Post-identity

Post-identity is a philosophical concept developed by Charlotte Fang of Remilia Corporation that proposes a mode of digital existence unbound from biological identity markers. The concept argues for pseudonymous, performative online interaction as a means of transcending traditional identity categories and creating a "marketplace of ideas" where content is evaluated on its own merits rather than through the lens of the creator's demographic characteristics. Emerging from imageboard culture and embraced by various online communities, post-identity rejects identity politics in favor of anonymous or pseudonymous engagement, suggesting that discrimination is impossible without identity markers to discriminate against.

The concept incorporates technological, philosophical, and cultural dimensions—positioning identity fluidity not merely as an ideological choice but as an inevitable consequence of advancing digital technologies that increasingly enable sophisticated identity manipulation. Fang frames post-identity as both a present reality for certain online communities and a approaching norm for broader society as digital experience becomes more universal. Post-identity has been a central tenet of Remilia's approach to online interaction and artistic creation since 2021, connecting to related concepts like post-authorship and network spirituality.

Core principles

Post-identity encompasses several interconnected principles that form a cohesive philosophical framework:

Pseudonymity as liberation

A central tenet of post-identity is that pseudonymous online existence liberates individuals from biological identity markers such as race, gender, and class. Fang argues that online spaces naturally function as anonymous marketplaces of ideas where biological identity becomes not just irrelevant but actually counterproductive to meaningful discourse.

This pseudonymous approach is framed as a means of eliminating discrimination through the removal of identity markers that would otherwise enable discriminatory treatment. Fang constructs this argument through a direct syllogism:

There is no discrimination without identity.

Anonymity has no identity.
Crypto is anonymous.

Therefore, there is no discrimination in crypto.

Performative identity

Post-identity embraces the performative nature of online personas, rejecting the notion that digital representation should authentically reflect offline identity. Fang describes online existence as cyborg-like, characterized by amorphous and performative qualities untethered from biological reality.

This principle manifests in Fang's own practice of adopting various personas and identities online, which she describes as:

I take on female names for the same reason I do alt ethnicities: an exertion of the right to post-identity online, to create noise for woke commentators, to bait median iq righties, and as a psychological disruption to disarm new readers.

Ideas over identity

Post-identity emphasizes evaluating ideas based on their inherent merit rather than the identity of their proponents. Fang argues for a separation between content and creator, allowing ideas to be judged independently of their source. The concept proposes that pseudonymous networks maintaining constant devil's advocacy achieve more accurate analysis through the disassociation of content from context.

Technological context

Post-identity is positioned as both an existing practice and an inevitable trajectory of technological development. Fang argues that advancing technologies—including VR, AR, AI-based deepfaking, and voice modulation—are creating increasingly robust infrastructure for anonymized and reconfigured presentation of identity.

Fang predicts that practices like "catfishing" will become normalized, with technologies enabling increasingly convincing gender presentation shifts that will be as simple as changing profile pictures:

"Catfishing" will be the new norm with being able to plausibly change whole gender presentation its ultimate test, and it will soon be as easy as changing out a profile picture: powerful AI filters over 2D selfies are already effective at transmogrifying the face even in real-time video, and 3D virtual reality avatars fully obscure the physical form for digital socialization in the metaverse, while primitive voicechangers are being augmented by increasingly accessible AI which will eventually fully give way to realtime Speech-to-Text-to-Speech for full anonymization and post-gender plausibility.

This technological context frames post-identity not merely as a philosophical position but as an adaptation to emerging technological realities that will proceed regardless of individual evaluations of their merits. As Fang notes, "Whether you believe this is good or bad is not relevant, it's just the fate we follow, and the only thing you can do is develop the conceptual tools to engage it consciously."

Cultural and historical context

Fang positions post-identity within a specific cultural and historical lineage of online communities and practices:

Imageboard culture

Post-identity draws from the pseudonymous culture of imageboards, particularly 4chan. Fang describes a historical trajectory where post-identity and post-authorship principles migrated through a diaspora from imageboards to Discord and Twitter, eventually connecting to the Remilia ecosystem through various online subcultures:

4chan was usurped by cancer in the early 2010s and the torch of the online post-identity, post-authorship memetic upstream persisted in a chan diaspora, carried over first to Discord then rallied on Twitter during the trump election cycle; as the presidency ended and memes stalled, cancer reared its head again, but "#frogtwt" was saved by Miya's kaliacc, which was later folded into the seed scene that bore Milady, the new upstream but now financialized.

This lineage connects post-identity to broader traditions of anonymous and pseudonymous online interaction that have characterized internet culture since the early 2000s.

NEET vanguardism

Fang frequently frames post-identity as a practice already embraced by NEETs (individuals Not in Education, Employment, or Training) who serve as a vanguard of digital existence. She suggests that NEETs have already transcended traditional identity constraints online and represent an early manifestation of what will eventually become normalized as digital experience becomes universal.

This positions post-identity as both a current reality for certain online communities and an approaching norm for broader society, as Fang notes:

We're NEETs. We are post-identity online, we've already transcended it, we already live this; we're just the vanguard, the overton window of normalcy will continue to rapidly progress towards a universal digital experience until its normal for all of you too.

Critique of identity politics

Post-identity explicitly positions itself against identity politics, which Fang characterizes as promoting exclusion rather than inclusion by introducing new vectors for discrimination that would otherwise not exist in anonymous online spaces.

Fang argues that true inclusivity comes through eliminating identity markers entirely, which occurs naturally in pseudonymous online communication. She suggests that efforts to reintroduce biological identity categories into digital spaces actively undermine the goal of eliminating discrimination.

This critique extends to efforts to combat anonymity online, which Fang frames as attempts to reintroduce identity-based discrimination into spaces that had transcended it, suggesting these efforts may be more aligned with state interests in surveillance and control than with genuine concerns about discrimination.

Future trajectory

Fang has articulated a specific vision of how post-identity will evolve in the future:

Technological acceleration

Fang anticipates continued technological acceleration enabling increasingly sophisticated identity manipulation, arguing that truly enforcing fixed identities online would require dystopian levels of surveillance:

Proof of humanity is impossible to enforce without an impossibly dystopic totalizing control state. What we'll realistically see is the obliterated self and body into a fully virtualized amorphous cyborg identity in a post-truth post-turing consiliensus reality.

This vision suggests an increasing integration of human experience with digital mediation and manipulation, further eroding traditional identity categories.

Financial and cultural evolution

Fang connects post-identity to the financial evolution of online communities, suggesting that formerly anonymous, meme-focused NEET communities have gained financial resources through projects like Remilia, potentially enabling new forms of cultural production and influence. She predicts "the next era will be defined by this same current of native anonymous memetically potentiated NEETs now turned into millionaires by the remilia ecosystem."

This frames post-identity not merely as a philosophical position or technological inevitability but as a cultural current with potential economic and social consequences.

Relationship to other Remilia concepts

Post-identity connects to several other key concepts in the Remilia framework:

Post-authorship

Post-identity aligns with Remilia's post-authorship principles, which reject traditional notions of individual creative ownership in favor of collaborative, networked creation. Both concepts emphasize the dissolution of individual identity markers in favor of collective processes.

Network spirituality

Post-identity connects to network spirituality by suggesting that digital existence creates new forms of collective consciousness and experience that transcend individual identity. Both concepts explore how digital networks transform human experience and relation.

Looming China

Post-identity intersects with Looming China through a shared interest in alternative developmental trajectories outside Western progressive frameworks. Both concepts explore alternatives to identity-based politics and culture.

See also

• Remilia Corporation
• Charlotte Fang
• Post-authorship
• Network spirituality
• Looming China