Essays by Lérraje

Hey YouTube Family,

I have some exciting news to share with you!

First, I've almost finished editing the next video essay, which is about the attention economy (I know, at this point I'm very fascinated by the topic 😅). But recently I came across the Sydney Sweeney & Novig controversy, and honestly, it made me wonder about a bigger question (without judgement of course): how has objectification been changing under capitalism?

Before, being objectified was something done to you. Now it's often sold back to us as a choice and as a form of empowerment.

I find it ironic that capitalism will often sell you the problem and the solution.

So the next essay is going a bit deeper than I first planned. Thank you for your patience. I really think it will be worth it.

The second news is that I'm officially on holiday from work 🎉 I'm going to use this time to create as many essays as I can, so expect more uploads soon.

And to finish on a lighter note, here's a very friendly doggo I got to pet recently (last picture 🐶👀😋)

Do you have an animal too? Show me in the comments, I want to see them!

See you very soon 🖤

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4 days ago | [YT] | 21

Essays by Lérraje

Hey there YouTube Fam,

I wanted to begin this post by thanking you all for the support you’ve shown me recently, and by welcoming everyone who has just joined this little community.

But more importantly, I wanted to take a moment to genuinely ask you how you’re all doing. Really…

Personally, I’ve been deeply affected by everything happening in the world lately, particularly here in Europe, where I live.

It’s disheartening to witness what feels like the gradual deterioration of our society. But what concerns me even more is the feeling that we’re slowly losing our ability to think critically.

We’re losing the time, and perhaps even the patience, to pause, question, educate ourselves , and properly process our thoughts.

And I think this has consequences that extend far beyond what we might imagine. Because when we stop questioning the world around us, we become less conscious of the decisions we make, the political ideas we support, the things we consume, and ultimately, the kind of society we’re contributing to.

In a world where everything seems to demand our immediate attention, taking the time to think has almost become an act of resistance.

And that’s precisely why I created this channel in the first place.

Not because I have all the answers, but because I believe in the importance of asking questions, challenging our perspectives, and creating a space where we can reflect on the world with a little more curiosity, empathy, and nuance.

But lately, I’ve been feeling that I want to do more. More than simply make videos or share my own reflections. I want this space to encourage conversations, to inspire curiosity, and perhaps even help us become more thoughtful and conscious individuals.

Because I genuinely believe that the way we think shapes the way we live, and ultimately, the world we create together.

So I want to ask you two things:

How have you genuinely been feeling lately? And do you ever feel that the world is moving so quickly that you barely have time to make sense of it all?

I’d really love to hear your thoughts.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 34

Essays by Lérraje

📢NEW ESSAY INCOMING📢!!!

I've been working on this one for a while and it's the most personal thing I've made.

It started with Kris Jenner's facelift. But it's not really about her.

It's about the first time you zoomed in on a photo of yourself and didn't like what you saw. About your mom saying "I look so old" in a picture where she looked beautiful. About being 23 and already googling eye creams.

We're all getting older. Every single one of us, every day. And somehow that became something to be ashamed of, something to fix, something to hide. Someone is making a lot of money off that feeling. I wanted to know who, and why we keep buying it.

It's called The Industrialized Fear of Aging.

It's done. I just need you to tell me when you want it.
Vote below, and if this is something you've felt too, leave a comment.

I read all of them.

Also, after editing I decided to split the essay into three separate essays since the final cut was at 1 hour 35 min ;0

1 month ago | [YT] | 20

Essays by Lérraje

Hey there YouTube Fam,
I’ve been feeling a lot of love lately :) thank you for the support.

And honestly, I’ve been wanting to get to know you all more too, about maybe your passions, dreams and maybe hobbies ?

So let me start with something you might not know about me…

I’ve been painting for years and trying to make sense of things beyond words. I would like to become a movie director one day.

And I also teach art.

It’s a different kind of fulfillment… helping others express themselves with their hands.

I think I’m finally ready to share more of that side of me not just the finished pieces, but the meaning behind them. Seeing all the conversations in my recent post made me realize that there’s still community in social media and that there is still a place for intellectualism and debate in here which is refreshing as most things feel so shallow nowadays.

If you’ve been supporting me recently, I see you. I appreciate you.

And if you want to support more directly, I’ve added a small way to do that in my bio and I’m planning to release my artworks as goods you can collect soon too. But I wanted them to be fun (So I am giving myself the challenge to create an artworks that will match the essay I will release each week almost like a visual representation of the said piece… or just a visual essay idk ?)

But more than anything

What’s something about you people wouldn’t expect?

I’ll be reading and responding to everything :))

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1 month ago | [YT] | 21

Essays by Lérraje

Which scares society more?

1 month ago | [YT] | 10

Essays by Lérraje

Hey YouTube fam,

For the past few days, I’ve been researching and reading for my next video essay, and this topic has been getting more interesting the deeper I go.

The next essay is titled: Why Society Fears Older Bodies and the Illusion of Eternal Youth

So i want to ask and attempt to understand, when exactly did looking your age become something we were supposed to prevent?

We praise aging gracefully, yet so much of our culture seems to be built around making aging as invisible as possible: anti-aging products, cosmetic procedures, filters, celebrity transformations, preventative Botox…

And I want to explore what that says about the way we value bodies, beauty, desirability, and even mortality ?

So this essay will be very existential and much more philosophical:

But before I finish writing it, I want to hear from you:

What was the first moment you remember becoming afraid of looking older?

Or, if you’re not afraid of aging: what do you think made you resist that fear?

I’ll be reading your answers 👀

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1 month ago | [YT] | 20

Essays by Lérraje

1,000 subscribers. 🎉

Just got back from work and My oh My!!!

When I started this channel, I wanted to create a space for deliberate, nuanced conversations around modern culture, beauty standards, and media. What I didn’t anticipate was how incredible this community would be.

Reading your thoughtful essays, vulnerable personal stories, and nuanced debates in the comments on the last video has been genuinely inspiring. You are turning these comment sections into an intellectual table we can all sit around.

What’s next ? I’m currently deep in the research and editing phase of our next video essay, unpacking the commodification of bodies and how the "attractive body" is used as a tool for commerce.

Thank you for being here, for taking the time to think deeply, and for building this space together. Stay tuned. ✨

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1 month ago | [YT] | 68

Essays by Lérraje

Hey Youtube Fam,
I just wanted to take a moment to say a huge thank you to everyone here. Reading your comments, insights, and discussions on our recent essays has been such a rewarding experience.

We are so close to hitting 1,000 subscribers anytime now! If you’ve been enjoying the essays and haven't subscribed yet, joining now would mean the world and help us reach this milestone.

Thank you all for being part of this space.
What kind of topic would you like to see us dive into once we celebrate 1k?

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1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 58

Essays by Lérraje

For the past few weeks, I've been researching a question I couldn't stop thinking about:

When did our bodies become products?

Everywhere you look on the internet, the body is no longer just something we live in.
It has become something that generates engagement and increasingly, something that generates profit.

The more I researched, the more I realized that the line between visibility and labor has become blurred.

So blurred that our bodies are now constantly being optimized, measured, monetized, and exchanged.

This video isn't an attack on creators or on the people who use these platforms.

It's an attempt to understand the economic system underneath them.

Because if we don't understand the system, we end up mistaking its consequences for personal choices.

I hope this essay makes you question not just OnlyFans, but the relationship all of us now have with our own bodies.

I'd really like to hear where you agree and where you think I'm wrong.

Watch now: https://youtu.be/rYeOh9OMC_8?si=Uo0Vy...

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3 months ago | [YT] | 5

Essays by Lérraje

Ascension | oil, acrylic and oil pastel on canvas | 90 × 90 cm | 2024.
Now available on my website (link in bio).

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1 year ago | [YT] | 20