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5 Aug

‘I trust my own body’: The rise of the

‘I trust my own body’: The rise of the
Mainstream wellness is predicated on the belief that the more data, the better. More and more of us are tracking glucose, monitoring sleep quality and logging every run on Strava. It’s no longer enough to wake up in the morning and know whether we’ve had a good night’s sleep based on how tired we feel; now we’re encouraged to rely on a device-calculated sleep score. And yet, a revolt is underway: a growing cohort is rebelling against optimisation and moving towards something more intuitive, embodied and carefree. Where the industry largely sees data as king, the “unquantified self” movement deems feeling the ultimate metric. Its adherents still train in gyms and live in chaotic cities, but want to align themselves as...
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24 Jun

Virtual Beauty explores human identity and beauty in the

Virtual Beauty explores human identity and beauty in the
What once would have sounded like fantastical and futuristic inventions from The Fifth Element – silicone-skinned avatars, AI-generated influencers, virtual make-up masks – are now a routine part of our everyday existence. Technology has reached beyond the digital realm to have a very real impact on our physical bodies. More and more, we are using it to alter, enhance and filter our identities. Now, a new exhibition is exploring how beauty and identity have been redefined in and by the digital space; and who holds the power. Opening at Somerset House as part of its 25th birthday season, Virtual Beauty is an exhibition that takes the glossy aesthetics of the online world and brings them off-screen, IRL. Curated by Bunny Kinney,...
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21 Jun

Kylie Jenner’s ‘summer body’ accused of being plastic surgery

Kylie Jenner’s ‘summer body’ accused of being plastic surgery
On Sunday, whilst sunning herself in Turks and Caicos as part of her Kylie Skin press trip, Kylie Jenner shared an image on Instagram of her semi-nude body. Shot by Sasha Samsonova and captioned “Summer Body,” the image was part of a campaign to promote a series of newly launched Kylie Skin body products, including the brand’s first SPF. Fans quickly began to criticise the image, however, accusing the influencer of having “bought and paid” for her body, a result of plastic surgery.  “I don't need no creams and oils, just the name of the surgeon,” wrote one Instagram commenter, while another said, “Kylie said if we buy her skin products we too will get a summer body like hers..kylie girl..I know you fuvkin...
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21 Jun

Dirty Girls: The cult 90s documentary that made being

Dirty Girls: The cult 90s documentary that made being
It’s been 30 years since Michael Lucid, then a senior at Crossroads School in Santa Monica, filmed a group of his 13-year-old schoolmates known as the “dirty girls” on VHS. The grainy footage, which captures a group of friends “notorious for their crass behaviour and allegedly bad hygiene,” is a time capsule of 1990s riot grrrl culture, the underground feminist movement rooted in punk rock, DIY zines and feminist activism.  Filmed in 1996, the footage was released in 2000 as an 18-minute documentary and later went viral in 2013 when Lucid uploaded it to YouTube, where it now has 5.7 million views and over 19,000 comments. Shot halfway through the decade that saw the birth of Photoshop, the dirty girls’ rebellion...
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