The Politics of Numbness and Femininity [Taboo ON the Bus]

Social media is a breeding ground for classism [mini bus version]

[full deep-dive long episode is live] Social media is a breeding ground for poor-shaming working-class mockery, and I’ve been collecting evidence for the past 4 months to prove that. What we are seeing is the re-invention of the harmful working-class stereotypes present in early 2000s/10s media regurgitated in our algorithms right now. We can look at how deeply intertwined identity and consumption habits to begin understanding why social media creates a hierarchy of lifestyles that shames those as the bottom and analyse the key theme of ‘distinction’ driving a lot of the hate and ‘humour’.    I’ve pulled examples from my ongoing to prove just how social media fuels and reinvents the mockery of the working class.   Email: charlie@84world.com [charlie@84world.com] Insta – whatzaraloves TikTok – whatzaraloves6 YouTube: Whatzaraloves Podcast: Taboo on the Bus     Kyey references:   Books: Chavs by Owen Jones   Journals: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.5153/sro.1814 [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.5153/sro.1814] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01634437231185966 [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01634437231185966] https://napier-repository.worktribe.com/output/3176889 [https://napier-repository.worktribe.com/output/3176889]     Articles: https://www.vice.com/en/article/chav-caricature-comeback-tiktok-2020/ [https://www.vice.com/en/article/chav-caricature-comeback-tiktok-2020/] https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2021/09/02/how-the-medias-selective-idealisation-of-the-working-class-perpetuates-inequality/ [https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2021/09/02/how-the-medias-selective-idealisation-of-the-working-class-perpetuates-inequality/] https://consequence.net/2025/12/ricky-gervais-working-classes-mock-mortality/ [https://consequence.net/2025/12/ricky-gervais-working-classes-mock-mortality/]

Social Media is Classist - why people favour the wealthy and shame the poor online

Social media is a breeding ground for poor-shaming working-class mockery, and I’ve been collecting evidence for the past 4 months to prove that. What we are seeing is the re-invention of the harmful working-class stereotypes present in early 2000s/10s media regurgitated in our algorithms right now. We can look at how deeply intertwined identity and consumption habits to begin understanding why social media creates a hierarchy of lifestyles that shames those as the bottom and analyse the key theme of ‘distinction’ driving a lot of the hate and ‘humour’.    I’ve pulled examples from my ongoing to prove just how social media fuels and reinvents the mockery of the working class.   Email: charlie@84world.com [charlie@84world.com] Insta – whatzaraloves TikTok – whatzaraloves6 YouTube: Whatzaraloves Podcast: Taboo on the Bus     Kyey references:   Books: Chavs by Owen Jones   Journals: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.5153/sro.1814 [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.5153/sro.1814] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01634437231185966 [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01634437231185966] https://napier-repository.worktribe.com/output/3176889 [https://napier-repository.worktribe.com/output/3176889]     Articles: https://www.vice.com/en/article/chav-caricature-comeback-tiktok-2020/ [https://www.vice.com/en/article/chav-caricature-comeback-tiktok-2020/] https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2021/09/02/how-the-medias-selective-idealisation-of-the-working-class-perpetuates-inequality/ [https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2021/09/02/how-the-medias-selective-idealisation-of-the-working-class-perpetuates-inequality/] https://consequence.net/2025/12/ricky-gervais-working-classes-mock-mortality/ [https://consequence.net/2025/12/ricky-gervais-working-classes-mock-mortality/]

The girls are emotionless - discussing the politics of numbness and stoic femininity [Taboo OFF the bus]

Rachel Sennott preaching “numb is in”, " Botox is rising, the girls are emotionless, and lobotomy chic is looming in the air. Sit down with me to dissect what it means for stoicism, deadpan, and numbness to become intertwined in our perceptions of beauty and femininity. Let’s discuss whether this can be viewed as a potential clapback to the patriarchal expectations of women’s behaviour, or in fact just caging us further. Sit down with me to analyse the politics of numbness, the privilege of emotional suppression, and the tool of numbness.

The Politics of Numbness and Femininity [Taboo ON the Bus]

[Full OFF the bus podcast version is also live for a longer deepdive] Rachel Sennott preaching “numb is in”, botox is rising, the girls are emotionless, and lobotomy chic is looming in the air. Sit down with me to disect what it means for stoicism, deadpan, and numbness to become intertwined in our perceptions of beauty and feminity. Let’s discuss whether this can be viewed as a potential clapback to the patriarchal expectations of women’s behvaior, or in fact just caging us further. Sit down with me to analyse the politics of numbness, the privellage of emotional suppression, and the tool of numbness.  email: charlie@84world.com instagram- whatzaralovestiktok - whatzaraloves6podcast - Taboo on the Bus

Trust me, you don't want to become reliant on AI - discussing the domestication of humans by artifical intelligence - Taboo OFF the bus

Sit down with me today to discuss the relationship between humans and artificial intelligence (AI) in comparison to that of humans and pets. Is it making our lives easier to become reliant on this technology, or are we domesticating ourselves and becoming sub-serviant to AI?? Shout out to Gresham College lectures for inspiring this episode. Instagram - whatzaraloves Tiktok - whatzaraloves Email: whatzaraloves@gmail.com Links and media references: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/ai-pet https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/apr/19/dont-ask-what-ai-can-do-for-us-ask-what-it-is-doing-to-us-are-chatgpt-and-co-harming-human-intelligence https://sites.uab.edu/humanrights/2025/10/02/construction-and-consequences-the-human-impacts-of-artificial-intelligence-data-centers/