the freedom to be ugly online
can writers opt out of performing aesthetic labor on the internet?
This week Substack announced a program to draw TikTok and Youtube video creators to join the platform. Chatter ensued. Mostly on Notes. Some writers view this move from Substack as a de-prioritization of writers’ interests in favor of the lucrative potential of video content. Some writers are excited about it, but by and large the vibe is…concerned? wary? pessimistic? disappointed?
What struck me most were the comments about who writers are and what writers want. Here’s the gist of what writers are saying:
Writers are introverts. Writers don’t want the chaos of photo and video and audio. Writers don’t want to be inundated with a feed of talking heads. Writers don’t want to be content creators or vloggers. Writers just want to write.
I identify as a fashion writer first—before content creator or stylist or copywriter, even though my freelance work technically includes all of the above. I agree that many of us on this platform are not writer-creators/fill in the blank by choice but by necessity, due to the depressing economic landscape of media. However! I do genuinely enjoy creating in photo and video mediums. I love making a little minivlog about visiting LA. I love getting my film developed so I can post it as my cover photo along with an all lowercase title for my newsletter send. I love the rhetorical power of a clever multimedia storytelling moment, how words and images co-create meaning.
This words v. video convo made me pause for a moment and wonder: am I the kind of writer these writers are talking about? Am I one of those unsavory “talking heads” for posting an OOTD video on Notes? Am I less of a Writer with a capital W because I also post IG photo dumps and TikToks? Am I diluting the sanctity of the craft that is writing?
I know it’s not that deep—but as someone who is a fashion writer but also a little bit of everything else, I’ve been reflecting on how much of my work is hinged on aesthetic labor. Makeup, outfits, documenting the makeup and outfits, feeling the pressure to look presentable on camera. Is writing the last refuge of creative expression without the looming pressure to be pretty??