by Alice Bolin
First published 2025
Alice Bolin dissects the strange ways popular feminism has evolved and how cult mentality seeps into everyday digital life. Through seven original essays, she examines how computer age pop culture reshapes and repackages femininity. Bolin investigates diet tracking apps and their impact on body relationships in "The Enumerated Woman." She analyzes Animal Crossing's retail therapy as a window into late capitalism in "Real Time." In "Foundering," she explores our fascination with iconic founders, from Silicon Valley's fallen titans to Enron and Hamilton. Her kaleidoscopic writing mirrors internet culture itself as she catalogs the forces behind our popular obsessions. Bolin questions why we hold onto past icons and ideals despite massive technological and cultural disruption. Each essay combines personal insight with sharp analysis, challenging readers to examine their own participation in modern cults of belief and behavior.
Genres: essays, feminism, criticism, 21st-century, current-affairs, cultural-studies
Vibes: analytical, contemporary, introspective, sharp-critique, thought-provoking
Tropes: cultural-analysis, essay-collection, personal-essay
Setting: Silicon Valley
Period: 21st century, Computer age
272 pages · Paperback · Mariner Books