What Finance-Bros Won’t Tell You About NFTs

What Finance-Bros

Won't Tell You About NFTs

MISOGYNY AND WOMEN’S POSITION IN THE NFT MARKETPLACE

Written by Kora Quinn, Arts Editor Graphic by Riya Shah, Contributing Graphic Artist

Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, have exploded in popularity over the last year. And, if you’re anything like me, it took three articles, two YouTube videos and one finance-bro to finally understand what they are and why it already feels like a gendered conversation—or a marketplace catered to men.

Once you get past all the lofty jargon, they’re really not as complicated as they seem. NFTs are “cryptographic tokens,” or digital works of art. They can be completely original or represent real-world objects, such as studio art. Or, most commonly, they take the form of digital creations that already exist on the internet—like the Nyan Cat, celebrity tweets or video clips of NBA games.1 According to Jazmin Goodwin, a writer for CNN Business, “NFTs transform digital works of art and other collectibles into one-of-a-kind, verifiable assets that are easy to trade on the blockchain.”2

But if the digital art that is typically used in NFTs already exists elsewhere, whether in the real world or online, how can it be a one-of-a-kind? This is where NFTs get tricky, and where the “non-fungible” aspect comes in.

Something that is “fungible” is interchangeable, like trading a one-dollar bill for a different one-dollar bill: they’re valued exactly the same. Alternatively, something that is “non-fungible” can’t be replaced with something else because it is completely unique. This applies to NFTs in that they have unique identifying codes, or digital signatures, with built-in authentication that makes it impossible for them to be exchanged for something else.3 Even if people can view that artwork online for free, only the owner of the NFT will have the bragging rights to it.

¹ Robyn Conti & John Schmidt, “What Is An NFT? Non-Fungible Tokens Explained,” Forbes, Feb. 15, 2022. ² Jazmin Goodwin, “What is an NFT? Non-fungible tokens explained,” CNN Business, Nov. 10, 2021. ³ Robyn Conti & John Schmidt, “What Is An NFT? Non-Fungible Tokens Explained,” Forbes, Feb. 15, 2022.

It’s like owning the “Mona Lisa.” Anyone else can take a photo of the painting, or download an image of it from Google for free, but they will never own the “Mona Lisa.” In the same way, purchasing an NFT allows buyers to own the original, digital creation or representation of a piece of art which overpowers the value of any screenshot.

Once you have a basic understanding of NFTs, you can finally begin to see all the good, the bad and the ugly that surrounds them—like how they can sell for millions of dollars, or that they’re actually very harmful to the environment or that it’s a marketplace riddled with misogyny, where women only make up 16% of NFT artists globally.4

This misogyny was evident after the launch of the Misfit University avatar project. This comprises a collection of 10,000 NFTs in which one’s purchased avatar acts as acceptance into “Misfit U,” granting the owner access to exclusive university clubs, discord channels and “Misfit-only perks.”5

Lauren Crossland-Marr, an anthropologist and postdoctoral researcher at Dalhousie University, wrote for Anthropology News that, “Although randomization creates interesting art, it can also create problematic combinations . . . those who bought the [Misfit University] NFT avatars discovered that there were several avatars of women that had their mouths duct taped. The worst offenders also had black eyes or were crying. Such overt misogynistic imagery is common even in this space that prides itself on being accessible to everyone.”6

Crossland-Marr goes on to describe the various other cases of racist, homophobic and misogynistic imagery found in the same collection of images, as well as the general treatment of female artists by male collectors within the community. That is, some men put up a facade that they are interested in women’s art to lure them onto

⁴ Anders Petterson & James Cocksey, “NFT Art Market Report,” ArtTactic, Nov. 2021. ⁵ “Home,” Misfit University, 2021. ⁶ Lauren Crossland-Marr, “Gender in the New NFT Economy,” Anthropology News, Dec. 6, 2021.

Once you have a basic understanding of NFTs, you can finally begin to see all the good, the bad and the ugly that surrounds them— like how they can sell for millions of dollars or that they’re actually very harmful to the environment.

video calls, where they instead ask for sexual favors.7

“At the opposite end of this spectrum of problematic portrayals, offensive language, and sexual advances,” wrote Crossland-Marr, “are two projects led by female artists: World of Women and The Fame Ladies Squad.” The World of Women website boasts that they are taking action to diversify NFT spaces, as well as “educate and onboard the next generation of creators and builders, and create equal opportunities for everyone.”8

Both of these NFT projects donate a portion of their earnings to women’s empowerment initiatives and nonprofit organizations that serve victims of domestic abuse. Still, according to Crossland-Marr, “What these projects show is that women in this space are considered authentic only in their status as women . . . These two extremes [the misogyny of men-created NFT spaces and the surface-level empowerment of women-created NFT spaces] symbolize women’s own position within this emerging market as one defined by their gender. This new art market continues gendered ideologies of women as either sexual objects or overtly femininized participants.”

The future of the NFT market is unpredictable because it’s still so new. What we do know is that they’re not sustainable in their current condition, whether that be because of the culture of inequity and exclusion, or because they’re actually not sustainable—NFT’s “cryptocurrency cousin” Bitcoin generates 38 million tons of CO2 per year, and NFTs aren’t far off.9 But there are already initiatives to combat all these drawbacks as creators and collectors alike strive to make the NFT marketplace accessible and ethical for all. And for creators, it seems to be for good reason; with the built-in royalties and convenience that comes with the digital medium, NFTs allow artists a better chance at turning their work into a viable career path, all from the comforts of their home. ■