Identity After Authenticity: Abigail Thorn's Profile

TL;DR

Identity after authenticity is increasingly built through “profilicity,” a profile-based model shaped by social media, second-order observation, and validation from a general peer. The analysis contrasts three technologies of identity: sincerity requires commitment to social roles, authenticity pursues an original inner self, and profilicity constructs a public-facing profile. Abigail Thorn’s coming-out video provides the central example. Read on to understand the tensions and stresses within each model.

Transcript

interestingly enough just one day after we published our somewhat critical analysis of philosophytube's video on khan's critique of pure reason the presenter abigail thorne posted a coming out video of herself as being a trans woman and that attracted a lot of views and then we got a lot of views through that as well the title of her coming out vid... Read More

Key Insights

• 👥 Identity and social media: The coming out video of Abigail Thorne as a trans woman attracted a lot of views, highlighting the importance of identity in the world of social media.
• 📺 Pushing forward the host: The motive behind creating content on social media platforms is often to push forward the individual's personal identity and gain recognition.
• 💡 Three technologies of building identity: Sincerity, authenticity, and profilicity are three models of building identity, each with its own historical trajectory and methods of constructing identity.
• 🌟 Profilicity as a new technology: Profilicity is a profile-based form of building identity that has become dominant in the age of social media, where individuals create profiles to represent themselves based on second-order observations and recognition.
• 🎭 The paradox of authenticity and profilicity: While individuals still use authenticity vocabulary to describe their identity, the means by which they present themselves often align with the profilicity model, blurring the line between these two identity technologies.
• 👥 General peer and abstract validation: The concept of the general peer refers to the impersonal validation individuals seek from the wider audience, rather than just the opinions of immediate peers. Social validation feedback loops play a crucial role in this process.
• ⚖️ Challenges and stress: No identity model is perfect or stress-free. Each model, including sincerity, authenticity, and profilicity, comes with its own set of challenges and stressors, highlighting the need for philosophical reflection and coping strategies.
• ♀️ Exploring coping mechanisms: Philosophical reflection, such as drawing from Taoist traditions, can offer insights and coping mechanisms to navigate the challenges posed by identity formation in the age of profilicity and social media.

Questions & Answers

Q: What does “identity after authenticity” mean?

It refers to profilicity, a profile-based technology of identity-building that has largely replaced authenticity. Rather than grounding identity primarily in an inner true self, profilicity constructs and maintains a profile through observation and social recognition.

Q: What are the three technologies of identity-building?

The three models are sincerity, authenticity, and profilicity. They describe identity through commitment to social roles, pursuit of an original inner self, and construction of a socially observed profile, respectively.

Q: What is the sincerity model of identity?

Sincerity demands commitment to a role within a group, such as a family, military, religious group, or sports team. The outward role is treated as real, and a person’s inner feelings must honestly support it; otherwise, the performance is considered fake or dishonest.

Q: How does authenticity differ from sincerity?

Authenticity treats social roles as possible masks or forms of conformity and asks a person to discover or create a true self beneath them. It values originality, uniqueness, creativity, and nonconformity, while sincerity emphasizes genuine commitment to an existing role.

Q: What is profilicity?

Profilicity is a profile-based form of creating identity that is especially visible on social media. It involves presenting oneself through a profile shaped by second-order observation and recognition from an abstract, impersonal audience called the general peer.

Q: How does social media influence identity under profilicity?

Social media makes profile construction a fundamental condition of publishing content and can encourage creators to push forward the host. Feedback and social validation then help people continually build and refine the identities presented through their profiles.

Q: Why is Abigail Thorn discussed in relation to profilicity?

Abigail Thorn’s coming-out video, titled “Identity: A Trans Coming Out Story,” attracted many views and foregrounded identity among YouTubers and other social-media participants. Her public production of identity serves as the central example for examining how identity is constructed through online profiles.

Q: Is any identity-building model free from stress or problems?

No identity model is presented as perfect or stress-free. Sincerity, authenticity, and profilicity each produce distinct challenges, making philosophical reflection and coping strategies important for living in the era of social media and profilicity.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The video discusses three models of identity-building: sincerity, authenticity, and profilicity.

• Sincerity is based on sincere commitment to roles within a group, while authenticity focuses on the discovery or creation of one's true self.

• Profilicity, the most advanced model, is characterized by the creation and maintenance of online profiles for identity construction.