documenting her transition via YouTube and Instagram and has recently gone through facial feminization surgery. Stef Sanjati doesn’t regularly post about her transition, rather she vlogs/documents it in chunks and her other content consists of beauty tutorials, activism, and even some gaming videos. I wanted to talk about Stef because I didn’t realize how powerful her format was until reading Horak’s essay.

Stef Sanjati employs a video format that Horak calls a “talking head,” basically Sanjati talks to the camera in an interview type format where only her head and shoulders are visible. I hadn’t thought much to this format until Horak point out the political weight that this shot composition has. Horak claims that the talking head has been traditionally used to “convey authoritative information from “experts” (usually white, cisgendered men)” and has also been utilized by activists to “grant expertise” (574). With that information I realize the impact that other trans vloggers who employ such a simple shot composition have on their audience. By simply framing their vlogs in an authoritative way, trans vloggers are influencing their audiences with a conditioned response of expertise. Therefore their personal testimonies, activist information, and whatever other information they wish to give their audiences are understood to be coming from a person who is knowledgeable on the subject.

This simple format for disseminating information, I believe, not only supports cyberfeminism but also gives it credibility. Cyberfeminism through YouTube can be understood by audiences as not only real experiences of trans individuals, but information on transitioning and trans (or other issues) related activism as truthful and helpful. I had no idea how a simple framing of a shot could shift how an audience interprets the message.

Here’s a link to Stef Sanjati’s channel

https://www.youtube.com/user/ThePrinceSane/videos

[breannahworthy-blog]

Social Media Self

One immediate affect that came to me after this week’s readings was the differences between Facebook and Twitter. I specifically leave all my inappropriate humor, and quick judgmental  and without purpose rants to twitter. As for Facebook, my Facebook represents my perfect me. Only the best pictures, best quotes, encouraging statuses, and anything that exemplifies that I am making the right moves in life. I use to think that I created the two platforms like that because of my selection of “friends” on each social media platform. My Facebook includes family, co-workers, old classmates, and potential employers and my twitter contains peers of my age and social background, celebrities, and online personalities. However I wouldn’t say that one site represents the fake me or the real me.  Both are me just different layers of me and levels of appropriateness. In the article by Tanya Kent she speaks on the re-appropriation on social media elements that make a reflection to self. For myself I play a word game that requires me to share what level I am on the game in with my Facebook friends in order for me to receive helpful hints. However sometimes I don’t want to share it on my page because I feel like I am annoying people or that my game is corny. I may not want everybody to know that I am playing that game. Or another element is the like button which Facebook has recently changed up. Sometimes people post sad things or even things that require more emotion than just a like. If a person post that their child is in the hospital, I don’t want to “like” it. Or if my friend post that she just broke up with her boyfriend, again I don’t want to “like” it but I still may want to show my acknowledgement that I seen her post and that I am here for her. They changed that in the app updates allowing users to use different emotions to pick on a status. Such has sad, laughing, love, and more. This week’s reading made me more cognitive on how I am really represented through my social media pages.

[theycallmethechosenone]

I feel that as millennials, or just young people that are growing up in a digital age, it is not only fascinating but imperative to have conversations about our “social media” selves. There is a tension, that you discussed, between presenting our casual and professional selves online. As you mentioned, Facebook is a place for order, friendliness, and is followed by family and employers/coworkers. Whereas Twitter can, for many of us, be seen as a place to escape to. This week we had a zine reading, and within in there was a piece by Brian Droitcour titled “#w(e)ary bodies.” In the piece, Brian explores Linkedin and the affective body that becomes attached to an online Linkedin profile. What I found so insightful in this piece was:

“Life is what happens around Linkedin but Linkedin makes it look like the bit of life it records is the one that matters.”

There’s this affective economy that my/our generation participates in to succeed in the traditional capitalist economy. We are instructed and coerced into presenting ourselves a certain way for employers and silencing our casual selves for the sake of future financial gains. All of this is done through social media, but we rarely look at it as a form of coercion. Rather we look at it as a negotiation or layers of ourselves. But what would our social media profiles look like if we didn’t have to navigate an affective economy that directly affected our traditional capitalistic one?

[ithelpstodream]

[theycallmethechosenone]

I found something happily surprising about my internet ecosystem: I surround myself with so much positivity that I was finding it difficult to find a comment section, forum, Twitter feed, etc. that reflected Ahmed’s concept of affective economies that create spaces where “emotions work to align some subjects with some others and against other others.” In all of the immediate sources I turned to, it was a comment section full of uplifting feedback, engaging discussion, and general camaraderie over shared experiences and goals. In a way, this is still an affective economy. These spaces where spaces in which emotion (joy) was exchange in turn for validation and support, rather than to divide or only benefit one group. I thought this was an interesting interaction of emotional exchange in a cyber setting that promotes feminist ideals of support and solidarity. Although, I guess, one could argue, the “against other others” found in these spaces were against systemic oppressions such as capitalism and lack of representation. Which I find to be the most cyberpunk/cyberfeminist way to exist in the comment section of a YouTube video.

So, in an effort to truly experience Ahmed’s concept of an affective economy, I turned to a news outlet that I usually don’t try to listen to closely to: Fox News. In the comment section of the article “Federal judge in Hawaii halts Trump travel ban” I quickly experienced what Ahmed describes as the “slide” of hate. Ahmed claims that “hate “slides” sideways between figures, as well as backward, by reopening past associations that allow some bodies to be read as the cause of “our hate”” (120). In one of the top comments, the hate directed towards immigrants was displaced onto multiple new representatives. The comment began as “Constitution wins again;” and in the thread following it, commenters attacked the original comment noting that the constitution lost and that “maybe terrorists will come to Hawaii.” This conflation of immigrants as terrorists slided to “one judge is not the Constitution” to “the Constitution can be construed into nothing by judges” to finally blaming the democratic party for persuading judges to rule in democratic favor. In this thread we can see a simple comment applauding an unconstitutional ban being seen as such devolving into pure hatred not only towards a stereotype of a group of people, but an entire “American” way of thought. We see Ahmed’s affective economy at work in this instance as a way to further divide ways of thought and morale compasses of American citizens. By dividing citizens’ stances on issues such as immigration, those in power (the current administration) can continue with more oppressive policies that will never be discussed because the general population is too preoccupied arguing over other issues. We’ve seen this exchange happening many times over in the past year from Clinton’s emails, to Russian interference in our election, to the administration proposing another unconstitutional travel ban: all as forms of distraction.

What is key to this particular affective economic exchange, is what Ahmed describes as the sliding of hate. Ahmed states that “hate is what makes it difficult to pin down, to locate in a body, object, or figure” (122). One of the reasons that the affective economy of hate is so successful is that those engaging in the exchange are always unsure where their hatred truly lies. No one knows their true enemy, only the concept of a threat. This makes hate slippery and the affective economy easy to manipulate.

Here are some of the Youtube videos I went to to begin my search where I found the emotional exchange of happiness and support. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqbXQa05Z6c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slJIiUTVXds&t=81s

Fox News Comment Thread http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/15/federal-judge-in-hawaii-halts-trump-travel-ban.html

[theycallmethechosenone]

For my midterm project, I created an infographic on the gendered interaction with and creation of video games. The games industry has been constantly labeled as a toxic landscape of hyper masculinity. Even as seen in this course in the article “The Hardest Part About Being a Transgender Gamer is Speaking Up,” the gaming arena can still be a harmful and frightening community to enter into if your do not identify with the normative majority of the population. However, the community is coming up on drastic change, often at the hands of women developers.

As of 2005, omen developers currently make up a minuscule 11.5% of developers in the industry, according to the IDGA (a number which I am sure has drastically increased since then). Yet, the number of women gamers engaging in the community is constantly on the rise nearing half of the gaming population. Even with such a small demographic of developers, women in the video games industry are making a profound impact on the demographics of people who engage in the community as consumers.

So, for my project I wanted to highlight a way to support women developers and community influencers in gaming communities. These women are putting in the work, both professionally and socially, to diversify gamers and games themselves. I believe that supporting these women, both professionally and personally, is imperative in evolving the video game developer population. I suggest that using social media to “follow” women developers and community influencers will increase the traffic on their social media. In turn, this should boost their visibility, spread their stories, and encourage more women (and other gender identities) to enter the development side of gaming.

Twitter, to me, seems like the obvious platform through which to start support women developers. In their article, “Critical Blogging: Constructing Femmescapes Online,” Andi Schwartz discusses how social media and online presence can become a space of social resistance against gender constructs. Throughout the article, Schwartz explores the benefits and costs of organizing online, and specifically explores the type of online politics that they believe is effect. Schwartz explains their vision of online politics as one “that is prefigurative, a politic wherein the representation and visibility of alternate ways of being are key components to motivating cultural and social shifts” (Schwartz, 2016). Like Schwartz claims, Twitter is a platform where there visibility and representation of “alternate” identities is abundant, and a liberating platform through which to disclose that information. Many developers that I listed are women of color and/or queer. These are things that we wouldn’t learn about developers directly through their work, but are imperative to encouraging more under represented groups to enter the industry. Twitter is a platform where a critical audience is available along with a trusting community in which both developers and fans can communicate openly. It provides a safe arena both to promote under represented developers and create change in a male dominated industry.

However, I do understand that social media platforms as spaces of social change do have their drawbacks. In the article “Feminisms and the Social Media Sphere,” Mehreen Kasana explains why social media as a political platform can be problematic. Kasana states that social media can perpetuate “hegemonic control over discourse(s)” and that social media “alone cannot carry and implement the entire political process of change” (Kasana, 2014). Because of this, I try to explain in my infographic that following women developers on Twitter is only a first step in changing the climate of the gaming industry. While not expressed in my graphic, there are numerous other ways to continue this change outside of online spaces; such as, fiscally supporting developers by purchasing their games and getting relevant degrees for video game development to go into the industry and create a more diverse community themselves. However, my following women developers directly and promoting their experiences, a foundation of recognition manifests.

With this project, I hoped to showcase that while gaming is male-dominated, it isn’t male-only. All genders participate in games, and all genders should be a part of creating them. I hope that by supporting those already in the industry and privileging their voices and stories, we can diversify the developer population which could lead to more acceptance in the gamer communities.

References:

Andi Schwartz (2016). "Critical Blogging: Constructing Femmescapes Online." Ada: A Journal of Gender, New Media, and Technology.

Jason Koebler (2015). "The Hardest Part About Being A Transgender Gamer is Speaking Up."

Mehreen Kasana (2014). "Feminisms and the Social Media Sphere." Women's Studies Quarterly.

IGDA (2005). Game Developer Demographics: An Exploration of Workforce Diversity. http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.igda.org/resource/collection/9215B88F-2AA3-4471-B44D-B5D58FF25DC7/IGDA_DeveloperDemographics_Oct05.pdf

ESA (2016). ESSENTIAL FACTS ABOUT THE COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY. http://essentialfacts.theesa.com/Essential-Facts-2016.pdf

[breannahworthy-blog]

Week 5: Cyberutopia

When it comes to the internet and its ability to intersect with real life one must take into consideration the impact of apps. Apps specific to social media such as SnapChat and Instagram are designed to bring people together. To share moments and glimpse of real life. Our apps on our phones have become our security blankets to avoid real life awkward moments. Photos original use were to share memories for your self and people you shared those memories with. Now photos on these social media apps are used to judge people as to what kind of person they are. Users as well as application developers have now developed ways to enhance physical features on those moments and glimpses of real life. The filters on Snapchat and Instagram blur blemishes, pronounce curves, apply make up, and whiten teeth. This feature specifically targets women and persons who identify with women gender roles. 

Other users who use these apps see these enhanced photos and hold these people real life selves to reflect their snapchat selves. Snapchat creates a cyberutopia because using these facial filters on SnapChat degenderizes a person because it can reconstruct the face. For example, the dog filter. On average a person would say a small puppy is cute. The dog filter puts any face into dog filter replacing the ears, mouth and nose. Other examples of filters are the Bob Marley filter, the flower crown filter, and alien filter. It gives every person who takes the picture that same appealing face. “This cyber utopian theme relies primarily on the principle of disembodiment. Leaving behind the body an its associated sex, gender, sexuality, race, religion, disability and so on.” Digital inequality is still apparent in app use. The most clear inequality would be for people who do not have smart phones who simply would not have access. Inequalities extend to people with poorer quality smartphones as well as access to wifi and data sources. Even an app created to bring people together and identify as one is not able to escape the same discrimination and judgment of real life.

[theycallmethechosenone]

I think bringing up apps is an extremely important topic when discussing cyber embodiments. After reading your post, I see your points. These platforms allow users to alter, disrupt, and hack gender. I posted earlier about Instagram as a platform for drag queens to share their art and resist gender norms and stereotypes. However, I personally have trouble viewing these spaces as a cyber utopia.

Daniels states in their article that “Further, some distinguish between the "old" cyberfeminism, charac terized by a Utopian vision of a postcorporeal woman corrupting patriarchy, and a "new" cyberfeminism, which is more about "confronting the top down from the bottom-up" “ claiming that this way of approaching cyberfeminisms leads to totalizing narratives (102). The problem I have with claiming these apps as platforms for gender resistance, is that these platforms are more universally used as capitalism based, forced gender conforming. 

One of the major examples I can think of is the promotion of Flat Tummy Tea on Instagram. Celebrities and internet famous accounts alike post photos of themselves with flat tummies holding the tea, claiming it wasn’t hard work but a drink that granted them their body. The majority of these paid promotions are done by specifically rich women. This type of use of the platforms is more ubiquitous and has a more broad impact on its users because these images often end up in the search/explore feature of the app.

The question is, then, do we focus on the radical resistance these apps can provide or combat the capitalist driven class and gender scripts that they perpetuate? 

[lagonegirl]

Georgia Tech is Now Offering a Course on Outkast and the Evolution of Trap Music (Students will study 21 Savage, Lil Yachty, Gucci and Young Jeezy)

ATLANTA, GA – January begins the Spring semester for colleges and universities, and a group of Georgia Tech students have a virtuous reason to start 2017 by turning in research papers about why they turn up to trap music.

Georgia Tech is now offering an undergraduate course titled “Exploring the Lyrics of Outkast and Trap Music to Explore Politics of Social Justice.” It began on January 13, and is a humanities elective and a requirement for students with a Social Justice minor.

The curriculum is built around the study of the sound of trap music as it was introduced by DJ Toomp and popularized by producers like Shawty Red, Metro Boomin, Mike WiLL Made-It and Zaytoven. Students enrolled in the course will research and analyze the metadata of soundscapes and social impact from artists including Goodie Mob, UGK, Eightball & MJG, T.I., Jeezy, 2 Chainz, Gucci Mane, Future, Migos and 21 Savage, as well as highlighting the intergenerational tensions and discourse about Lil Yachty’s artistry. The class will also touch on legendary artists like 2Pac, The Notorious B.I.G., Kanye West, Nas, N.W.A, Public Enemy, Nicki Minaj, Lil Kim and Lauryn Hill.

source

Could easily have from local Atlanta artists as guest speakers to get their takes on the impact of trap music, like DJ Esco.

This is a great idea.

#BlackCulture #BlackHistory #BlackPride

[shessiddity]

@thuggishposts

[eartheasy]

Time for change…

[theycallmethechosenone]

https://twitter.com/NotAltWorld

This week when thinking of spaces of resistance, my mind immediately went to the NotAltWorld (originally Alternative US National Parks) Twitter that popped up shortly after the current President’s inauguration. While this area of resistance doesn’t deal with individual identity, I feel that it still fits the criteria of a community in which some people could be hurt/in danger because of the political movement.

In their article, “Critical Blogging: Constructing Femmescapes Online,” author Andi Schwartz claims that “queerscapes manifest because of the marginality and alienation that queer people experience in various aspects of society” and states that these spaces needed to exist because “ queer lives depend on the existence of queer space.” I argue that this space of scientific political resistance follows the same structure. Our current administration is not only ignore scientific facts about our dying earth, but blatantly hiding these facts and lying to public about the state of our environment. This resistance Twitter account creates a similar space that queerscapes create for queer communities. By providing scientific fact that effects not only millions of Americans, but the global population that is affected by American laws on climate change, the Alternative US National Park Twitter is defend the “life” of scientific fact.

The Twitter account also takes an intersectional feminist approach, addressing issues outside of climate change. They have tweets denouncing the racist Muslim ban, hate crime shootings, and refugee immigration issues. The creators behind the account are obviously trying to make a feminist space that is a community for all American citizens that believe in human rights.

However, no matter how readily this knowledge is presented and shared, it is still not a perfect method of a feminist political resistance. While the account doesn’t specifically oppress or marginalize a specific race or gender, it does come at a cost. Early on in the account’s inception, the creators had to pass the torch in order to keep their careers and coworkers safe and secure. Because of the tense (to say the least) political climate, resisting (even with truth) comes with grave consequences and uncertainties. While this account takes an intersectional approach, those running it do so with risks to their personal lives.

[breannahworthy-blog]

Perpetuated Online Racism

In this week’s readings, the case study of the “emoji” keyboard showcased how racism and colorism can be perpetuated in a system that was designed to be inclusive. Unfortunately, it is not the technology that has brought upon racism but the users themselves. For example, now that the emoji keyboard allows the user the option to change the skin tone of the “avatar” some may explain that giving the emoji’s skin tones moves them from being models of expression to representational of people.

 Now that users can manipulate the emoji to represent themselves they can also us the emoji to represent others. Such as a white supremacist group using a dark skin emoji to represent black people and then commenting with racial slurs. Or even people of the same race such as African-Americans dividing themselves among light skin people vs. dark skin people because the variations of brown skin tones. A new cyber place that I can see there is inequalities reproduced beside the attempt to be inclusive is google searches. For example, when googles searches a name that would be given to a person of the dominant white culture such Mary Keller, social media accounts and positive connotative sites are associated with the name. However, when a name primarily associated with African American people such as Tyrone Johnson, jail bondsman sites and sites associated with arrest records are populated. This could be especially discerning when thinking of the possibility that future employers may take that route to seek additional information about a perspective employee. Again, these prejudice outcomes are not embedded into the algorithms of the google search rather the next popular clicked sites to those name associations.These cyber spaces have the potential to be neutral like the yellow men the Lego creators made but it is the use of the people and society that allow for inequalities to surface in technology.

[theycallmethechosenone]

The concept of the user kind of ruining a good thing has been popping up a lot lately in cyber spaces. I watch more Youtube than I probably should, and this has been a serious debate on how Youtube’s algorithms value viral, non-content videos over content creators who have been working for years to gather a following by putting out steady, valuable content. I think we as users of technology have been abusing what it is used for. Specifically in terms of race and gender, I think we as users are going to cyber spaces to laugh at the wrong things. We want to see the worst content there, for whatever reasons. This has users looking up articles and videos that are racist or sexist, and then sharing them (to hopefully make a point that they are harmful). What this ends up doing is promoting content in cyber spaces that are degrading and harmful instead of using the space for change. Even if our intentions are at their best, the promotion of racist and sexist content online is what garners racist and sexist searches. I propose the hypothesis that internet users, even cyber activists, are not versed in how mass cyber spaces function. Therefore, they spread inaccurate and discriminating knowledge faster and more ubiquitously.