I wish the girlhood article could have had more time to interrogate boyhood. Doing cosplay with things from childhood and opting out of adulthood conversations for a bit is precisely what men do all the time. We don't put bows on, but we do turn away to a media landscape that's now predominantly comics and Star Wars action figures brought to life or to a bunch of other men playing children's sports on a grand scale. Maybe that boyhood is just so readily baked into the culture that manhood can be entirely ignored is a bigger problem (or, as I would argue, adulthood is hard and need not be a constant existential battle and so it is okay to enjoy a Taylor Swift-inspired Friendship Bracelet or a Kylian Mbappé goal every now and then, as a treat).
Yes!! Emma and I were discussing this today also -- turning this kind of sharply critical eye just on adults embracing girlhood ends up seeming like another way to diminish female-coded interests, while male-coded ones usually escape this harsh critique. I do think that the predominance of children's culture repackaged for adults is troubling in certain ways. For one, I believe there's a lot of value in having spaces and cultural products that privilege the experiences and interests of actual kids and not adults who miss being kids; it warps the Y.A. market to have Y.A. books actually being made for adults, for example. For another, I think there's real value in challenging ourselves to enjoy more complex, difficult art and experiences as a part of growing up. But I agree that this doesn't mean there's no space for the simple pleasures of Taylor or Mbappé in our adulthood, and the nonstop analysis of how women and girls are having fun in a wrong, unfeminist, or dumb way is so exhausting.
YES YES YES to all of this. Also, I take issue with the idea that adopting aesthetics that harken back to girlhood inherently infantilize women. Claire and I were discussing the way that this might be connected to our desire to create visual spaces that aren't about being in relation to men/male desires. Nap dresses and bows and friendship bracelets feel truly ~for the girls~. We can engage with these joys and ALSO consume cultural material that challenges us, and like... fight for abortion rights. (Lol. Dark times!) And ultimately, women experience gender-based oppressions regardless, so i'm gonna wear a god damn bow sometimes.
As a devotee of the unsupervised rich teenager genre AND a lover of historical fiction, I absolutely loooooved Buccaneers! I do agree with you though: they probably should have made Theo less lovable. All of my energy went toward hating Jinny’s husband, which just says to me that that actor did such an incredible job. Gilded Age on HBO had a surprisingly good season 2, and I just discovered School Spirits on Netflix which I’ve been loving (from the creators of Pretty Little Liars). I’m off to go read the Atlantic piece now cause I know I can’t be the only one who wants to now add “vibes pope” to my résumé in 2024? 😆
I guess? But the sister also seems kinda cool and not as horrible as her parents. Which made me think she might not FULLY get it. But also Conchita has spent a lottt of time with them...and she seems to have no clue.
At this point my cult and scammer documentary content consumption is guided exclusively by Rich Text recommendations. Can't wait to watch Love Has Won! 😆
Did either or you watch Escaping Twin Flames on Netflix? I feel like it would be right up your alley since it’s at the cross section of cults and dating shows (lol). It gets really crazy though. All kinds of interesting gender and sexuality convos to dive into there.
I did watch it! I really appreciated that they had experts on to contextualize the gender elements, especially since the idea of a cult that forces people to transition is such a right-wing boogeyman. It would be easy to feed into a really dangerous narrative, but they were very thoughtful about it.
Totally agree! It was really fascinating to me since the leaders seemed very right wing in a lot of ways but they were also using lgbtq+ issues and faux inclusivity to attract members. The forced transitions were clearly just another way for Jeff to exert maximum control over his followers (just like making that one girl gain 70 lbs). Then there was a Jesus element too? So bizarre.
I was absolutely horrified to find out they ended up having a daughter after all. Can’t wait for her NYT bestseller that’s sure to come out 20 years from now. Poor thing.
I haven't read the Cut article yet, but I just wanted to comment that I love your take on girlhood, Claire. Especially the sentiment that comfort is good <3
I wish the girlhood article could have had more time to interrogate boyhood. Doing cosplay with things from childhood and opting out of adulthood conversations for a bit is precisely what men do all the time. We don't put bows on, but we do turn away to a media landscape that's now predominantly comics and Star Wars action figures brought to life or to a bunch of other men playing children's sports on a grand scale. Maybe that boyhood is just so readily baked into the culture that manhood can be entirely ignored is a bigger problem (or, as I would argue, adulthood is hard and need not be a constant existential battle and so it is okay to enjoy a Taylor Swift-inspired Friendship Bracelet or a Kylian Mbappé goal every now and then, as a treat).
Yes!! Emma and I were discussing this today also -- turning this kind of sharply critical eye just on adults embracing girlhood ends up seeming like another way to diminish female-coded interests, while male-coded ones usually escape this harsh critique. I do think that the predominance of children's culture repackaged for adults is troubling in certain ways. For one, I believe there's a lot of value in having spaces and cultural products that privilege the experiences and interests of actual kids and not adults who miss being kids; it warps the Y.A. market to have Y.A. books actually being made for adults, for example. For another, I think there's real value in challenging ourselves to enjoy more complex, difficult art and experiences as a part of growing up. But I agree that this doesn't mean there's no space for the simple pleasures of Taylor or Mbappé in our adulthood, and the nonstop analysis of how women and girls are having fun in a wrong, unfeminist, or dumb way is so exhausting.
YES YES YES to all of this. Also, I take issue with the idea that adopting aesthetics that harken back to girlhood inherently infantilize women. Claire and I were discussing the way that this might be connected to our desire to create visual spaces that aren't about being in relation to men/male desires. Nap dresses and bows and friendship bracelets feel truly ~for the girls~. We can engage with these joys and ALSO consume cultural material that challenges us, and like... fight for abortion rights. (Lol. Dark times!) And ultimately, women experience gender-based oppressions regardless, so i'm gonna wear a god damn bow sometimes.
As a devotee of the unsupervised rich teenager genre AND a lover of historical fiction, I absolutely loooooved Buccaneers! I do agree with you though: they probably should have made Theo less lovable. All of my energy went toward hating Jinny’s husband, which just says to me that that actor did such an incredible job. Gilded Age on HBO had a surprisingly good season 2, and I just discovered School Spirits on Netflix which I’ve been loving (from the creators of Pretty Little Liars). I’m off to go read the Atlantic piece now cause I know I can’t be the only one who wants to now add “vibes pope” to my résumé in 2024? 😆
Jinny’s husband is the god damn WORST
Truly a monster! And I'm very confused how no one else realized this cause he's not so great at hiding it!
his sister seems to know!
I guess? But the sister also seems kinda cool and not as horrible as her parents. Which made me think she might not FULLY get it. But also Conchita has spent a lottt of time with them...and she seems to have no clue.
She literally said he was a monster!
She did!? Oh ha: totally missed that 🤦🏻♀️😆 Ok, then she fully sucks
At this point my cult and scammer documentary content consumption is guided exclusively by Rich Text recommendations. Can't wait to watch Love Has Won! 😆
Did either or you watch Escaping Twin Flames on Netflix? I feel like it would be right up your alley since it’s at the cross section of cults and dating shows (lol). It gets really crazy though. All kinds of interesting gender and sexuality convos to dive into there.
I did watch it! I really appreciated that they had experts on to contextualize the gender elements, especially since the idea of a cult that forces people to transition is such a right-wing boogeyman. It would be easy to feed into a really dangerous narrative, but they were very thoughtful about it.
Totally agree! It was really fascinating to me since the leaders seemed very right wing in a lot of ways but they were also using lgbtq+ issues and faux inclusivity to attract members. The forced transitions were clearly just another way for Jeff to exert maximum control over his followers (just like making that one girl gain 70 lbs). Then there was a Jesus element too? So bizarre.
I was absolutely horrified to find out they ended up having a daughter after all. Can’t wait for her NYT bestseller that’s sure to come out 20 years from now. Poor thing.
I haven't read the Cut article yet, but I just wanted to comment that I love your take on girlhood, Claire. Especially the sentiment that comfort is good <3