#emotional-labor

#emotional-labor

Being socially connected and having flourishing friendships can deeply enhance the quality of your life. The right friendships can uplift you and help you get through the toughest times. However, not all friendships will have the same impact on you. Some can even feel emotionally uneven, where you feel like you give more than you receive, or you walk away from interactions feeling depleted rather than nourished.

A few weeks before my daughter's fourth birthday, I stumbled across an AI party planner called CelebrateAlly. "Looking to plan a themed party, a surprise bash, or just a relaxed get-together?" read a banner on its website, which promised that the app would take care of "all the details-themes, activities, and decorations." It also offered to write birthday cards, "capturing your heartfelt sentiments beautifully!"

My aim was to illustrate the deep connection between a woman and a man, a relationship shaped by care and burden, intimacy and distance. The man swings from the flowing black dress of the woman above him. The clothing becomes the bridge between the two figures, soft yet unbreakable. It's a visual metaphor for how men, knowingly or not, often rest on the invisible emotional strength of women.

Many described it as a difficult and sensitive topic—one they might only share with close friends. For the most part, respondents worried about others' negative reactions or judgment.

On the surface, mankeeping appears to be about men relying on their female partners for emotional support; however, it challenges traditional gender roles and reflects broader societal issues around male loneliness.

Im's exhibition explores identity and diaspora through terracotta sculptures of Korean Air flight attendants, embodying the duality of cultural belonging and emotional labor.

Being the default friend is exhausting because you're constantly giving emotional energy without receiving it back in the same way, leading to resentment and burnout.

As much as people wish to express their authentic selves, adult life often demands exactly the opposite... Life is full of routines and obligations, but worse, situations in which you have to put on a false front.