Tag: feminism

Female Truck Drivers in China Navigate Gender Norms on Douyin

It’s dark outside: 4:34 AM. I am peering through a truck’s windshield, gazing at a seemingly endless stretch of highway. “Female truck driver Li Ping is live streaming,” reads the title above the Douyin video player. It’s accompanied by the option to follow Li Ping’s account. Li Ping and her sister converse with fans, their voices audible, but the camera remains directed out the window, capturing the drive and road ahead. “Have you all woken up from a night of sleep?” a voice asks. It belongs to Li Ping’s younger sister, whose weariness is evident in the countless yawns that follow. The chat springs to life as fans engage, their messages reflecting varied states of wakefulness: some have just risen, some couldn’t fall asleep, and others are truck drivers like Li Ping who have been awake and on the road. A robotic navigation voice reminds them to take a break. The camera captures the uninterrupted expanse of mountains; rest stops and service areas are nowhere in sight. Fans implore Li Ping’s sister to turn the camera and reveal herself and her sister. She replies, enticing them with the promise that if gifts are given, they will be granted a glimpse. The navigation voice reminds them again to take a break. They continue driving on. Below, a row of vibrant stickers awaits my interaction, offering the opportunity to support Li Ping through virtual items like hearts, flower bouquets, and cars, which streamers can later cash out for real money. (read more...)

Setting Traps: For an Insurgent and Joyful Science

While visiting the exhibition by the artist Xadalu Tupã Jekupé at the Museum of Indigenous Cultures in São Paulo, one of the works caught my attention. It was a monitor on the floor. On the screen was a modification of the game Free Fire, where it was possible to follow a virtual killing taking place from the point of view of an indigenous character wearing a headdress. For a while I couldn’t look away. I remembered a conversation I had with Anthony, a Guaraní-Mbyá professor that works with the youth of his territory. At the time I was also a teacher, working with marginalized youth. I remember Anthony’s distressed words—he was concerned about the time and attention young people were putting into games like Free Fire, creating a situation very similar to the one I lived when I worked with teenagers in the outskirts of São Paulo. (read more...)