Illustration by Ana San Jose aka Ana Hard
Disclaimer: I’m not saying all activists are bad nor am I lampooning their efforts, it’s just that online activism has become far too common to be taken seriously, people are now having personal initiations rousing from stigmas and taboos which are driven by tempting incentives or revolutionary upscaling of deliverables & revenues, they are rebelling about things which neither demand nor seek change, which only seek “attention”, they are securing personal interests more than anything else or... forming cults, that’s it.
Everyone knows we have twice-thrice of the world’s total population online thanks to bots, fake IDs, spare profiles and of course buzzing biz accounts... it’s a struggle to lift & find your own voice in a crowd that is raging with differing opinions and diverse thoughts, it’s almost impossible to discern what’s best for you with so many different types of people and their multiple personalities surrounding us.
So here’s a list of typical online activists we frequently come across + how they influence our minds:
The Leggy Lass
I recently saw an effeminate guy being featured on Instagram’s Page for crusading at his porch err... in a pair of black heels and a skater skirt *smh* Not that I’m new to androgyny, I just don’t understand his motive behind that sweaty parade. I’m sure he is trying to make some sort of a point but it’s hard to tell what it’s is really about. He was busy frustratingly taking his 14,50,000 retake maybe because he also has borderline OCD. Next!
Pseudo Feminists
It’s not a usual “afternoon tea party” kind of a “ladies club”, it is equally conniving but with a bolder, more Maverick (DJ ish remixed) spin to it... they have a very vivid appeal, you feel like you’ve entered a strange hole in the wall kind of a bar or a gloomy, baleful alley lined with poker clubs & pawn shops, it’s one of those underground, fenced “invite-only” risqué streets which are frequented by rookies or fight club members and tattooed tramps peddling resale cars... you’ll mostly find strong expletives, immorality, intimidating, snorting women wearing all kinds of colours in their hair (they think that’s enough to spite their elders...? Awww as if!) tackily dressed nightwalkers asking other girls to protest in fishnet tights and red leather boots at 3 am, in pitch black alleys where they’d get to challenge all sorts of vicious, uncouth perpetrators who’re waiting for another prey... Not gonna blame the clothes but why? Just why?
These IDs send you in a completely different trance, it’s not just strange and unsettling but also very creepy. Apart from that their profiles usually boast of disturbing glow in the dark, radium coloured artworks of Goddesses and Deities turning into horny weirdos, sticking out their neon tongues & slapping a middle finger in your face... They’ll have all sorts of provocative, salacious sketches to normalise the “female form”, teen pregnancy & menstruation *yikes*
Looks like someone didn’t get a chance for mental growth... was biology that hard?
Doodling over a feminist deity will not make you like them, they’ve ruined my childhood along with their stories of valor and strength. Oh they’ve not spared my favourite Disney Princesses either... everyone, every fairy tale has been sexualised.
Climate Change Activists
Now they are my fav probably because they have a lot to say and bring to the table or surface, more than just plastic, trust me... and this change is like the need of the hour rn. I urge everyone to visit their profiles and go through all that interactive content they’ve shared there which explains in depth and crucial details about where we are heading and how we can all deal with it; how one small effort can make a huge difference and help us control something which is changing rapidly.
The only kind of activists I find annoying in this sector are those who randomly comment on every damn post and condescendingly ask people to get more environmental friendly... at times they also target/attack & blame others for no apparent reason. They’ll even comment on your sick grandma’s post and ask her to replace her dentures with “productive” “eco-friendly” “sustainable” papermash teeth!
For example, I’ve also seen them criticising different companies, asking them to stop using glass bottles and all types of packaging that require destructive material/ingredients because they aren’t that eco-friendly but they are also told not to switch to plastic cuz it’s worse... they can’t use much paper either because more paper means less trees, they can recycle the ocean bed but that will lead to more industrial waste because recycling requires high end machinery equipment, not everything can be done at a paper factory using your DIY home depot, right?
Well it’s not just Americans...
“One fit for all” activists
on a serious note lilacnights.com/post/emulating-beautystandards
I don’t think there is anything wrong in accepting & including people of all shapes and sizes, we all deserve equal respect, why do we have even to fight for it? Isn’t it our birthright? “Man is a social animal” and outcasting someone can have a huge detrimental impact on their whole life, moreover you might not be the only one messing with them, little and often makes much... too much sometimes.
But my major concern here are advocates who deliberately bloat to get afloat. There are people who are becoming fat and obese, they are getting “unhealthy” just to make it big! Even models are forced to stuff themselves for more “curves” because that is currently being encouraged, promulgated and demanded -in this superficial Male centric world, influencers are transforming themselves to stand out for it has become a billion dollar industry now!
Let’s have a huge round of applause for her 👏🏻 well done bro!
The bigger you are, the more chances you’ll have of getting featured on brand pages and Instagram.
The Black Swans (They/Them, It/The, We/Us, Flock/Swarm)
They basically advocate for men who get decked up and dance for the pleasure of other men, it is modern day Burlesque & Drag... back in time, these kind of “highly suggestive” & “supposedly” provocative, also stunning performances were all about attitude, makeup, Grace, crudity, gimmicks, vivaciousness and Boudoir Glamour but now it’s taking a turn for the worse, read ahead.
Some of their much coveted makeup skills are truly magnificent BUT there’s a huge caveat or con that hides underneath, a lot of us fail to notice all that’s being concealed under layers of lashes, setting powder & shiny wigs...
Most of these creepy men in “dazzling tutu skirts” and pastel ribbons have their profiles littered with not only disturbingly grisly, obscene, grim, deviant blasphemous posts and murky, lewd innuendoes but also portrayals of blatant paedophilic exploits, all under a verified blue tick, of course.
And they have been featured on Instagram as well.
Apart from that, little boys are forced into drag business, they sound contrived when they are made to premeditatedly share misleading narratives but their teary eyes reflect much more than that... they mirror our thoughts & say, “I wanna be outside like other kids playing soccer!”
And this brings us to the next category:
Alternative Advocates
They promote and support alternatives in everything, right from alternative medicine & treatments such as rebirthing, isolation therapy and ahem, ahem... hippies using “natural herbs” or you know meth and weed for medicinal purpose, they also encourage alternative parenting, education and undefined social relationships like Friends with Benefits (thanks to them we don’t have friends anymore) cougars & cubs, sugar daddies, multiple sex partners, nymphomania and polygamy... like how much more do you wanna f*ck us up?
But wait, its a broad spectrum, so there are also demisexuals, asexuals, pansexuals, homosexuals, heterosexuals & bisexuals phew! I’m a demi-turned asexual incase you are wondering... Anyway, there are parents as in “vloggers” who have babies to attract more followers, what they do is they keep having babies for more attention and then they promote “alternative parenting methods” which include experimenting with modern, unusual, untried & untested parenting techniques to work a way around and see if they give us better results and more “independent individuals.” It doesn’t lead to defiance or an urge to break rules for there are no rules but kids do feel neglected and it all ends up in a bitter, estranged parent-child relationship, the family doesn’t bond well, their ties aren’t strong enough because kids take unilateral decisions and their choices more often than not reflect sheer indifference for each other’s needs, there is no unity or “we are in this together” kind of mischief, everyone’s at their own, deciding whats good for them and what’s not, their folks have super high expectations and when they “fail” to impress them with their judgement skills, they get frowned upon which only leaves them more confused. Don’t you have to teach them something first? Not every quality is innate or inherited.
They mostly opt for alternative schooling too...
Then there’s a pair which sucks people’s blood using “artificial fangs” duh... people actually volunteer to get themselves sucked because they believe these guys are actual vampires from some native coven. Anyway that’s like an alternative healing method for their patients to feel more cathartic.
There are several advocates who defend plastic surgeries, fillers, Botox, implants, etc. They believe in a “live & let live” “non-judgemental” attitude but their expectations are sometimes too high. Some of them unethically and illegally get fillers done almost every day or on a weekly basis, they then end up having a massively distinct, grotesque structure which obviously doesn’t go unnoticed... But guess what? They strut around the streets hoping to get not only “acceptance” (which is wrong but nevertheless a natural desire or hope, we all share) but also a “normal reaction” from people (which is unfortunately worse)
So you see, constantly challenging social norms like a deviant, immature edgelord doesn’t always bring you praise or admiration, it might be bold but not necessarily “cool.” And some of these things can have lasting effects which might be not only damaging but also irrevocable.
Bonus:
Not talking about nerds, just advocates who spread awareness, sorry who support different “Outcasts”
Hi, my name is Pauline but ever since I was a kid, I knew I was Paul, I’ve always been different, I always dressed up differently, my mom would never let me get these asylum bangs done but here I am being “myself” and I couldn’t be prouder, I want to support other women who feel ashamed of being called “weird” for wearing colourful chalky eyeshadows and trumpet jeans with hideous polka dotted socks. I love sneakers, dungarées, oversized orange striped tees and peppermint chewing gums, so what? I spend most of my time creating these abstract infantile paintings which depict all different shades of nail polishes that I’m wearing... I have my nose, ear, tongue, lips, belly button pierced, I’ve got several colourful happy “hale and hearty” sunny tattoos which most people find odd because they particularly like those dark, dank psychedelic ones but I’m just someone who loves being happy about “who I am” and your existence is something you should be celebrating everyday... no matter how eccentric you are, it is something I’ve been channeling and promoting through my social media pages since I was a teen. I just want people to be themselves, if you like wearing bright colours or sport shoes with crew length socks, oversized baggy hoodies, knee length denim shorts, big sneakers, the ones even bigger than your life goals... or platform Velcro sandals then go ahead, wear it with a delicate summer outfit! Break all stereotypes! We can all be ourselves. I think it is important to love & accept who we are before expecting others to do that.
That’s all I have to say, be the same in your own unique way!
Well that brings us to a short farewell...
It was a lengthy article for me to draft!
See ya next time!!
Au Revoir
Xoxo
Zara Céleste
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