Michelle! I really loved your Lux essay “The Hyperlinked Hyperfeminine”—so so excited to read your thoughts on Substack too 💗
So many good points raised in this, but I especially appreciated you mentioning 1️⃣ how what qualifies as “good taste” (compared to kitschy inaccurate bad taste) can sometimes be “just as commercially-driven, self-serving, thoughtless, and un-artistic”; and
2️⃣ the idea that, since everything online ends up aestheticized for easier discourse and consumption, it makes sense that the transgressive/intolerable get aestheticized too, in a (misguided?) attempt to cope with them: “As fascism tightens its grip on our necks I understand the temptation to play along and pretend it's all part of a sexy little game.”
the good taste v. bad taste drama is clearly, one that's super close to me and it gets me really agitated jaja! re: aestheticization, its literally one of the very few things we can do online with very little friction so it follows that it takes up a lot of space when it comes to reacting to the world around us, and in turn, it sort of surfaces as a handy strategy. but what I found most compelling to learn about was how aestheticizing the abject and "bad taste" is a recurring strategy in proto-fascist societies. definitely recommend reading the Sontag essay included here if you're curious about that!
This was both a thought-provoking and beautiful read. I am left in awe of your words. I went into this with a previously curated aesthetic, and now I doubt my existing aesthetic and whether it ever really mattered. That’s a sign of good writing—taking what you already know (or think you do) and having yourself reevaluate it through a new perspective. Thank you for sharing; this was really insightful!
Michelle! I really loved your Lux essay “The Hyperlinked Hyperfeminine”—so so excited to read your thoughts on Substack too 💗
So many good points raised in this, but I especially appreciated you mentioning 1️⃣ how what qualifies as “good taste” (compared to kitschy inaccurate bad taste) can sometimes be “just as commercially-driven, self-serving, thoughtless, and un-artistic”; and
2️⃣ the idea that, since everything online ends up aestheticized for easier discourse and consumption, it makes sense that the transgressive/intolerable get aestheticized too, in a (misguided?) attempt to cope with them: “As fascism tightens its grip on our necks I understand the temptation to play along and pretend it's all part of a sexy little game.”
the good taste v. bad taste drama is clearly, one that's super close to me and it gets me really agitated jaja! re: aestheticization, its literally one of the very few things we can do online with very little friction so it follows that it takes up a lot of space when it comes to reacting to the world around us, and in turn, it sort of surfaces as a handy strategy. but what I found most compelling to learn about was how aestheticizing the abject and "bad taste" is a recurring strategy in proto-fascist societies. definitely recommend reading the Sontag essay included here if you're curious about that!
just downloaded a PDF of Sontag’s essay! I am woefully under-read on Sontag, but your newsletter post was a really really good push—thank you again!
This was both a thought-provoking and beautiful read. I am left in awe of your words. I went into this with a previously curated aesthetic, and now I doubt my existing aesthetic and whether it ever really mattered. That’s a sign of good writing—taking what you already know (or think you do) and having yourself reevaluate it through a new perspective. Thank you for sharing; this was really insightful!