Thanks Kylie, but I’m not buying it.
A glossy ad campaign was released this June as a feigned attempt by Zuckerberg to convince the girls and the gays that his predator spy goggles can in fact be stylish. The ad announced the release of Kylie Jenner’s new Meta eyewear line, Starfire, which is a sleek, more affordable model, with specific features including audio AI programmed with Kylie’s voice.
Lover or hater of the Kardashian klan, Kylie looks good in the big black shades. Consumer Tech Expert Ben Hatton goes as far as to say “Meta have turned a tech product into a fashion product with integrated tech,” but the question is, why would we want the integrated tech? Even if the predator glasses are chic, aren’t they still predator glasses?
Lifestyle influencers attempt to sell the story; adorned in the Starfire sunnies, one content creator runs through glamorous looking wardrobes to pack for a holiday. Here, the Meta glasses serve as a quick, hands-free camera, snapping holiday fits to help reduce packing stress. Not exactly a relatable issue, and one that could seemingly be handled with a phone camera.
Another influencer talks about the relief of filming hands-free, capturing POV shots that add a more intimate angle to her day-in-the-life content. It is unsurprising that the only ‘girly’ use for surveillance glasses seems to be for those working in an influencer world that runs off self-surveilling intimate life moments.
Cultural commentator @whatzaraloves points to the issue of media-performance that Meta glasses encourage. She argues that the built-in filming feature will elongate the time period wherein manicured online personas are embodied whilst our real selves fall further into disarray.
Though the glasses look shinier on a lip-lined face, the eerie function of the tech remains the same: glasses that film discreetly and converse with you in a high-pitched, ever-affirming, feminine voice.
This is not a product built for women.
It goes without saying that Meta glasses have already been a highly contested product, quickly becoming a tool used to film and post women and girls against their consent. The BBC found that some of these women were even blackmailed and asked to pay a fee in exchange for their videos to be removed.
As technological ‘innovation’ continues to invade every corner of our lives, there is an undeniable appetite to make it fashionable. But glasses that enable harassment and blackmail will never be sexy.
For glasses built to see through us, Zuckerberg, we see through you.
“Mark Zuckerberg” by Crunchies2009 is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.
