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.
From girl math to men who are babygirl to looksmaxxing incels, online culture has accelerated, and perhaps even changed, how we express our gender identies. In this podcast created by The Hmm in collaboration with The Institute of Network Cultures, we are focusing on online gender expression. The early Internet is often viewed as an emancipatory space where people explored and experimented with identity and gender. Today, this spirit of identity play exists simultaneously alongside a broader trend that leans toward more cisheteronormative gender roles.
This podcast series is an extension of The Hmm’s 2025 research topic THIS IS WHO YOU’RE BEING MEAN TO.
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 initiators of @everyoneisagirl Ester Freider, Lilian Stolk from The Hmm and Mela Miekus from the Institute of Network Cultures explore how femininity is performed online and the end of identity.
Mentioned in this episode:
“Everyone is a Girl” by Alex Quicho
“Networks and Their Discontents“ by William Kherbek referenced in “I’m Like a Pdf But a Girl“ by Ester Freider
“Side-eyeing the cyberbaroque“ by Ester Freider
“Hallucinating sense in the era of infinity-content“ by Carolina Busta
Find The Hmm at:
thehmm.nl
linkin.bio
Find Ester at:
Instagram
Linktree
Thinking Face Emoji is a podcast by The Hmm, in collaboration with The Institute of Network Cultures, and financially supported by the Creative Industries Fund NL.
Jingle and sound design by Jochem van der Hoek
Editing by Salome Berdzenishvili
Cover art by Aspirin
