Self-respect is possible. Plus Photoshopping motion into your life, weaving the dignity of others into your vocabulary, and other profound thoughts on human worth in cursed times
> (This is different from using suffixes like -cuck and even -pilled, whose current forms originated online but, like the best of slang, can in some usages claim a unique signifying power).
Respectfully, I don't think there's an ontological difference between these slangs. Their position in the zeitgeist is different right now for sure, and I understand choosing which you want to use based on the images and relationships they conjure for readers, but absent your declaration I imagine BBSP would happily deploy "-maxxing" in 6-24 months. "-cuck" and "-pilled" can just as easily be described as cheap shortcuts to someone else's creative prose. Or as I like to call it: using language.
-cuck & -pilled can be shortcuts too for sure but they also have vivid *and* specifically illuminating significations (i.e. erin and i realized that we risk becoming "milescucks" bec all our miles are with delta so now our dumbasses will take a less-convenient delta itinerary to get miles) whereas "maxxing" is just a suffix you can put on anything but it does not transform or inflect the meaning of the word you've caboosed it to, it just signifies itself
My understanding is it that it signifies pursuing the base-word at all costs, like min/maxing in a role playing game. A favorite writer of mine on this here publication platform had a recent piece playing with the idea:
I hope you’ll consider leaving Substack altogether. Not sure if you’ve already addressed this, and I recognize that switching platforms is difficult for a variety of reasons. Also, there is no perfect platform, free of all moral compromise. However, substack is uniquely problematic, as Molly White lays out so well here in her piece on switching to another provider. https://www.citationneeded.news/substack-to-self-hosted-ghost/
The term "Substack" isn't just slang that people are picking up instead of thinking. It's a deliberate marketing effort supported by the cut of subscriptions that goes to the company. It's nice to see less of the term but avoiding it out of self-respect, while making it possible for others to be devalued in that way, doesn't make any sense
i would be okay with the concept of the fit pic dying. it’s always felt like nothing but self-aggrandizement to me
love the flung fit because it celebrates the garments rather than the person. would love a way to do it vertically with some sort of hanger/clothesline configuration. windblown fit
i feel you on the self aggrandizement, but the thing about "celebrating the garments rather than the person" is that the person kind of completes the circuit -- that is to say, clothes are made to be worn, to transform a body as it exists in and moves through the world, so while we love flung fits i don't think "the answer" can eliminate bodies entirely
i think with social media there’s such a built-in push toward self-aggrandizement that i want to move the other way with basically all posts on there. like, fit pics for an art book? sure. sending fit pics privately to your friends? sure. appreciating fits irl? absolutely. but the incentive structures poison everything on social media imo. it’s so easy for it to turn into “look how cool i am”, which is super uncool to me
I think that most of the content on substack wouldn’t exist if not for the platform itself—the same way most “tweets” do not transcend the genre and would be worthless without the container. I am 100% sure that if substack disappeared most of the content would as well—I agree with your point but it only applies to—in my opinion—1 percent of the substack universe.
> (This is different from using suffixes like -cuck and even -pilled, whose current forms originated online but, like the best of slang, can in some usages claim a unique signifying power).
Respectfully, I don't think there's an ontological difference between these slangs. Their position in the zeitgeist is different right now for sure, and I understand choosing which you want to use based on the images and relationships they conjure for readers, but absent your declaration I imagine BBSP would happily deploy "-maxxing" in 6-24 months. "-cuck" and "-pilled" can just as easily be described as cheap shortcuts to someone else's creative prose. Or as I like to call it: using language.
-cuck & -pilled can be shortcuts too for sure but they also have vivid *and* specifically illuminating significations (i.e. erin and i realized that we risk becoming "milescucks" bec all our miles are with delta so now our dumbasses will take a less-convenient delta itinerary to get miles) whereas "maxxing" is just a suffix you can put on anything but it does not transform or inflect the meaning of the word you've caboosed it to, it just signifies itself
My understanding is it that it signifies pursuing the base-word at all costs, like min/maxing in a role playing game. A favorite writer of mine on this here publication platform had a recent piece playing with the idea:
https://samkriss.substack.com/p/the-century-of-the-maxxer
have had this & his harper's SF piece in tabs, read the amazing harper's, this is on deck 🙏
God, this is straight poetry, these sentiments make me feel less alone. Thank you!
I hope you’ll consider leaving Substack altogether. Not sure if you’ve already addressed this, and I recognize that switching platforms is difficult for a variety of reasons. Also, there is no perfect platform, free of all moral compromise. However, substack is uniquely problematic, as Molly White lays out so well here in her piece on switching to another provider. https://www.citationneeded.news/substack-to-self-hosted-ghost/
Yes, think about moving away from the 'Stack...your sletter is too good for 'em!
+1!!
+1 and there are a boatload of suggestions here https://leavesubstack.com
Thank you for a great piece. Loved Erin's writing yesterday too on shoe shapes. Brilliant! I am glad substack found you for me if anything.
The term "Substack" isn't just slang that people are picking up instead of thinking. It's a deliberate marketing effort supported by the cut of subscriptions that goes to the company. It's nice to see less of the term but avoiding it out of self-respect, while making it possible for others to be devalued in that way, doesn't make any sense
i would be okay with the concept of the fit pic dying. it’s always felt like nothing but self-aggrandizement to me
love the flung fit because it celebrates the garments rather than the person. would love a way to do it vertically with some sort of hanger/clothesline configuration. windblown fit
the goats at Stand Up Comedy have done some interesting work with dummies and dangling string: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVEE4lMgKrd/?img_index=1
i feel you on the self aggrandizement, but the thing about "celebrating the garments rather than the person" is that the person kind of completes the circuit -- that is to say, clothes are made to be worn, to transform a body as it exists in and moves through the world, so while we love flung fits i don't think "the answer" can eliminate bodies entirely
i think with social media there’s such a built-in push toward self-aggrandizement that i want to move the other way with basically all posts on there. like, fit pics for an art book? sure. sending fit pics privately to your friends? sure. appreciating fits irl? absolutely. but the incentive structures poison everything on social media imo. it’s so easy for it to turn into “look how cool i am”, which is super uncool to me
word
But here's the thing: now I WILL say “Keep an eye out for my USPS.”
🙈
Came here to leave this exact comment. "Yo heads up for my Post NL."
I think that most of the content on substack wouldn’t exist if not for the platform itself—the same way most “tweets” do not transcend the genre and would be worthless without the container. I am 100% sure that if substack disappeared most of the content would as well—I agree with your point but it only applies to—in my opinion—1 percent of the substack universe.
I caught myself saying ‘so and so’s Substack’ and had the exact same feeling. This sletter landed right on time.
Thanks for raising the dignity issue regarding clothes making.