WORKSHOP: Cute Accelerationism

Cuteness is everywhere: in advertising and social media, anime and hyperpop, toys, fashion and online identities. But can cuteness be accelerated until it produces new ways of desiring, relating and being? In Cute Accelerationism, Amy Ireland and Maya B. Kronic approach cutification not simply as a commercial trend imposed by capitalism, but as a force that shapes bodies, desires and identities. Rather than dismissing cute as commodified girliness, they pursue its stranger potential: softness becomes unsettling, submission turns into transformation, and exaggerated femininity opens onto new forms of gender and being.

Held in English and led by researcher Patrick Leftwich, this reading group will unpack the book’s journey through embryology, animal behaviour, cybernetics, queer theory and internet culture. Returning to the original text several years after its publication, participants will consider how its provocations have mutated, and what accelerationism might offer queer and trans thought today. The Polish edition is published by Grupa Robocza in partnership with Unsound. This event is free but requires registration. Register here.