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From girl math to men who are babygirl to looksmaxxing incels, online culture has accelerated, and perhaps even changed, how we express our gender identies. In this podcast created by The Hmm in collaboration with The Institute of Network Cultures, we are focusing on online gender expression. The early Internet is often viewed as an emancipatory space where people explored and experimented with identity and gender. Today, this spirit of identity play exists simultaneously alongside a broader trend that leans toward more cisheteronormative gender roles.

This podcast series is an extension of The Hmm’s 2025 research topic THIS IS WHO YOU’RE BEING MEAN TO.