5-4-3-2-1: Beige babes, Fangirls, & Ozempic
#9 in my culture-roundup-meets-personal-diary series
Hi friends,
We made it to spring! I didn’t mean to disappear on you the last few weeks, but I’ve been recovering from a nasty cold on the back of a chronic illness flare up. Oh, and I broke my little toe. Just to keep things spicy, I also strained my back bending over to examine the bruising on my toe (a cute little punishment for having been bedbound with illness).
Anyway, your gal is hobbling on one of those orthopedic hospital shoes now, but things are finally looking up!
Today’s newsletter comes from Oxford. Ordinarily I’d post an essay, but I’ve been gathering notes for the 5-4-3-2-1, and I’m feeling like a keen bean today. So, in the last few weeks…
5 commentaries worth your while:
(1) Why Beige is the Preferred Color for Rich Women by Stephanie McNeal for Buzzfeed. A smart piece that explores the classist and exclusionary underpinnings of the beige aesthetic (an aesthetic closely related to the #VanillaGirl) that’s been sweeping social media. If you like this article, you might also like this Substack by Steffi, another Buzzfeed writer, who goes into more depth on the politics of race and violence in the context of rich white girl aesthetics.
(2) Meghan Markle, Kate Middleton and … lip gloss? by Jessica Bennett for NYT. I don’t pay much attention to the royals, but I did read that snippet from Harry’s memoir, Spare, about how Kate grimaced when Meghan borrowed her lip gloss. I thought Bennet’s exploration of girl code and female socialization through the lens of lip gloss made for a fun, clever, and nostalgic read, as well as an interesting analysis of the whole Meghan-Kate relationship.
(3) The Fangirlification of Formula 1 by Maria Sherman for The Cut. The title of this one feels personal, as I’m an F1 fangirl who came to the sport through the Netflix docuseries, Drive to Survive. I don’t feel like the general F1 fandom is inclusive (nor is the sport itself), but there are passionate fangirl communities which make me feel like less of an outlier. I recently discovered Two Girls 1 Formula, an Instagram account and podcast whose tagline is “Here for the girls, gays & theys (& cool dudes).” I do kiiiiinda want to start my own fan account, shhh.
(4) Will the Ozempic Era Change How We Think About Being Fat and Thin by Jia Tolentino for the New Yorker. This piece is an in-depth look at Ozempic, a medication designed to treat diabetes that has recently been making headlines for being abused as a weight loss drug, as well as an exploration of our cultural and historic attitudes towards fatness and thinness. Heads up if you don’t want to engage with discourse surrounding fatphobia and eating disorders.
(5) Millennials are Hitting Middle Age and It Doesn’t Look Like What We Were Promised by Jessica Grose for NYT. The title pretty much says it all.
4 books I borrowed from the library:
(1) Ghosts by Dolly Alderton. I had a mixed response to Dolly’s memoir, Everything I Know About Love (some bits felt frustratingly privileged and reckless, although I did love her final reflections), and I don’t tend to love contemporary fiction. Despite my hestitations, I enjoyed this book, and I thought it captured many of my own experiences as a 30-something woman. I was excited to learn that Dolly is publishing a second novel later this year (although I’m disappointed to learn it has a male protagonist, because I think Dolly’s gift is understanding and conveying womanhood).
(2) Send Nudes by Saba Sams. I’m not sure if I’ve ever read a short story collection, and the first story turned me off so much I almost DNF’d right then and there, but I did finish the book feeling inspired to write my own short stories, so her writing clearly had some impact on me.
(3) Heartburn by Nora Ephron. I’ve never read any of Ephron’s books, nor have I watched the movie version of Heartburn. I’m only a few chapters in, but where has Nora Ephron been all my life? Her writing is voicey and clever, and I’m jealous my writing doesn’t sound like hers.
(4) Poor Little Sick Girls by Ione Gamble. I haven’t started this one yet, but what I gather is that Gamble uses her experience of being diagnosed with an incurable illness to explore (and critique) cultural obsessions like girl bosses, self-care, and #livingyourbestlife. I haven’t read much on chronic illness before, but it’s something I’d like to write more about, too.
3 fun celebrity interviews on Youtube:
(1) Everything Creed’s Tessa Thompson Wears in a Week. I enjoy this series on Vogue, but Tessa is her own particular brand of artsy, effortless, and cool. She comes across less as being interested in conventional ideas about dressing (like focusing on what’s flattering or trendy) and more as being interested in experimenting and creating a mood.
(2) Keke Palmer Guesses Astrological Signs. Can Keke do me next? (Psst I’m Cancer sun, Pisces moon, Aquarius rising)
(3) Has Lewis Hamilton Ever Lied to Toto Wolff? Nevermind the dubiousness of lie detector tests… Lewis says he’s staying in F1 until he gets his 8th title and I believe him!
2 new apps I’ve downloaded:
(1) Shuffles, a new digital collaging app by Pinterest. Holy shit, you guys. I really don’t care much for the latest apps, but Shuffles allows you to make really awesome collages, and it’s so easy and fun. I spent several days playing with it when I was still bedbound, and I’ll probably use it to make imagery for Substack! (I used it in the collage for this post.)
(2) Notion, a notetaking/productivity app. I’m trying to find a better system to organize my writing notes, because they’re all over the place as it stands, and I’ve never been able to stick with Evernote. I’ll see how I get on with it in a few weeks.
1 word I’ve been saying and spelling wrong my entire life:
It’s remuneration. Not renumeration. WHAT THE FUCK!? And thanks to the Shit You Should Care About Instagram poll about how to spell this word, as I would have never known. Fortunately, more than 50% of pollers were also wrong, so I’m in good company. But still!
Good to be back :)
Hope you enjoyed! I’ll be back with more writing soon <3
x Rach
Love reading your comments! Sorry about your toe & having to hobble around on a boot. Love to you from CA & hope we can see you some time soon!
Rachel ... RENUMERATION?! ;-) You should've asked Mom. The Audible version of Heartburn is totally fun to listen to with Meryl Streep doing the narration (she starred in the movie). I forgot I had it on my phone until you mentioned it, and Ephron's writing is funny, biting and pretty fearless. Kind of like another writer I know ... XO Mom