Rukiat shares her thoughts on this summer's bucket list trend

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On this pilot episode, our Editorial &amp; Social Exec<a href="https://www.instagram.com/iamrukiat/?hl=en">&nbsp;Rukiat</a> shares her thoughts on Rat Girl Summer, a term coined by creator<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@lolaokola"> Lola Okola</a>, which went<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@lolaokola/video/7240910529332809006">&nbsp;viral</a> on TikTok.Rat Girl Summer as Lola puts it refers to women actively going outside, eating their snacks and showing up in random places – with only two days indoors allowed per week. She also lists four rules for Rat Girl Summer: 1. going outside, 2. eating and ENJOYING eating, 3. killing the cringe and 4. NO OVERTHINKING.It's a fun, bucket list approach to summer 2023 but one that is not filled with societal pressure such as dieting, going on crazy expensive holidays or glowing up – any girl can do it and that's what makes it aspirational!

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Dear Digi 001: Rat Girl Summer

A more optimistic outlook on technology is materializing with innovations in wearables for women’s health and mental health, but anxieties loom

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Earlier this year, a pair of headphones caught the attention of the internet. They weren’t of the wired variety, or the trendy Apple AirPods Max headphones that became an accessory in their own right after launching in December 2020. Rather, the headphones looked more like Batman supervillain Bane’s face mask, or a futuristic respirator worn in a post-apocalyptic environment. Called the Dyson Zone, they’re positioned as the brand’s “first wearable purifier, capturing city pollution [...] and cancelling unwanted noise, with “advanced noise cancellation and pure, high-fidelity audio.” After watching the Zone in action against the wildfire smog that coated New York City in June, one commenter responded, “The way my heart dropped when I realized this wasn’t a visual from an apocalypse game.”But innovation in wearable technology isn’t all the stuff of technocratic nightmare. Tech optimism is materializing in stride with innovations in wearables — especially in the spaces of women’s health, well-being, and mental health — from devices that alleviate period pain to those that help track your mood.

While women’s health is still under-researched and under-funded, a new generation of wearable FemTech has emerged with a focus on exactly that.&nbsp;Myoovi Period Pain Relief Device delivers electrical impulses to cut off period-related pain when adhered to the lower back or abdomen. The wearable device utilizes TENS technology commonly used during childbirth, via what Digi Design Strategist Deanna Middleton calls a “millennial-ized” package — the Myoovi website is all the neutrals and rounded edges of the typical millennial DTC brand. Based on the shopping experience, you could be on the hunt for some FemTech,&nbsp;or an Instagrammable skillet,&nbsp;or a cream to help with acne without a trip to the doctor’s. Meanwhile, the popular Oura smart ring is now compatible with a fertility tracking app and is being used as a more convenient way to track fertility without daily Basal temperature checking.&nbsp;

Women’s health

There are also exciting women’s health wearables that are still in development or in early stages. MIT researchers have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.designboom.com/technology/mit-wearable-ultrasound-scanner-detect-breast-cancer-tumor-early-stages-08-01-2023/">developed</a> “a wearable ultrasound device that could allow people to detect breast cancer and tumors when they are still in their early stages.” And a London-based designer has created a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dezeen.com/2023/08/15/aphra-hallam-zera-cooling-crescent-wearable-menopause/">wearable cooling device</a> to alleviate the hot flash symptoms of menopause, while researchers at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/wearable-patch-wirelessly-monitors-estrogen-in-sweat">CalTech</a> have developed a wearable patch that monitors estrogen levels in sweat, in hopes that women can one day track their hormones at home and in real time.&nbsp;Beyond hardware that specifically targets issues connected to biology, there are innovations that tap into more nebulous trends in the women’s health landscape. Digestive health has become a priority for many women and TikTok is now obsessed with “healing your gut.” While the app’s gut health advice and trends have been criticized by qualified experts, Northwestern University researchers have developed miniaturized wearable devices that can monitor gut and digestive health through sound.

As with women’s health, mental health research is under-funded and the market of wearable tech aimed at mental well-being has grown in recent years. The Apollo Neuro is a “touch therapy band” that delivers gentle, soothing vibrations to reduce stress. You can select different “vibes” to help you relax or boost your mood and energy.&nbsp;

Mental health and well-being

Wearable devices are also increasingly being used to track mood and mental health through tracking heart rate and perspiration —&nbsp;Happy Ring tracks biometrics with powerful sensors to sense stress levels, while Upmood is a wearable that “senses your body’s signals and bio-patterns to enhance emotional awareness.” With these insights, Upmood says, users can use interventions and change their environment to impact their well-being — i.e., realizing what triggers them and taking action. Mainstream and mass-market wearables have even taken a page out of this book. The Fitbit Sense 2 notifies you when there’s been a spike in vitals and asks you to input your mood at different points in the day.

Simpler well-being wearables are also trending — Meghan Markle was spotted wearing a wellness patch from NuCalm, a brand that sells biosignal processing disks to accompany its patented software. The patch emits a frequency that allows GABA to enter receptors and counteract adrenaline, producing a feeling of calm.

However, there's still something a little apocalyptic about the new gen of wearable tech. Happy Ring claims to power “the next generation of personalized healthcare” — a mission that can only be truly understood against the context of widespread failing and underfunded healthcare systems. There’s often a deeper message here — health is still available, just to those who can afford the latest ergonomic ring or wristband. It can all feel a little Bryan Johnson-lite, further entrenching the idea that personal responsibility is the end-all-be-all when it comes to physical and mental well-being. You can’t change the declining conditions of contemporary life that are making us feel bad physically and mentally (well, maybe you can if you’re a billionaire with the means to make systemic change), but you can make sure they don’t affect you and yours.&nbsp;

Wealth is health

And on the everyday level, it’s easy to get caught up in tracking your biodata, especially when it’s accessible 24/7 through an app on your phone. Think the compulsion to check your steps and make sure you’re hitting your 10k a day, but applied to every aspect of your brain and body. It’s easy to see how always-on health tracking can become obsessive, especially when a “science-backed” claim is in the mix to justify these behaviors.Ultimately, the optimism around wearable technology as a means of personalized healthcare will only continue to grow if it can work in conjunction with existing healthcare systems and for the many, not in spite of them and for the few.

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Wearables are keeping tech optimism alive

The Digital Fairy - Age Against the Machine Report.pdf

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Inside this mini report, we examine aging anxieties in the age of AI, the economics of good skin, and how Gen Z really feel about the “anti” mindset.

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Age Against the Machine

How the internet got so hungry for food culture

Online Appetite - The Digital Fairy.pdf

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Inside this mini report, we explore the internet and pop culture’s raging appetite for food and bev, the importance of food in community and connection, and what’s next on the menu.

For more content like this, explore the rest of the Digiverse, or connect with us on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thedigifairy?lang=en">TikTok</a> or&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/thedigifairy/?hl=en">Instagram</a>. If you’re a brand or business and want to inspire your audience in innovative ways, reach out to our strategic &amp; creative lab&nbsp;<a href="mailto:eve@thedigitalfairy.co.uk?subject=Interested in hearing more about your services :) ">eve@thedigitalfairy.co.uk</a>.

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Online Appetite

From a snail slime problem to dodgy ads, TikTok’s e-commerce product is complicated 

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In mid September, TikTok launched TikTok Shop, its e-commerce product, in the US. A little over a month later, TikTok Shop was banned in Indonesia, its first and largest market. The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/e5f839d2-1fd3-45b7-b9e4-aeda22c19d01">Financial Times</a>&nbsp;reports that given its huge success, Indonesia was widely considered a potential blueprint for its ambitions in other markets, including the UK and US. Given these tensions, it’s clear that TikTok Shop is at a pivotal juncture when it comes to ambitious goals to become “<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/488382b8-0a19-4b5a-aa16-2cf1e5869b1c">Amazon for Gen Z</a>.”The US has proven to be a difficult market to capture when it comes to e-commerce on social platforms — Instagram drastically scaled back shopping features in 2022, following parent company Meta’s first revenue decline in history. Yet TikTok Shop seems to be catching on in the US, at least in part. Tech writer Kat Tenbarge&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/tiktok-shop-teens-high-school-open-how-to-make-money-long-deliver-us-rcna102788">reports</a> that teens are bringing in millions of views using the new feature, despite the fact that TikTok forbids minors from applying to the program.

This is an evolution of teens and twenty-somethings using TikTok to market and grow their brands. Brands like Stocked and 202st, led by young entrepreneurs, have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/705a18d2-9c1d-4237-af2d-ab01c8c76fa4">leveraged organic attention</a> on TikTok to drive traffic to IRL pop-ups. And influencer Matilda Djerf has grown her fashion brand Djerf Avenue into a $22m business, in part based on the popularity of the brand’s clothing on TikTok.

Now, teen and adult users alike are taking advantage of the TikTok shop apparatus to make cash, and by doing so, they’ve changed the&nbsp;vibe of the app as a whole. The For You Page is now filled with videos advertising products sold on TikTok Shop — many of which don’t even show the product. Think shaky videos of an ambiguous background referencing how good a pair of pajamas look on, without a hint of that pair of pajamas, or any pants at all, in sight. These videos are low lift for creators, allowing them to make commission from advertising products they might not even own themselves.They also act as a new kind of clickbait — with suggestive claims that motivate viewers to click the product link to see if the product lives up to the hype. This turn towards high-speed, low-effort marketing is a departure from audience’s recent preference for well-thought-out promotion — creators like Bella Poarch have been celebrated for their high-production approach to ads, while others adopt a humorous, self-aware style when creating sponsored content. Yet TikTok Shop ads eschew quality and effort for quantity and speed. “TikTok Shop has emerged as a new concept altogether — not fast-fashion production, but fast-advertising production,” writes Tenbarge. “It’s a no-holds-barred approach to affiliate marketing, a type of influencer brand marketing popularized by early-to-mid 2000s bloggers.”&nbsp;Exhaustion with TikTok Shop is already apparent on the app, with creators sharing tips on how to block and filter ads promoting products. “Creators have been pushing products with varying degrees of obnoxiousness on us for years in social media videos,” writes Wes Davis for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/12/23869741/tiktok-shop-available-us-marketplace-e-commerce-amazon">The Verge</a>, “and one wonders if cutting out the extra steps could supercharge that.” Some have gone so far as to suggest that the shopping apparatus will be the downfall of TikTok as a whole.

Frustration with incessant advertising goes hand-in-hand with a concern about the kind of products sold on TikTok Shop — which range from cleap plastic items to potentially counterfeit&nbsp; products listed at steeply discounted prices. Thousands of bottles of questionable skincare claiming to be a viral COSRX snail mucin serum have sold for as little as $5. TikTok has ambitions for its Shop to become Amazon for Gen Z, but its current model has been compared more frequently to Temu or AliExpress, the Chinese online marketplaces known for their vast selections of cheap products. Though established brands like Beauty Bay have their own in-app shops, marked by a verified badge, TikTok Shop has ground to cover if it wants to be associated with reliability across categories.

Yet many tactics in place succeed in appealing to younger audiences — TikTok positions British beauty brand Made by Mitchell as a&nbsp;<a href="https://shop.tiktok.com/business/en/newsroom/detail/10016589">case study</a> in TikTok Shop growth and success. Made by Mitchell uses methods like mystery bags, where the buyer receives an unspecified assortment of products, an approach typically used by by brands that target younger cohorts like cartoon-centred Tokidoki.&nbsp;

TikTok Shop also stands at odds with growing imperatives to reduce influencer-driven consumption, exemplified by the de-influencing movement that took off earlier this year on TikTok in which creators encouraged viewers to skip buying viral products. TikTok Shop seeks to streamline the viral product-to-purchase pipeline by making it easier than ever to order, say, that bottle of snail mucin serum you’ve seen on your FYP — a wholesale rejection of de-influencers debunking the “need-to-have-it” urge associated with viral products.

However, the model of TikTok Shop seems to be a perfect match for another consumer trend led by TikTok — the rise of dupes, a term that refers to alternatives to an expensive, and typically viral, product. As Amy Francombe&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thedigitalfairy.co.uk/digiverse/dupemindset">wrote for the&nbsp;Digiverse</a>, “‘dupe queens’ … have emerged as one of the most popular influencer archetypes of the moment,” discussing “expensive hair and skin products that ‘aren’t worth it’... then recommend[ing[ cheaper alternatives.” Against a landscape populated by dupes that range from similar products to straight-up knockoffs, it’s easy to understand why those COSRX serum dupes have evolved into what&nbsp;Wired calls a full-on “snail slime problem” on TikTok.

It’s possible that TikTok can simply lean into its existing virality cycle and and in-app dupe machine to grow the popularity of the shopping feature — but that won’t make it the Amazon of Gen Z (though Amazon itself is a go-to for dupes). The app will need to crack down on shaky ads and suspicious products, and reconcile with the effects of movements to de-escalate consumption, to reach true bop status.

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TikTok Shop: Flop or bop?

“There is a reason this video has landed on your page today.”

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Let me set the scene: it’s a random Thursday afternoon, let’s say 4pm. You open TikTok and scroll your FYP to pass some time. After twenty tutorials, outfit checks, and shocking storytime videos, one video catches your attention. You see someone looking directly at you with crystals in their hands. The sound and the feel are reminiscent of ASMR — you feel instantly relaxed. Their eyes almost gleam with hope and usually, they’re sitting in front of a calm nature setup or cosy room, awash with candlelight and decorated with a tapestry on the wall. The narrator usually says something like, “There is a reason this video has landed on your page today,” or “You need this crystal in order to heal” in a very determined voice.&nbsp;This type of content is pretty much the opposite of viral lip-sync challenges, dances or filters. When you ask Google what you need to do in order to make your videos go viral, it advises you to use popular sounds. Barely any spiritual creator used Charli XCX’s “Speed Drive,” or “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish. Yet, creators in this field cultivate loyal and large audiences — why?

#SpiritualTikTok or #CrystalTikTok is the more crystallised, pun intended, sister of the more nebulous #WitchTok, mostly dominated by influencer-adjacent figures like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@roxanakarissa">Roxana Karissa</a>, who shares manifestation videos to help you become a millionaire, or&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@vanessaandheriphone">Vanessa the Wonder Worker</a> who tells you which crystal to address different life situations. They’re focused on giving you your daily dose of spirituality, reading your future with their tarot decks and telling you which crystals&nbsp;you need. They’re also ready to capitalise on your deepest fears and desperations.Depression? Rub the clear quartz. Heartbreak and loss of energy? A rose quartz necklace and bracelet will make you the happiest human alive, open to love like never before. Seriously ill? There's nothing the black quartz can’t fix. Directionless in your life or career? Book a tarot reading, for only $100. In the summer of 2021, Lorde sang, “I can’t feel a thing, I keep looking at my mood ring” — now, we still can’t feel a thing, but have a collection of various crystals, tarot decks and cleansing incense in our homes. There are plenty of TikTokers in this niche, for example,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@gabbysrockshop">Manifest with Gabby</a>, who not only shares crystal healing tips, but is also a self-proclaimed Wealth Expansion Coach.

Mysticism and spiritual gear have been increasingly popular since the early 2010s, fuelled by millennials’ desire to reject traditional forms of religion. Yet, the nature of the seller has changed — in the 2010s, esotericism was nowhere near as big as it is now, and what brands and people capitalised on was the aesthetic, not the meaning. For example, Urban Outfitters sold crystal necklaces because they looked cool, not for a “healing effect.” Now, millennial (and increasingly, Gen Z) mysticism has codified into a kind of alternative, solutions-oriented religion. If you buy a crystal, it has to be of use, it has to bring you something, i.e., erase your anxiety or heal your attachment style.&nbsp;

We’re now yearning for solutions and salves that neither technology nor capitalism can deliver, an attitude that gained traction in times of uncertainty, post-pandemic and mid-cost-of-living crisis.

In a 2021&nbsp;<a href="https://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-millennials-religion-zodiac-tarot-crystals-astrology-20190710-story.html">article from the&nbsp;LA Times</a> written by Jessica Roy, the astrologer Chani Nicholas claims that young people have grown up under immense pressures from (climate change, recession, crumbling political systems) and they have a lingering feeling that the system hasn’t benefited them. So, they turn to alternative methods of spirituality. In the article, the astrologist describes the rising popularity of crystals as a physical symbol of rejecting a broken system, and a yearning for something more. All of this isn’t new — but we’re now yearning for solutions and salves that neither technology nor capitalism can deliver, an attitude that gained traction in times of uncertainty, post-pandemic and mid-cost-of-living crisis.“There is no harm in making a viewer feel better,” says the stylist Naomi Madigan, who considers herself spiritual and a believer in crystals and tarot cards. “But you have to bear in mind that the viewer has to be mentally in the right place, since they can be very literal. People can get invested and end up paying money for something that is not legit,” she continues. Of course, the power of the chakra, the body’s energy field crystals are said to positively interact with, or the meaning of the crystals is in the eye of the beholder —&nbsp;<a href="https://time.com/4969680/do-crystals-work/">a study in 2001</a> confirmed this.

In the summer of 2021, Lorde sang, “I can’t feel a thing, I keep looking at my mood ring” — now, we still can’t feel a thing, but have a collection of various crystals, tarot decks and cleansing incense in our homes.

In July, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLhs96WMu84">German YouTuber Marvin did an experiment</a>. He targeted German esoteric TikTokers and influencers and sent them crystals as a prank, to see if they would promote them. He prepared a kit filled with a few stones and a personal note. And the influencers fell for it. One such influencer, Tanja Makarić, promoted the crystals, claiming that they could “heal depression,” She received huge backlash and later apologized for her statement.&nbsp;

“Promising that a crystal can heal depression is a serious and incorrect statement”, says Maya AIZaben, journalist and astrologist. “I think there used to be a trend during the pandemic when everybody had no choice but to go within themselves, since we couldn’t go out. It seems to have died down since the world has opened back up and everybody is back in their normal lives,” she says. Even post-pandemic, we’re all still time poor and burnt out, so we expect a tool like a crystal to work like a painkiller. If we engage with it, our problems will be solved.Yet still, when some people feel the crystals touching their palms, they feel vibrations. Like little lightning bolts zipping through their veins, they confuse magic with the placebo effect. In an interview with&nbsp;<a href="https://time.com/4969680/do-crystals-work/">Time</a> on spirituality and the placebo effect, Christopher French, a professor at Goldsmiths University, said: “If people believe that a treatment will make them feel better, many of them do feel better after they have had the treatment, even if it’s unknown to be therapeutically worthless,” he says. The placebo effect usually affects small illnesses like a headache — capitalising on the outcome of the placebo effect when it comes to serious illnesses is not only morally wrong, it can also be dangerous. Crystals won’t heal you through the screen, but promising this to someone who is desperate to get healthy, could make them stop treatment that actually heals them.&nbsp;

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The energy only works when the money flows — welcome to #SpiritualTikTok

How extreme sports took fashion to new heights

Adrenaline Aesthetics - The Digital Fairy.pdf

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The past few years, fashion’s felt action packed and adrenaline filled. Extreme sports — from skydiving to water skiing — have found their way into the campaigns of the industry’s biggest names, from Diesel sending a stiletto flying out of a plane to Hermes depicting synchronized water skiers in suits. The clothes themselves have followed — with the Average Urban Fashion Enjoyer suited up in high-performance Arc’teryx, Chanel’s viral Formula 1 tee, and brands like KNWLS and Balenciaga emphasizing streamlined styles and performance-focused accessories.&nbsp;&nbsp;Beyond fashion, the cutting edge of culture seems to have adopted the same “go big or go home” mindset — with musicians like Rosalía reinvigorating the motocross aesthetic with her album MOTOMAMI and Babymorocco bringing bodybuilding to hyperpop.Inside this mini report, we track how fashion and action got so close, why we’re taking it to the extreme, and what the next level looks like.

Adrenaline Aesthetics

The multimedia artist on subverting sexuality and breaking body norms

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“I think grotesque and sexy is a power thing, as well — it’s this sort of powerful female character that doesn’t care that they’re gross because they’re not sticking to sexual norms”. Eve Shashoua aka <a href="https://www.instagram.com/fungal.fancy/">Fungal Fancy</a> combines prosthetics, costume and sculpture to reinterpret the femme experience. Whether it’s a giant boob or a piece inspired by the idea of an otherworldly creature trying to transform into the stereotype of an attractive woman, her work playfully subverts expectations around sexuality and the body. We caught up with Eve to chat breaking boundaries for femme bodies, censorship and the sexiness of silicone.&nbsp;

Tell us a bit about the kind of work you create.My work is sort of a mix between prosthetics, costume and sculpture.&nbsp;

What is there anything in particular that inspired you to start making prosthetics?I've always been interested in the human form. When I was younger, I was really scared of mannequins. I think it's that uncanny thing;&nbsp; like it looks like a human, but something about it doesn't feel quite human. Still, you know it's supposed to be. I think that's just stayed with me and developed. I'm not scared of mannequins anymore, but I like things that are a bit 'off'.

Eve Shashoua

Beauty to me is sort of a contrast of things. It's a really hot person with a big stain on their T- shirt. I think that's really beautiful.

How do you incorporate sexuality into your work?I guess a lot of my work has sexuality naturally woven into it because of the nature of what it is; I mean tits, nipples, the most sexualised part of a femme body. Also, silicone, which a lot of my work is made out of, is quite a sexy material. A lot of sex toys are made out of it. And I think that connotation with the material, everyone knows how it feels… that sort of stretchy, silky, skin-likeness.&nbsp;What does beauty mean to you?Beauty to me is sort of a contrast of things. Maybe it's a really hot person with a big stain on their T- shirt. I think there's beauty in that.&nbsp;What intrigues you about the disgusting and grotesque?It's about challenging this fake way of presenting femme bodies and making them even faker. Grotesque and sexy is also a power thing - like this female type character who doesn't care that they're gross because they're not sticking to social norms. Looks can be like a barrier and constrictive if you stick to norms; maybe it's like breaking that down.

Can you tell us about your experience within the kink community?Many people tend to link my work with kink, because one, all of the explicit content and also it's something that deviates from conventional sexual norms. I think that’s something I’m challenging because people associate mainstream sex with conventional beauty, and I’m opting to create pieces that may be considered grotesque yet maintain a sexual element to them. This element of forbiddenness allows me to&nbsp; explore beyond this.What's your point of view on censorship?A few of my photos have been taken down from Instagram for being inappropriate because of the nipples and so I've started blurring them out, which is kind of funny because they’re made of rubber.&nbsp; But maybe it's a good thing as it shows that AI can recognise I'm trying to make a nipple.

A lot of people assume that drag is just what they see on&nbsp;RuPaul’s&nbsp;Drag Race but it's so much more than that. What kind of drag queens approach you for commissions and what kind of work have you done for them?I've worked with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/misshernia/">Miss Hernia.</a> She is a fatberg Princess who sings about discharge sandwiches and puts potatoes where potatoes shouldn’t go (haha).&nbsp; I made a mask for her that was inspired by all the gross things found in the fatberg with some bumhole flower type things and toes thrown in.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/fannybleach/">Fanny Bleach</a> is also an incredible performer I’ve worked with. I had a lot of fun making her a huge mono-boob. It fills my heart with joy every time a video of her performing in it pops up on my Instagram. It’s great seeing people bring my work to life.&nbsp;What’s the concept behind your latest piece?My idea behind this latest piece started from pictures I've taken where my hand is coated in silicone or when the silicone is still wet; the mould is something soft and shiny, encapsulating something hard. So the initial idea came from wondering if there was a way to make this feel more permanent. Then I looked at many sea creatures with translucent outer skin, where you can see a more opaque, harder part of themselves inside, sometimes floating. Making various prosthetics, I see it as a temporary way to adapt and transform a body. So I think the basis of this idea is some alien/other being/cyborg/robot trying to transform into what they have learnt as an attractive human. Maybe it has come to earth and somehow got hold of one of those cheap, blowup sex dolls, and they're modelling themselves on that. I want the different elements to be seen as interchangeable. You could slot in a different shaped boob if you wanted.

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What is one piece of advice you would give an artist starting out?Don’t be scared that no one is going to like your work, because a lot more people might like it than you think.

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Fungal Fancy is finding beauty in the grotesque

Want to know how you really look? Ask the internet — they’ll come with receipts

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“How can I be prettier?” 25-year-old Teala<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@tealasirois/video/7261705863503645958?q=how%20can%20i%20look%20prettier%20be%20honest&amp;t=1694074523143"> asked an infinite potential of strangers.</a> “Be brutally honest,” she insisted. “I don’t want compliments.”&nbsp;It might sound like an unconventional plan, and one that takes balls of steel, but Teala isn’t the only one up to it. She’s one of many young women taking to asking strangers online how they can improve their looks, through the means of TikTok.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/howcanibeprettier">#howcanIbeprettier</a> has over 46M views on the app while #howcanilookprettierbebrutallyhonest has 3M.&nbsp;

Everyday people and influencers alike who want to change up their look, or in some cases completely transform their appearance, are willingly having their faces analyzed and critiqued. Suggestions range from changing the hair parting and wearing winged liner to fillers and tattoos — and people are going through with it.&nbsp;

Asking millions how to be pretty has become its own booming TikTok community.

For Teala, searching on TikTok for her glow up meant getting a new, honest perspective and she wasn’t scared. “Obviously what I’ve been doing isn’t meeting that expectation I have for myself. So maybe I need to look at it from a different angle,” she says. “Maybe having something that feels more like me based on what other people who don’t even know me would say [would be best].”&nbsp;Asking millions how to be pretty has become its own booming TikTok community. Catharina runs a popular account dedicated completely to answering the calls of young women on the app, sharing videos in which she digitally alters a still from videos to how she thinks would be best, before sharing it to her&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@carolien79/video/7275698073945328929">account&nbsp;</a>with over 32,000 followers and 3.2M likes.&nbsp;

Subreddits like Vindicta, Splendida and True Rate Me focus on the idea of beauty as an objective science. Although it’s something that’s been debated throughout history by philosophers, sociologists and psychologists, these groups are sure of it.

“I know very well how it is to feel insecure,” Catharina tells the Digiverse. “I wanted to show them what great looks they could pull off with a video.” Now, she’s made over 180 digital makeovers, both on her TikTok and via private requests. Catharina says she avoids making any drastic changes, but if a person requests, she will offer advice on aesthetics like fillers and Botox too.&nbsp;

This isn’t the first time people have turned to the internet for glow up advice and Subreddits like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/lookyourbest/">Look Your Best&nbsp;</a>(46k members) and<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/TheGlowUp/"> The Glow Up</a> (32k) run entirely on this blueprint — people upload selfies to get advice on how to improve their appearance. Advice is usually sandwiched between compliments and users can select “no surgery” and “no Botox and fillers” if they choose, otherwise, it’s all on the table. A moderator for Look Your Best described the group to the Digiverse as similar to the women’s bathroom on a night out, with strangers asking one another they did their makeup and enthusiastically helping each other.For Catherina, her expertise stems from her time painting portraits that got her familiar with colours and proportions. “I always loved makeup, decorating and making things beautiful, so it’s been an interest of mine forever. I always want to know why, why is this beautiful, why does this fit so well? So this is where science satisfied my curiosity.” She lists beliefs like the tilt of the eyes, eyebrows, symmetry and “golden ratio” as some of her main points of reference when doing her TikTok makeovers.&nbsp;

If those terms sound familiar to you, it wouldn’t be surprising. The idea that a “science” behind beauty exists has recently been taking over on TikTok. The app hosts various filters that allow people to find out if they have a “positive canthal tilt” or if the proportion of their face fits the so-called “golden ratio.”&nbsp;

While&nbsp;many claim it’s an incel-related&nbsp;attempt&nbsp;to lower self-esteems, especially of women, the [Look Your Best and True Rate Me] mod denies this and says it’s “good for people to know realistically where they stand and what their potential could be.”

Subreddits like Vindicta, Splendida and True Rate Me focus on the idea of beauty as an objective science. Although it’s something that’s been debated throughout history by philosophers, sociologists and psychologists, these groups are sure of it. In recent months, Subreddit<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/truerateme/"> True Rate Me</a> (250k members) has found itself suddenly booming. It’s a sub dedicated entirely to rating submitted selfies on a scale of 1-10, based entirely on “objective beauty” referencing studies on what “scientifically” makes someone beautiful. Overwhelmingly, photos rarely ever get ranked above 5.&nbsp;The Look Your Best moderator also moderates for True Rate Me and explains that ranking low on their scale isn’t indicative of “real life beauty standards,” which is subjective, but just how they rank according to an “objective” measurement of beauty they believe exists separately, taking into account symmetry, facial harmony and more. The group has its own chart, with photos of real people that fit into each number.&nbsp; No one on earth, the scale claims, fits into a number 10.

Elizaebeth Daniels, director of the Centre for Appearance Research at the University of the West of England 

We’ve definitely seen the rise of young people knowing anatomy that just wouldn’t have happened [without social media] and this microanalysis of absolutely every feature.

So, if this controversial scale is indicative of only one template of beauty, that isn’t an ultimate decider, then who could it possibly be benefitting? While&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/14kw9nb/the_ratings_are_in_on_truerateme_and_critics/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=ios_app&amp;utm_name=ioscss&amp;utm_content=2&amp;utm_term=1">many claim</a> it’s an incel-related&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/starterpacks/comments/14kby31/comment/jpqekg9/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web2x&amp;context=3">attempt&nbsp;</a>to lower self-esteems, especially of women, the mod denies this and says it’s “good for people to know realistically where they stand and what their potential could be.” She says she often directs people to post in Look Your Best after too for changes to make.&nbsp;Elizaebeth Daniels, director of the Centre for Appearance Research at the University of the West of England describes beauty as culturally determined and beauty science as pseudoscience. “We can see that through change over time and also different beauty ideals in different cultures,” she says. “So this is very much a social phenomenon and when we medicalize it, we seem to be saying that it is static and universal whereas beauty can be very expansive and individual.”“We’ve definitely seen the rise of young people knowing anatomy that just wouldn’t have happened [without social media] and this microanalysis of absolutely every feature,” explains Daniels. “It seems like using these medical terms and measures in these different ways, it’s as if there’s this [false] authority that’s being attributed. It’s so narrow and it’s premised on Eurocentric [appearances] thereby excluding a huge number of people.”&nbsp;It’s clear to see why people would have concerns and why a mainstream focus on this belief of a “one size fits all” objective beauty could be harmful — especially when applied to strangers online. Although some feel they are able to separate the idea of a “scientific” beauty from real life, what happens when people unsurprisingly take it as gospel and warp their sense of self and others through its lens? Case in point: TikTok videos marking those with one side profile an “angel” and another a “witch.” An angel skull, which has appeared n other unhinged corners of the internet before, is claimed to be a more feminine skull shape with a projected jaw and chin. Sounds a little like phrenology.

As explained by Daniels, this has a focus on Eurocentric features. Although many of these beauty science communities deny this and on some Subreddits for example, even rule that users should evaluate “without using ethnicity as a determinant,” it feels impossible to disconnect the link between their science-dictated beauty and Western features. The “witch skull” for example, features a hooked nose, while the “angel” features a small, upturned nose. “Sweeping, curvy eyelids,” are<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Vindicta/comments/cv2n0k/what_makes_eyes_attractive/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web2x"> deemed on Vindicta</a> as “what makes eyes attractive” while TrueRateMe rules “fine eyebrows” and a “small, slim [nose with] no bulge” as a top-tier ruler. “As much as I want to looksmaxx, sometimes I can't help but feel like I have to compromise my ethnic look to be seen as more desirable,” confessed one anonymous user on a “VindictaPOC”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/vindictapoc/comments/snl8hw/how_to_improve_looks_without_giving_in_to_the/">post</a>.

Such accounts are an upfront discussion and admittance to wanting to gain the benefits of pretty privilege for more than just feeling good when you look in the mirror. Beauty as a science, offers up a step-by-step for how they can achieve it, they believe.&nbsp;

Much of this content focuses on the realities of pretty privilege with content suggesting how being beautiful lets you “live life on easy mode”: doing better at work, marrying up and generally swimming through life far easier. It’s not wrong — physically attractive workers are even thought to earn up to 15% more than those considered less attractive, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://wol.iza.org/press-releases/does-it-pay-to-be-beautiful">one study</a>. Such accounts are an upfront discussion and admittance to wanting to gain the benefits of pretty privilege for more than just feeling good when you look in the mirror. Beauty as a science, offers up a step-by-step for how they can achieve it, they believe.&nbsp;The admittance of wanting pretty privilege seems a far cry from the body positivity and inclusivity movement of the 2010s, which sought to uproot the system by widening beauty standards, rather than by trying to win at them. The movement defined the 2010s, and was&nbsp;<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1461444819826530">proven&nbsp;</a>to have a positive impact on women’s body image. In 2018, Victoria’s Secret closed the doors on its annual fashion show, which was highly critiqued for its lack of inclusivity and promotion of narrow beauty standards. This year, the show restarted, albeit with an attempt at changing things up. The show, however, was met with multiple viral videos of people demanding the nostalgic VS back — even if it made them feel bad.&nbsp;

Teala said when she posted her video, she felt that some people took it as an opportunity to “push their own agenda or their own beauty standards,” adding that one user continued to attempt to tell her to lose weight, even after she explained that it wasn’t a concern of hers. “They just kept going on and on and on,” she says.“To see girls putting themselves on social media, opening themselves up for criticism in this way really makes me worry,” says Daniels, highlighting the young ages of many of these TikTok users. While for people like Teala, the video was a fun request for a makeover, there’s a clear sense of desperation for others — a plea to improve looks before term starts and begging for no one at school to see. If I look hard enough at the video, I feel I, along with many others, can see myself in it too. It’s the same longing that found 11-year-old me YouTubing “how to be pretty” and (thankfully) being generically told to curl my lashes rather than being served a breakdown of my face. When I was 13, a kid at school told me I needed a nose job and I still think about it to this day. Now, I imagine if I’d have invited someone to analyse my face and been presented with a study to prove it at the same time.&nbsp;

“How can I be prettier?”: Inside the brutally honest world of glow-up culture 

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