embodied tourism in a disembodied age

the aesthete's guide to Budapest

As all the various functions of common life—from commerce to conversation—move to virtual space, the notion that human beings and their physicality (of body and place) are neatly distinguishable becomes plausible. In other words, in the current technological, philosophical, and cultural moment, disembodiment and radical self-customization are the air we breathe.

In this context, what does it mean to be human? What is human identity?

I believe this underlying question drives our society’s most salient trends and movements. From tradwives to trans influencers, from mukbang stars to biohacking billionaires, from neopagan Vikings to Hoteps, people are attempting to cobble together an answer to this question whether they know it or not. The internet has birthed a theater of identity out of ideological spare parts—curated, mimetic, and relentlessly performative. But beyond the spectacle lies something deeper: a search for meaning, rooted in the body, and straining to transcend it.