/INB4/
Liz Mputu & /inb4/
2014 - ongoing
/INB4/ is an online community and virtual fashion magazine, described as a “club that never sleeps.” Created as a Facebook group in 2014, /INB4/ was originally moderated by Liz Mputu with Parker Bright, Isabelle Mcguire, Seashell Coker, and Maya Bayhan.
Full of style selfies, and occasional memes or non-original fashion photos, the group has been described by Mputu as a model of how to “queer the platform of Facebook” by promoting alternate forms of visibility centered on self-care. The group is an exemplary effort to sustain a radical and supportive community within a social media platform that has consistently made efforts to police its users and make them legible and marketable.
“/INB4/ is a CollectiveVirtualDreamSpace birthed of the black imagination seeking to digest its sheddings and the layers of others.”
— Liz Mputu
Altered screenshot of 2014 discussion on /INB4/ Facebook group. Courtesy Liz Mputu.
Content note: partial nudity.
The name /INB4/ was inspired by the 4chan-speak for “in before,” originally used to preempt the expected outcome of a thread.
As a platform for creative expression, the group was developed to counter the white cis-heteronormative gaze in mainstream fashion.
“post qt lqqz all the time !!!!” — /INB4
“/inb4/ started off as a DIY/Underground ‘virtual magazine by U 4 U’ in the form of a Facebook Group that was meant 2 b an antithesis to the culture praised in online spaces like Rookie Mag, Dazed, Vice, and the like...which seemed to mostly highlight niche cool yt young hot artists who didn’t really portray what it was like for me and people like me to be involved in a DIY scene. I was living in Chicago a few years back and at the time a lot of my energy was spent in queer nightlife where the looks of my friends and strangers who would frequent spaces like Berlin Nightclub, the Dustbowl, parties in Pilsen, at Parker Bright’s house, Smartbar, and elsewhere constantly inspired me. I remember hanging out with someone one day, picking up a FRUiTS book and thinking ‘damn, that’s my life, these are my friends. Let’s make a virtual version of this.’” — Liz Mputu
Altered screenshot of 2014 discussion on /INB4/ Facebook group. Courtesy Liz Mputu.
The group’s moderators have devoted considerable thought and discussion to the question of how to create a safe space for users while navigating Facebook’s conservative content rules.
This has led to moments of disjuncture and transition in the group’s direction, including the creation of an “After Hours” portion for nude selfies.
Image by Liz Mputu
“wen censoring ExplicitContent online AsDetermined by the InconsistentStandards of YtMansLaw, it isnt necessarily advantageous 2 KeepVisible EvidenceofTrauma that re-traumatizes individuals n perpetuates SystemsofOppression&Violence thru its normalization.” — Liz Mputu
“(FIRST>VirtualMag (by u 4 u) .inb4 teh resttt.” —/INB4/
Conflict has also emerged over the presence of abusers in the group. Through these experiences, moderators have realized the need to intervene actively and make decisions about inclusion and exclusion.
“...when conflicts intensify judgments and stereotypes become more rigid & people get a twisted boost to their sense of self by disparaging others,” Maya Bayhan writes, “creating a cycle that can only be broken by removing the loudest negative voice.”
Due to the nature of the group, it is not appropriate to create a public archive of it. Instead, to mark its inclusion in the online exhibiton, Mputu organized an IRL reunion party in New York in fall 2018.
Saved Instagram stories from /inb4/ the party, September 28, 2018 at h0l0. Credit: Liz Mputu
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