20 Mai In the Name of <3
Who claims love?
Since the rise of social media, the heart symbol is everywhere. We click it to communicate that we “like” something, we use it at the end of a comment in place of a thank you, and to spread love across language barriers, especially in these times of conflict and increased attention to social and racial injustice. Afterall the harmless little heart is the universal symbol of love! But there’s the problem: who claims love? The seemingly innocent heart symbol hides a much more complex story than its surface suggests.
With “hate groups” renaming themselves “organizations of love,” heart symbols on AfD posters and other Alt-Right groups in Europe, it is becoming clear that the “love” in the heart symbol can just as easily be seen as “hate” by the opposing political view. And at the same time, we automatically project our own values onto the heart symbol. “Can’t be meant badly, after all, it’s in the name of love.”
With corporations putting heart symbols on their websites and plastic bags, and paying billions for targeted advertising based on our clicks on little heart-shaped buttons, it seems that love is being marketed, mass-produced and sold. The heart has become a button to click, an emoji to send, and a digital currency. It claims trust and good intentions without defining them.
This clever little book takes a hard look at the symbol of love from its origins to its uses to its meaning, and uncovers all the things that are done in the name of ❤️.