Selfie Loathing *TEASER*

Summary

Red Scare - Episode: Selfie Loathing TEASER Release Date: April 10, 2025

In the Selfie Loathing teaser episode of Red Scare, hosts Anna Khachiyan and Dasha Nekrasova delve into the pervasive issues surrounding women's self-image in the age of social media. They explore themes of societal expectations, beauty standards, and the psychological impacts of online interactions. The conversation is both incisive and provocative, challenging prevalent feminist narratives while offering personal anecdotes and critical insights.

---

1. The Social Media Panopticon and Self-Perception

The episode opens with a discussion on how social media has intensified women's anxieties about their appearance. Anna (A) asserts that the constant scrutiny from online platforms exacerbates inherent tendencies related to self-image.

Anna (A) [00:00]: "Women have always had these tendencies. They've always been alive in the female species, but now they're like, ratcheted up because of this social media refractory panopticon thing."

She further explains that the fear of being judged is often unfounded and rooted in narcissistic ideation, which hinders genuine social interactions.

Anna (A) [00:30]: "Your desire to know in advance and manage and control what's going on in other people's heads is literally textbook narcissistic ideation."

2. The Reality vs. Perceived Judgment

Dasha (B) complements Anna's points by highlighting that negative reactions are rarely about intrinsic ugliness but rather a result of failing to make a meaningful impression or others being preoccupied with their own thoughts.

Dasha (B) [01:05]: "When people react badly to you or more likely, like, don't react. All you think it's because you're ugly, but it's really because you have failed to make a good impression or they're just not thinking about you because they're also too in their head."

Anna shares her personal experience with online negativity, emphasizing resilience against constant harsh judgments.

Anna (A) [01:47]: "I'm a veteran to this. I've been getting called ugly on the Internet for over half a decade now, which is like two decades in online time. And I'm in the trenches every day, posting through it."

3. Beauty Routines and Societal Expectations

The hosts transition to discussing beauty routines, specifically referencing the "morning shed" videos popular among women. These routines are presented as quick methods to appear presentable, but feminist voices criticize them as products of patriarchal demands.

Dasha (B) [02:23]: "There are lots of videos of women doing what they call a morning shed... The idea of the videos is to illustrate how they like can wake up and in a relatively short duration of time look presentable."

Anna challenges the feminist interpretation that these beauty standards are imposed by the patriarchy, arguing instead that personal relationships and male expectations play a significant role.

Anna (A) [03:35]: "I really, really, really hate that feminist line that the unrealistic beauty standards are imposed by the patriarchy. That's just simply false."

4. Counterarguments to Feminist Perspectives

Dasha and Anna present a counter-narrative to the feminist viewpoint by asserting that while societal standards exist, individual relationships and male preferences are not solely dictated by patriarchal structures. They emphasize that men often seek effortless beauty without the need for extensive routines.

Dasha (B) [03:44]: "Men want you to be effortlessly hot."

Anna (A) [04:09]: "Men want you to be like thin and pretty within reason, but they'll also fuck you and even marry you if you're like 10, 20 pounds overweight. They don't care."

5. The Paradox of Beauty Standards and Personal Agency

The conversation progresses to the paradox where high-status men may have more selective preferences, but these are not entirely driven by patriarchy. Anna suggests that personal agency and realistic expectations should guide women's approaches to self-presentation.

Dasha (B) [04:21]: "There are maybe some like, high status men who are more selective... But those also aren't really patriarchally imposed."

Anna adds a critique of high-status men, noting that their standards may be stringent yet hypocritical.

Anna (A) [04:56]: "And also those men usually look like shit themselves. Not that women, primarily women, don't care."

6. Conclusion: Navigating Self-Image in Modern Society

In wrapping up the teaser, Anna and Dasha underscore the importance of self-awareness and resilience in the face of societal pressures. They advocate for a balanced perspective that acknowledges external judgments without allowing them to define one's self-worth.

---

Notable Quotes:

• Anna (A) [00:00]: "Women have always had these tendencies... now they're like, ratcheted up because of this social media refractory panopticon thing."

• Dasha (B) [01:05]: "When people react badly to you... it's really because you have failed to make a good impression."

• Anna (A) [03:35]: "I really, really, really hate that feminist line that the unrealistic beauty standards are imposed by the patriarchy. That's just simply false."

• Dasha (B) [04:21]: "High status men... aren't really patriarchally imposed."

---

Final Thoughts: Red Scare's Selfie Loathing teaser provides a candid examination of the complexities surrounding women's self-image today. By questioning dominant feminist narratives and highlighting personal experiences, Anna and Dasha offer a thought-provoking perspective on how women can navigate societal expectations and maintain authentic self-esteem in an increasingly image-focused world.

---

Follow and Support:

• Patreon: Support the ladies on Patreon
• Social Media:
  • Anna Khachiyan on Twitter
  • Dasha Nekrasova on Twitter

Transcript

[A]

Women have always had these tendencies. They've always been alive in the female species, but now they're like, ratcheted up because of this social media refractory panopticon thing. Trust me, like, no one is looking at you and thinking how ugly you are in the course of a normal conversation. And even if that was their first impression, they're not dwelling on it. Especially if you're, like, present and engaged. It's all in your head. And this desire to know in advance and manage and control what's going on in other people's heads is literally also textbook narcissistic ideation. And again, yet what it does is actively prevents you from being present and engaged and making a good impression, not.

[B]

Just about other people, but about anything besides that thing. Your most, like, hollow self. Your, like, physical form.

[A]

Yeah. And it's like, it to the point that, like, it starts to look like your suspicions are being confirmed by the data that you're getting from the outside.

[B]

World because, you know, you're seeing people that are prettier than you or when.

[A]

People react badly to you or more likely, like, don't react. All you think it's because you're ugly, but it's really because you have failed to make a good impression or they're just not thinking about you because they're also too in their head.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I'm a veteran to this. I've been getting called ugly on the Internet for over half a decade now, which is like two decades in online time. And I'm in the trenches every day, posting through it.

[B]

Every day people say I'm ugly.

[A]

And like, you know, those people, like, they're going out of their way to be mean, but they're not exactly wrong. Like, I could probably catalog everything that's physically wrong with me with reasonable accuracy and in a way that reasonably conforms to, like, what other people see. But what would be unreasonable is if I made that my primary relation to the world. That's the maladjusted dysmorphic reaction.

[B]

I mean, no one is telling, like, I the kind of corollary to the black guy morning routine video. There's lots of videos of women doing what they call a morning shed.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Where they take off their silk bonnets and their heatless curlers and their face mat. They, like, do all this stuff before they go to sleep and then look like the same. Yeah. And then in the morning, they're taking off their, like, lip stain that they've applied. And, you know, the idea of the videos is to illustrate how they like can wake up and in a relatively short duration of time look presentable.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And then there were like random kind of feministy voices being like, this is the patriarchy.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

This is because beauty standards, blah, blah, the patriarchy, male supremacy makes women do this. And it's like, no one is making women do this. And men especially do not want you to put on a bonnet and fucking a face mask to go to sleep.

[A]

There's no faster way to ruin a relationship than to do your beauty routine in front of a man because it really just like kills the mystery.

[B]

And men want you to be effortlessly hot.

[A]

Yeah. They want you to show up. They want you to appear already like dolled up and ready to go. And like, I really, really, really hate that feminist line that the unrealistic beauty standards are imposed by the patriarchy. That's just simply false.

[B]

That's not true.

[A]

Men want you to be like thin and pretty within reason, but they'll also fuck you and even marry you if you're like 10, 20 pounds overweight. They don't care.

[B]

And I guess, yeah, there's maybe some like, high status men.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Who are more selective at least in who they like couple with in the long term because they want you to hit some kind of like, markers. But those also aren't really patriarchally imposed and you're like overestimating, you know, you need to be shooting your shot within realistic demographic of people who are of similar attractiveness.

[A]

And also those men usually look like shit themselves. Not that women, primarily women, don't care.