Gooners (ft. Daniel Kolitz)

About this episode

The episode explores the niche subculture of gooners and their relationship with sexuality and the internet.

Imagine: a reality where p*rn becomes so ubiquitous it invents its own sexuality. Just kidding, you’re living it. If you live under a rock and haven’t stumbled across Daniel Kolitz’s groundbreaking Harper’s piece, “The Goon Squad,” it’s time to catch you up. Gooners are a niche subculture inhabiting the internet’s moist-est corners, who have surrendered themselves to the art of m*asturbating. They make their own folk art called goonfuel and dwell in their own little gooncaves. Many gooners also allegedly enter the community straight, but unlock a “latent queerness within” through communal phallus worship and tender homosocial encouragement. In this episode, Hannah and Maia, joined by Daniel, ask whether gooning is something to nervously laugh at and move on, or take seriously as a symptom of the times. Through the sweet pain of total self-debasement and chasing the ecstatic abyss, gooners organize themselves around a digital New Religion. They also, however, press a frightening question: is the internet simply a seductive Siren, calling us all to go spiralling down the pleasure pit of self-annihilation? Tangents include: Hannah and Maia’s friend Jojo’s really good cooking…

People in this episode

Hosts: Hannah, Maia

Guest: Daniel Kolitz

Topics covered

• subculture
• internet culture
• sexuality
• masturbation
• queerness
• self-debasement
• digital religion

Keywords

• gooners
• goonfuel
• masturbation
• queerness
• internet subculture
• self-annihilation
• digital religion

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Harper’s

Books & works: The Goon Squad

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