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Spectator
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Spectator
Pity the censor: Moderation, by Elaine Castillo, reviewed
After her America is Not the Heart was published in 2018, Elaine Castillo was named by the Financial Times one of 'the planet's 30 most exciting young people', alongside Billie Eilish and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. That debut novel told the story of three generations of women torn between the Philippines and the United States. In Moderation, thirtysomething Filipina-American Girlie Delmundo (not her real name) works as a content moderator, removing the most hideous material to be found on the internet. The author doesn't pull her punches. In an early scene, Girlie has to moderate a video of child sexual abuse as part of her final assessment to get the job. (Another candidate passes his assessment, even though he throws up during it because, crucially, he doesn't pause the video.) She is asked to explain how she knows it is a young girl in the footage and not a consenting adult. The details are hard to stomach. Castillo has said that her two main characters (one of whom is Girlie) don't realise they are in a 'Jane Austen-style Regency romance'. In fairness, I'm not sure I clocked this either, at least in the first half, when a love story is barely mentioned and the pages are so muddy it is genuinely hard to persevere. In the second half, however, when Girlie starts to fall for an English co-worker, a sort of fluency develops. Good at her job, Girlie is offered a large pay raise by her company to moderate virtual reality theme parks. The frequency of rape in these environments becomes horribly numbing, at least for the reader. We are led to understand that Girlie has long been desensitised. The reasons for this are hinted at when we learn that she 'had known since she was seven what it looked like when she turned a man on'. Castillo has important things to say about the internet, trauma and true connection, but it's a shame that this novel wasn't polished to make it clearer or more enjoyable to read.
The Guardian
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Moderation by Elaine Castillo review – a twisted look at the tech workplace
Elaine Castillo's second novel is set within the rotten heart of the US tech industry, where 'Girlie was, by every conceivable metric, one of the very best.' What makes her so effective in her underpaid contract role moderating content for social media giant Reeden is that most prized of workplace currencies: a stoical capacity for labour. Though the job's mental toll is clear – suicides are common, white staff never stick around and wellness support remains superficial – Girlie proves exceptionally hardy, near-perfect in her ability to identify and scrape feeds free of child sexual abuse content. Behind her productive impassivity, Castillo tells us with a sombre touch of irony, is a 'glowing' line of ancestors – Filipina nurses and maids who have long cleaned up after others. Things look up for Girlie once William Cheung enters the scene, inviting her to become a moderator at Playground, a virtual reality entertainment platform newly acquired by Reeden. Girlie is a perfect fit. As the American-born daughter of immigrants, she carries a cloying sense of filial indebtedness ('there was an unspoken understanding, an ironclad cultural code: if you made money, you had to pay your family back'). With the family home under mortgage, the generous benefits package is hard to resist. And, because we're partly also in romance territory, so is the man offering it. Castillo's celebrated debut, America is Not the Heart, was centred on the Filipino experience in 90s America. Peopled with nurses, doctors, faith healers, makeup artists, restaurateurs and DJs shifting languages between Ilocano, Tagalog and Pangasinan, the book opened a window on to a shadowed corner of American life, but refused to trade on trauma ('the gooey heart-porn of the ethnographic', Castillo calls it in her essay collection, How To Read Now). Instead, it honoured quiet, quotidian expressions of community and survival. But where that first novel could lean into self-seriousness, weighed down by the familiar solemnities of the immigrant story, Moderation has more fun within the genre – even if of a masochistic kind ('Parents worked all the time … Never been on vacation with my family,' Girlie says at one point. 'Never been to Disneyland either'). The book's twinned look at labour and immigration all but guarantees comparisons to Ling Ma's 2018 novel, Severance. But Girlie, unlike the Chinese-born protagonist of the latter work, is not haunted by memories of a distant homeland; her only longing is for her childhood home in Milpitas, lost in the 2008 market crash. The books' true kinship may lie in the fact that they both unfold against a backdrop of collapse: where Ma imagined a fungal pandemic, Castillo envisions a looming digital end time. Playground's journey, Girlie learns, began with a keen interest in the therapeutic space. The need for funding then led it to merge with L'Olifant, a French theme park company showcasing 'French history to the French'. Now, with Reeden as a shared parent, the two are poised to transform the worlds of entertainment and healthcare – at least in theory. Castillo cannily frames VR's healing power – from treating PTSD and phobias to providing pain relief and easing suicidal thoughts – within a darker tale of its co-option for profit, control and surveillance. Castillo is interested in the overlap between rightwing politics, tech culture and historiography. L'Olifant is modelled after historical French theme park company Puy du Fou, created by Philippe de Villiers, who is known for his Catholic, Eurosceptic and national sovereignty politics, and, in 2022, for backing the far-right candidate Éric Zemmour. Like Puy du Fou, L'Olifant is on a mission to make history 'fun' and 'exciting', even if it means ideologically rewriting it. As the story unfolds, and therapeutic ideals, revisionist ambitions and corporate greed converge, Castillo has potent themes to work with: censorship, digital feudalism, the exploitation of biometric data for propaganda purposes, and the disturbing trade-off between principle and progress. Disappointingly, she seems more content to skim surfaces than probe depths. Her narratorial tactic of choice is to tell and tell – through flat expositional dialogue, but also the lazy shorthand of news headlines ('PLAYGROUND'S NEW VIRTUAL REALITY INITIATIVE: FAR-OUT FANTASY OR FAR-RIGHT NIGHTMARE?') – never showing, never dramatising. The characters, as a result, can feel like bystanders, idling on the tale's margins rather than actively inhabiting its centre. Girlie and William are interesting in their own right, but together, not exactly a match you'd ship. This is because for pages on end, the supposed romance between the pair lies dormant, only for it to comically whip into life in sudden bursts of passion. The novel tries to straddle too many worlds at once – thriller, dystopia, second-generation immigrant account, love story – but commits wholeheartedly to none. The result is a narrative that feels more scattered than layered. But Moderation is not without merits. Castillo is a writer of razor-sharp acuity who takes seriously the sinister instrumentalisation of storytelling, in a world increasingly veering right. As a novel of ideas, Moderation contains terror enough to keep you reading, and looking for signs of the nightmare its author has taken the time to document. Sign up to Bookmarks Discover new books and learn more about your favourite authors with our expert reviews, interviews and news stories. Literary delights delivered direct to you after newsletter promotion Moderation by Elaine Castillo is published by Atlantic (£17.99). To support the Guardian order your copy at Delivery charges may apply.
The Guardian
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Moderation by Elaine Castillo review – a twisted look at the tech workplace
Elaine Castillo's second novel is set within the rotten heart of the US tech industry, where 'Girlie was, by every conceivable metric, one of the very best.' What makes her so effective in her underpaid contract role moderating content for social media giant Reeden is that most prized of workplace currencies: a stoical capacity for labour. Though the job's mental toll is clear – suicides are common, white staff never stick around and wellness support remains superficial – Girlie proves exceptionally hardy, near-perfect in her ability to identify and scrape feeds free of child sexual abuse content. Behind her productive impassivity, Castillo tells us with a sombre touch of irony, is a 'glowing' line of ancestors – Filipina nurses and maids who have long cleaned up after others. Things look up for Girlie once William Cheung enters the scene, inviting her to become a moderator at Playground, a virtual reality entertainment platform newly acquired by Reeden. Girlie is a perfect fit. As the American-born daughter of immigrants, she carries a cloying sense of filial indebtedness ('there was an unspoken understanding, an ironclad cultural code: if you made money, you had to pay your family back'). With the family home under mortgage, the generous benefits package is hard to resist. And, because we're partly also in romance territory, so is the man offering it. Castillo's celebrated debut, America is Not the Heart, was centred on the Filipino experience in 90s America. Peopled with nurses, doctors, faith healers, makeup artists, restaurateurs and DJs shifting languages between Ilocano, Tagalog and Pangasinan, the book opened a window on to a shadowed corner of American life, but refused to trade on trauma ('the gooey heart-porn of the ethnographic', Castillo calls it in her essay collection, How To Read Now). Instead, it honoured quiet, quotidian expressions of community and survival. But where that first novel could lean into self-seriousness, weighed down by the familiar solemnities of the immigrant story, Moderation has more fun within the genre – even if of a masochistic kind ('Parents worked all the time … Never been on vacation with my family,' Girlie says at one point. 'Never been to Disneyland either'). The book's twinned look at labour and immigration all but guarantees comparisons to Ling Ma's 2018 novel, Severance. But Girlie, unlike the Chinese-born protagonist of the latter work, is not haunted by memories of a distant homeland; her only longing is for her childhood home in Milpitas, lost in the 2008 market crash. The books' true kinship may lie in the fact that they both unfold against a backdrop of collapse: where Ma imagined a fungal pandemic, Castillo envisions a looming digital end time. Playground's journey, Girlie learns, began with a keen interest in the therapeutic space. The need for funding then led it to merge with L'Olifant, a French theme park company showcasing 'French history to the French'. Now, with Reeden as a shared parent, the two are poised to transform the worlds of entertainment and healthcare – at least in theory. Castillo cannily frames VR's healing power – from treating PTSD and phobias to providing pain relief and easing suicidal thoughts – within a darker tale of its co-option for profit, control and surveillance. Castillo is interested in the overlap between rightwing politics, tech culture and historiography. L'Olifant is modelled after historical French theme park company Puy du Fou, created by Philippe de Villiers, who is known for his Catholic, Eurosceptic and national sovereignty politics, and, in 2022, for backing the far-right candidate Éric Zemmour. Like Puy du Fou, L'Olifant is on a mission to make history 'fun' and 'exciting', even if it means ideologically rewriting it. As the story unfolds, and therapeutic ideals, revisionist ambitions and corporate greed converge, Castillo has potent themes to work with: censorship, digital feudalism, the exploitation of biometric data for propaganda purposes, and the disturbing trade-off between principle and progress. Disappointingly, she seems more content to skim surfaces than probe depths. Her narratorial tactic of choice is to tell and tell – through flat expositional dialogue, but also the lazy shorthand of news headlines ('PLAYGROUND'S NEW VIRTUAL REALITY INITIATIVE: FAR-OUT FANTASY OR FAR-RIGHT NIGHTMARE?') – never showing, never dramatising. The characters, as a result, can feel like bystanders, idling on the tale's margins rather than actively inhabiting its centre. Girlie and William are interesting in their own right, but together, not exactly a match you'd ship. This is because for pages on end, the supposed romance between the pair lies dormant, only for it to comically whip into life in sudden bursts of passion. The novel tries to straddle too many worlds at once – thriller, dystopia, second-generation immigrant account, love story – but commits wholeheartedly to none. The result is a narrative that feels more scattered than layered. But Moderation is not without merits. Castillo is a writer of razor-sharp acuity who takes seriously the sinister instrumentalisation of storytelling, in a world increasingly veering right. As a novel of ideas, Moderation contains terror enough to keep you reading, and looking for signs of the nightmare its author has taken the time to document. Sign up to Bookmarks Discover new books and learn more about your favourite authors with our expert reviews, interviews and news stories. Literary delights delivered direct to you after newsletter promotion Moderation by Elaine Castillo is published by Atlantic (£17.99). To support the Guardian order your copy at Delivery charges may apply.
Time Business News
25-05-2025
- Health
- Time Business News
Heavy Flow Period Underwear
By handling heavy flows, a seriously uncomfortable event sits awkwardly in one's memory. Continuous trips to the washroom, water marks on costly sheets, splinters of sleep-the struggle is real. Hence, heavy flow period underwear rose to prominence as a revolutionary concept, and brands like Girlie Tsunami Period Underwear have increased the levels of comfort, protection, and confidence. For a few years, many have been using disposable pads and tampons for their periods. While these might be perfect for light to moderate flow, heavier flow is where these tend to fail. Tampons should be changed at regular intervals, and pads are sometimes considered bulky and uncomfortable in the process, apart from the impact on the environment of throwing away so many of those products every cycle. Even worse, they go astray when you need them most – in an important meeting, while working out, or late at night. That is when the heavy flow period underwear comes in handy. Heavy flow period underwear is constructed with a layer of advanced absorbent technology that stores multiple tampon-worth fluids yet remains leak-proof, unlike normal underwear. One option that stands out is the Girlie Tsunami Period Underwear: Ultra-absorbent layers that wick off moisture, leaving you dry through day and night that wick off moisture, leaving you dry through day and night Leak-proof barriers to keep your clothes and bed linens safe to keep your clothes and bed linens safe Odour control technology to keep your feeling fresh to keep your feeling fresh Breathable fabric, soft, moving with you, feeling like regular underwear Heavy flow or just want a worry-free backup to your menstrual cup or tampon, Tsunami underwear is peace of mind for comfort. The major advantage of investing in heavy flow period underwear is sustainability. Instead of hundreds of disposable pads or tampons being used and discarded in a year, one could buy a few premium pairs of reusable underwear with which it would be safe to say hundreds must really be disposable pads! Not only is this great for the environment, but over time it is much cheaper. The Tsunami Period Underwear from Girlie is machine washable and sufficiently durable to be considered an eco-friendly investment that yields returns with every cycle. Periods shouldn't hold you back from living your life, and with the right products, they just won't. Heavy flow period underwear like the Tsunami sets allow one to walk in confidence—working out, traveling, or running errands. No more going to the bathroom every fifteen minutes to check for leaks, or worrying about a change of clothes in your bag. In reality, some very few may find that period underwear actually enriches their lives during menstruation. It clears the mind of worrying about leaks, which offer a unique kind of freedom that no other product can give. Girlie Tsunami line of period underwear combines functionality with style. Those bulky, unusual period panties are now a thing of the past. These panties are sleek, figure-hugging, and thoughtfully made for maximum comfort. Offering all sizes for every body type and high-quality materials, Girlie ensures you can stand tall and comfortable even on your heaviest days. Absorbs up to 4 tampons worth of fluid Invisible and discreet under clothing Environment-friendly and ethically manufactured Can be worn overnight, during workouts, and throughout the day If managing a heavy flow is too stressful for you, it pays to try heavy flow period underwear. Protection, comfort, and confidence are what you get from Girlie Tsunami Period Underwear. Experience the change for yourself, and you will be wondering how you ever went without it. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
