The biggest pop culture news for young people this week is the release of Beyoncé's latest album, which is also the biggest pop culture news for older generations. Cowboy Carter is that rare piece of pop culture that's on everyone's radar, so I thought I'd try to find out why this singer is able to achieve things that no one else can. There's a new, vulgar word to learn, and we'll all marvel at the ingenuity of young people as they try to get around online rules against pornography.
What Beyoncé means to Gen Z
Late last week, Beyoncé released her eighth studio album, a country-flavored album called Cowboy Carter. At 42, the singer/songwriter/icon is a late millennial, but she hasn't gone unnoticed by young people. If you judge by the online reaction to Cowboy Carter , Queen transcended the generational divide as thoroughly as she transcended the musical divide by taking over country music. A dance trend has emerged on TikTok, with such videos racking up millions of views, and Gen Z is even getting into country music, with die-hard non-country youngsters agreeing with critics that single "Texas Hold 'em" is a hit song and the album is a killer. It wasn't just the first single; the internet was obsessed with her new take on Dolly Parton's "Jolene." In terms of cultural comparisons, Beyoncé is like mid-career Madonna, but more so. She's an icon who remains influential, if pop matters at all culturally, and the release of Cowboy Carter feels like a page turn: every age, race, except the usual complainers And everyone of faith loves Beyoncé’s new album, I even love it, I hate everything about it.
Ass-based green screens and Twitch’s cat-and-mouse culture war
Streaming service Twitch, known primarily for streaming gaming content, has been engaged in a cat-and-mouse war with some users for years. At issue: Twitch’s policy on indecent content in streams. The latest salvo in the battle: Twitch banning users from streaming content on their butts.
About two weeks ago, innovative Twitch streamer/cosplayer Morgpie got around Twitch's content policy prohibiting nudity by using a green screen to display gameplay footage on her butt. This weekend, Twitch responded and announced: "Starting Friday, March 29, content that focuses on private body parts for extended periods of time will not be allowed."
This isn't the first time Morgpie has prompted Twitch to change its content policies. As early as 2023, she began appearing topless in live broadcasts, but it was carefully designed so that users could not fully see the taboo part of her breasts. Morgpie is temporarily banned and Twitch updates its policy on pornographic content.
This led to streamers using a censorship bar, called "Show Hole Meta." Even before that, back in 2021, Twitch cracked down on Hot Tub livestreams while acknowledging how difficult it is to judge whether sexy content is too sexy.
What is an "outstanding youth"?
Like "looksmaxxing," "bone crushing" and "mewing," jelqing comes from the musty and unsettling world of non-independence cultures. Simply put, it’s penis stretching. Jelqers either pull litter by hand or use equipment to stretch - which is not a medically recognized procedure and therefore does not have a set of best practices. The idea is that the trauma creates microtears in the skin and the penis will grow back larger. As for whether it works, smart investors would say "fuck no." There are anecdotal reports from jelqers online that this works, but sometimes people lie online. I couldn't find any reliable data on the effectiveness of this procedure, and urologists note that it can lead to the development of scar tissue, pain, erectile dysfunction, and Peyronie's disease.
Gay furry men invade church, buy inflatable sea lions
SiegedSec, a group of self-described gay furries, claims they breached the security of a Valley church in Burnsville, Minnesota. In recent Telegram posts, SiegedSec accused a church pastor of making anti-trans comments, posting links to church members’ email prayer requests, and using church funds to send them 100 inflatable sea lions.
"We hacked their accounts, spent thousands of dollars on inflatable sea lions (which we were unable to donate), and we've compromised over 15,000 user data :3," the hackers posted.
Riverdale's top troublemaker, Rob Catlin, is active on Twitter, spreading the bizarre idea of Joe Biden declaring Easter Sunday a holiday for transgender people. I hope he enjoys his inflatable sea lion.
Viral Video of the Week: Duck Song 4
The hottest video of the week is the fourth installment of "Duck Song," an animated video for kids that had nearly 2 million views in its first week. "Duck Song" is a generational dividing line. If you're under a certain age, you've seen it. If you're over this age (and don't have kids), you haven't.
YouTube user forrestfire101 posted the first "Duck Song" video 15 years ago, and it has since been viewed 625 million times. It's impossible to explain exactly why. As a story/joke, it's funny enough, the song is catchy enough, and the crude animation is cute, but that's all for the countless videos posted on YouTube aimed at children. For some reason, "Duck Song" captured children's imaginations, and YouTube's algorithm even became a universally recognized thing for a generation.
The creators of Duck Song wisely chose to limit the release of new releases, rather than flood the area with duck junk upon release and thereby avoid turning it into a flash-in-the-pan. Nor do they attempt to extend, alter, broaden, or otherwise tamper with the simplicity of the original video. As a result, the "Duck Song" video became universally recognized for at least two generations - fans of the original "Duck Song" now have children of their own and will no doubt share this with them before they waddle away video.
