“When you are a woman, the things you like get used against you. Or, alternatively, the things that get used against you have all been prefigured as things you should like. Sexual availability falls into this category. So does basic kindness, and generosity. Wanting to look good—taking pleasure in trying to look good—does, too.”
― Trick Mirror
― Trick Mirror
“As a medium, the internet is defined by a built-in performance incentive. In real life, you can walk around living life and be visible to other people. But you can’t just walk around and be visible on the internet—for anyone to see you, you have to act. You have to communicate in order to maintain an internet presence. And, because the internet’s central platforms are built around personal profiles, it can seem—first at a mechanical level, and later on as an encoded instinct—like the main purpose of this communication is to make yourself look good. Online reward mechanisms beg to substitute for offline ones, and then overtake them.”
― Trick Mirror
― Trick Mirror
“A woman is unruly if anyone has incorrectly decided that she’s too much of something, and if she, in turn, has chosen to believe that she’s just fine.”
― Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion
― Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion
“Women are genuinely trapped at the intersection of capitalism and patriarchy—two systems that, at their extremes, ensure that individual success comes at the expense of collective morality. And yet there is enormous pleasure in individual success. It can feel like license and agency to approach an ideal, to find yourself—in a good picture, on your wedding day, in a flash of identical movement—exemplifying a prototype. There are rewards for succeeding under capitalism and patriarchy; there are rewards even for being willing to work on its terms. There are nothing but rewards, at the surface level. The trap looks beautiful. It’s well-lit. It welcomes you in.”
― Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion
― Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion
“At a basic level, Facebook, like most other forms of social media, runs on doublespeak: advertising connection but creating isolation; promising happiness but inculcating dread.”
― Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion
― Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion
Our Shared Shelf
— 223264 members
— last activity Dec 16, 2025 12:22AM
OUR SHARED SHELF IS CURRENTLY DORMANT AND NOT MANAGED BY EMMA AND HER TEAM. Dear Readers, As part of my work with UN Women, I have started reading ...more
Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge
— 42813 members
— last activity 3 minutes ago
This group is for people participating in the Popsugar reading challenge for 2025 or 2026 (or any other year). The Popsugar website posted a reading c ...more
Rafaela’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Rafaela’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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