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Feminism and the Creatives

By: Mya McKeown Many Gen Z students remember getting iPads or the laptop cart from their time in school. Our generation grew up alongside technology and social media. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube became popularized and helped shape our perceptions of the world and ourselves. But back in the 1990s, when phones were shaped like bricks and personal computers just became popular, a new interpretation of feminism called cyberfeminism came about.

Introduced by Donna Haraway in her 1985 essay “The Cyborg Manifesto,” cyberfeminism addresses the connection between power structures and systemic oppression.

“Haraway’s writing also talks about how technology blurs many lines and allows people to reject the binary thinking created by our society and history,” Dr. Erin Pauwels, an Assistant Professor of Art History in the Tyler School of Art at Temple University, said.

Similarly, post-feminism revives these ideas and applies them to social media as well. Pauwels points out the multitude of examples like sexual harassment, privacy, and protection on social media.

Many modern artists incorporate technology into their art in

and a poet by choice.” For her various creative projects, she uses cameras, photo and video editing software, and social media to share her art (@ketfolio).

Ray Lapinski, a senior advertising major in the art direction track, uses many mediums to create and share his work. He makes everything from jewelry to collages to posters. It can @skullduggerystudio.

At Temple, many artists utilize their art for activism. Martin calls herself “an artvist,” which combines activist and artist. She believes that politics is a part of the human experience and transcends the “democrat” or “republican” parties.

“Art always has the context of something political,” Martin said. “How we create is, really, how we believe.”

Lapinski has faced the duality of experiencing toxic masculinity and implicit homophobia. He uses his art to educate others on said topics.

“My art is a narrative of my life experience,” Lapinski said. its ability to generate emotion, but those emotions must be backed up by actions. Martin and Lapinski understand that it

takes more than simple creativity to fuel actual change. For Skullduggery Studio, Lapinski established a donation policy each quarter where he donates 5 percent of the Anakbayan USA, a national Filipino youth organiza paigns and uses her spare time to help with events.

Social media and creating art can sometimes make people feel like they contribute more than they actually do. As a result, many people struggle with being performative activists or feeling helpless.

Some say that performative activism comes from lazi the importance of regularly supporting causes: “there’s a level of longevity necessary for activism, and your activism needs to be based on habits,” Lapinksi said.

Others stress the importance of opening lines of communication, whether that be through art or other avenues.

“If you have something to say: then say it. If you’re an artist and you see something you don’t like: say something. If it’s not said, then it’s not gonna be heard,” Martin said.

ANGEL JOHNSON CTRL ALT

Features writer Laila Samphilipo spoke with cybersecurity specialist, investor, director of the Guap Foundation, and Temple alumna Angel Johnson, to learn the basics of cryptocurrency.

Q: What is a cryptocurrency, and how does it work?

A: It’s a digital currency. You’re able to exchange it, mine it, stake it, as well as buy things with it. All of the transactions decentralized piece that makes it really attractive, originally, to people who didn’t want to have all of their account infor ly grown into something much more than that.

Q: What should one look for in a cryptocurrency before investing?

A: Most of the coins are backed by a particular project or team, so you can always research those coins. Let’s take, [for example], Litecoin, a very popular coin. That particular coin has a foundation, people associated with that foundation, goals for the project, and goals for the coin. There are many types of coins, but I would recommend doing your research before you really jump in and start investing.

Q: What do you personally look for in a coin before investing?

A: I look into the project background, founder, and governors/directors on the project, as well as their mission before acquiring coins. Q: How does one invest in cryptocurrency?

A: There are many apps and over 400 exchanges that allow you to buy various types of cryptocurrency coins.

CoinMarketCap has a lot of really valuable information if you are a newer user looking to invest and learn more. On of crypto and the exchanges where you’re able to purchase the various types of coins. The only tricky thing is that not all coins can be purchased on all exchanges. Once you do the purchase that coin.

Q: What are the risks associated with investing in cryptocurrency?

A: Crypto, out of all the types of investments, is very volatile. That’s what some people like about it. For some people, it’s what they don’t like about it. I think Bitcoin is a really good example of that, where some days it’s $40,000, and some days it’s $55,000. If you’re heavily leveraged in that particular coin, then it gets a little complicated, and you get a little nervous. [So] do the research, start small, and buy a few

Q: What’s the future of cryptocurrency?

A: I feel like there’s going to be even more coins and even more opportunities to invest. I think the future is bright for cryptocurrency. I do see more regulation. I also see more and

DEPOSIT

more countries stepping up and claiming to have crypto as one of their main sources of currency. We’re already seeing a lot of movement in Venezuela and other countries stepping up and accepting Bitcoin.

Q: What can you buy with cryptocurrency?

A: This is my favorite topic. I’ll speak about what I’ve bought: children’s books, earrings, clothes, hair oil, face fascinating. There’s a lot of businesses that are popping up right now that are only accepting cryptocurrency.

*To learn more about Angel Johnson and Guapcoin, check out REFINE’s blog.

image courtesy of angel johnson

SLACK TIVISM

Writer Jordan Manson describes her experience and frustration with performative activism on social media

Ignorance is bliss— except for when my whole Instagram feed is a bunch of black squares in honor of #BlackoutTuesday. What I really needed on June 2, 2020 were the Black community, with two or three posts dedicated to Black joy sprinkled in. As social activism has picked up speed on the internet in recent years by educating on issues and providing helpful resources, “slacktivism” has become a developing issue.

TIVISM

Slacktivists, or those who participate in this lazy form of to support a cause when it’s considered a trend, only to forget about it later. Speaking up when you don’t care does more harm than good. Sure, you may think that by posting a black square for #BlackoutTuesday you’re showing that you stand in unity with the Black community, but if the activism stops there it appears performative.

As a Black woman, I’m not afraid to admit that for a second, I was fooled by it, too. However, what you’re failing to see is that even though you’ve deleted your black square after a week of it messing up your Instagram feed, my community and I are still facing the same injustices. That black square doesn’t mean you’ve educated yourself any further on the topic so that you can make real change in the law, the school systems, or society in general.

Hafeezat Bishi, a Temple University alumna with a bach pursuing her graduate degree in engagement journalism at the City University of New York. A professional in all things content creation and social activism, Bishi takes a dedicated and passionate approach to her work.

“I’m not always perfect but I always know that I do everything with the best intentions and that 99 percent of the time I’m always on the right side of history,” Bishi said.

With the knowledge, and experience, on what it actually means to be a social activist, Bishi can easily recognize when someone’s intentions are not genuine. If a person is not actively living the life that they’re preaching, oftentimes there are skeletons hiding in their closet.

consistently remind herself of areas in which she can improve upon to become a better ally to minority communities.

“I’m learning more by listening to the issues of other communities than commenting on them,” Bishi said. “I see them, I witness them, but because I am not them, I like to defer to them versus sharing my two sense until I have enough information.”

Empathy is the catalyst for change. It is no one else’s job to educate someone or push them to take action. It has to be recognized from a place in their heart that change needs to happen, and until that epiphany happens, you do not owe your trust and vulnerability to them.

“It’s about protecting your peace, it’s about protecting yourself, and it’s about protecting your community no matter the issue, because people can say one thing and then their actions will show another,” Bishi said. “There’s nothing wrong with using discernment and being protective of your own space.”

Other communities’ issues are real and deserve to be addressed and supported in a genuine manner. Where do those issues lie in your day to day lifestyle?

She’s Kinda Fake

In the social media age, in uencers have become an ordinary fact of life. eir 3D rendered counterparts, “virtual in uencers” are also growing in number: are AI in uencers the future of marketing?

By: Biljana Nedeljkovic

As you’re endlessly scrolling through your Instagram feed, you recognize her. She’s always out and about, her shiny, other night she posts a picture of her plate at a restaurant you You’re on your couch, aimlessly switching between social media while she’s at a million-dollar event, smiling with her friends on her IG story. She’s rich, but not too rich that she’s unrelatable. She’s perfection itself, and as you double-tap her new post, you kind of wish you were her. One thing, though? She’s a robot. of an episode of Black Mirror (remember that one with Miley real, and they’ve existed for years. known globally, the most popular being Miquela Sousa (@ lilmiquela), a teenage self-titled “change-seeking robot” created in 2015 in Los Angeles. son,” except they’re created in a computer graphics software. they’re virtually made for marketing. curious, unbidden fascination. On 2016 Instagram, back when showcasing Lil Miquela’s uncanny pixel-smooth skin were simply alluring. At the time — and still today, if we’re judging by Miquela’s comment section — the main question was: “what is she?”

According to HypeAuditor’s yearly report on social media six months, Lil Miquela mentioned nineteen brands she was sponsored by to her audience of three million followers. ing: an avatar made to sell a pixelated picture of the trendiest lifestyle. They don’t get old, down, or burnt out. They have no preferences or tastes (except those expressly curated for their social media attractiveness). And most importantly, they have no morals or ethics. What could go wrong?

As it happens, a lot. Like when Brud, Lil Miquela’s creator company, composed a storyline aiming to make her more relatable, in which the teenager confessed to having been assaulted in an Uber. The video was deleted after criticism arose for using real trauma as a way to gain followers.

Relatability as a marketing technique is disturbing enough when it comes from real-life celebrities, but what happens when the person we wish we could emulate is nothing but a perfectly coded fantasy?

“I think that with any tool, there’s always the opportunity for someone to misuse it,” Quentin Charles Williams, adjunct professor of social media marketing at Temple, said. “So to manipulate.”

Williams goes on to say that “companies are feeling the embody the values that the company is promoting, probably a little more seamlessly than your typical press release.” ligence to make them seem more human to consumers.

“A virtual in can embody the values that the company is promoting, probably a little more seamlessly than your typical press release,” Williams said.

Indeed, the marketing agency Brud has attempted to reach out to broad audiences across the political spectrum by cre counterpart, ex-Trump supporter Bermuda (@bermudaisbae). at us in a lovely high-tech format. They’re all conventionally attractive, racially ambiguous, pre-made micro-celebrities, designed to be beautiful.

Shudu Gram (@shudu.gram), whose Instagram bio iden dark skin virtual model who’s appeared in Glamour Magazine and collaborated with Hypebeast. Behind the avatar, however, there is no Black model, just a white man. Cameron James-Wilson, Shudu’s creator, has built an agency full of virtual models, most of them resembling people of color. of how we will interact with one another,” notably because of how “scalable” they are. Under capitalism, advertising has become an omnipresent feature in our lives. To satisfy ever-increasing demand, could robots, reliable and eternal, become the embodiment of marketing companies?

Through an innovative breakthrough in storytelling, the coded binary of desire. She’s cool, beautiful, perfect, and who doesn’t want to be? But above all, she’s the 3D epitome of

Are tattoos the new therapy session?

Tattoos and other body modi cations may have had di erent meanings throughout history, but for some people they have powerful healing bene ts.

By

used to mark their bodies after coming home from a long journey; to them, tattoos represented souvenirs. rich history of tattooing. Their practice, in which they mark their heads and faces to highlight their high social class, is called “Moko.” Women often also cover their faces in tattoos, than ever in recent years, as people continue to seek outlets for

Individuals who get tattoos want to stand out from the crowd. They also want to add a personal touch to their bodies, whether it’s a portrait, quote, or a small delicate tattoo. These pieces can celebrate an event or commemorate a certain time in their lives.

Some people love getting tattoos, and some people love giving them.

Yazzie Mojo, a local tattoo artist from Philadelphia, believes tattooing is a way to express themselves. They have been since moved to their own tattoo studio in Chester, PA. ing.

“I am embedding certain messages and sacred energy into their skin when I’m doing their tattoos,” said Mojo. “I am also putting protection on them as well and I look at it as art therapy.” communities can be compared to “therapy,” especially when their clients are lying down and talking about their lives, fears, and experiences. “I am known as a therapist for my clients as well when they talk about things. We have conversations about their lives and we end up building a relationship, especially for people who come back to me,” said Mojo. Mojo isn’t the only one who believes that tattooing can be therapeutic. According to Happiful.com, the brain senses a rush of dopamine and adrenaline when anticipating a tattoo.

For many people, they receive endorphins after getting a tattoo, which is that “feel good” feeling that people get after a trip to the gym.

Sacha Downes, a senior political science major at Temple University, believes tattoos are a freeing form of expression that has mentally helped many people all over the world. Downes said.

Downes does not overthink about the tattoos that she is getting. It is all about the process and the experience of her new ink. to me,” said Downes. as an expression of her youth.

While many believe that tattoos are an expression of freedom and self expression, others modify their body as an expression of recovery.

The Philadelphia Inquirer spoke to Sylvia Metzler, an 84 year-old retired nurse who lost her breasts to cancer, to talk about the meaningful body art permanently displayed on her skin.

She described her tattoos as an outlet and a way to help her cope with the sadness of going through radiation, chemotherapy, and having a double mastectomy, which left her with traumatic scars. that remind her of her cancer prognosis.

Metzler is just one of millions of people who use body expression, or remind themselves of a dark or special moment in their lives.

While tattoos once held a controversial status in certain social groups, millions of people all over the world use their body as a canvas. Just like stretch marks, scars, or birthmarks, tattoos are used as a way to signify growth, progression, and strength.

STUDY BREAK

All over tiktok and fan ction websites, people are sparking ‘head canons’ in which they create alternative endings to their favorite books or movies and open a discussion of “what if?” While these head canons are unique to those who come up with them, everyone is able to join in on the conversation and add their own creativity to it. Members in the marvel comics fandom typically dominate head canons on TikTok and talk about how each movie ties into the next as the lms were made to be intertwined with other lms in the franchise to create one large story of the Avengers. Kameryn Moore, a senior public relations major, said that she nds the alternative stories fascinating and it goes into a deeper conversation about “interpretation of storytelling.” e notion of understanding and di erent interpretations of a story is imperative to note, especially in the media. e story can be written and executed a certain way for a general understanding but there are always small hidden details that most don’t catch. ose who do catch on to them are able to take those details and essentially create think pieces on them and open the oor to a discussion about what it meant or what others interpreted it as.

by Camillia Benjamin What if?

Head canons have also been adopted by major media companies. Marvel’s new series on Disney plus “What If” is a series that dives into what the Marvel Cinematic Universe would look like if certain things happened at speci c times in the timeline or if timelines merged that wouldn’t have merged in the rst place. To avoid spoilers, the trailer shows agent Peggy Carter with a shield depicting the British ag insinuating what would’ve happened if she had taken the super soldier serum Captain America took and became the British equivalent of Captain America. With all that being said, it’s clear that creators are paying attention to social media and what the fans of their content want. Justice Dyer, a sophomore communication studies and advertising major said, “head canons not only show us the importance of being creative but show us in real time the power of social media and communications. We’re able to see how thoughts and ideas get passed from person to person in real time.” Dyer is also a Marvel fan and explained how the What If series on Disney+ was an interesting watch as she was able to see how she would’ve imagined certain characters’ interactions and what could have happened if some plot lines crossed over. Creativity is something that should be celebrated and highlighted at any given moment. e sparking of head canons on social media and it’s spread has proven that storytelling is something everyone is capable of doing and should do.

Filter Dysmorphia

by Camillia Benjamin

Over the past year, the use of lters on social media has increased signi cantly. Some of them have been curated for women of color and others are still in the game slimming down noses and thinning lips.

But what does that do to the self-esteem of women of color? Has anyone truly thought about how it can negatively a ect them?

Shanelle Robinson, a senior human development major, said that when she uses lters she uses ones created by Black women. “Instagram has a feature where you can go and search up lters so I look through there.”

Robinson also made a note that she hardly uses lters and most of the lters will be ones that duplicate you or add art to the post.

I know everyone remembers that one lter on Snapchat. e infamous ower crown slimmeddown everyone’s nose but also put a pale overlay on everyone’s faces making them look lighter than what they were.

at lter had a grip on my middle school years and for a while, I thought it was my favorite one. Looking back on those photos is jarring, to say the least.

Lienne Lai Hing, a senior natural science major on a pre-medical track, said when she uses lters it’s sparingly. “I use them solely for fun so I’ll nd funky lters to use with bunny ears or fake tattoos, something extreme.” One of the lters I use is the playboy bunny lter. I use it for fun not necessarily to make my appearance.

Instagram has gotten somewhat better about having lters that highlight women of color and their features in a positive way opposed to previous years.

Some lters that typically only had blue eyes have now added brown eyes and lters that typically whiten the skin have lost visibility as well.

Sydney Noble, a senior business management major, explained that she believes “ lters push this crazy ideal that you absolutely have to look a certain way to be deemed beautiful when in reality, you’re truly beautiful with and especially without them.”

e most important thing to note is that lters are inherently built to spotlight a certain look which subsequently has a negative impact on the self esteem of those who don’t naturally have those same features.

For women of color all over, remember that your beauty is unmatched and unique to you.

Everyone is beautiful inside and out regardless of what social media platforms try to push on society.