Good essays about bad movies
Plus hacks, snow, and more trad wives!
I love when your toddler has no school because his preschool adheres to the nearby college’s spring break schedule and then a snow day occurs which means your other two kids are also home and to deal with the chaos you try your best to be present during an exercise/mindfulness/meditation practice meant to usher in “astonishment,” only for that practice to be cut short by one kid screaming about another kid vomiting.
Reading
I have not watched The Whale and have no plans to do so, but I so appreciate
writing two pieces underscoring the harm of the movie and its messaging. Carmen Maria Machado also wrote an excellent piece in her newsletter, , about flying while fat and processing her reaction to the movie being lauded at what is arguably the film industry’s most prestigious awards ceremony.Here’s a quote from Lindy’s newsletter which pretty much sums it up.
It is really bad—arguably immoral—for a dominant-group person to make a piece of art about a marginalized person that reinforces (revels in!!!) harmful stereotypes and stigmas about that marginalized group (starring a dominant-group person in makeup and prosthetics, no less).
And here’s a quote from Carmen’s piece.
If you do not understand why this movie specifically, and the continued baffling use of fat suits in general, are so utterly appalling and indefensible, I encourage you to do some reading. I also encourage you to examine your heart, and consider that maybe there’s a reason your fat loved ones—if you have any—don’t return your calls.
Longtime readers of this newsletter will remember KC Davis speaking about spoon theory, and I loved reading this piece by Fortesa Latifi about her experience utilizing spoon theory to help manage her chronic illness.
Fortesa also wrote this important piece about children’s privacy rights and the sea change of momfluencers opting against sharing their children’s stories and likenesses on social media. The below quote from the piece is deeply fucked!
gave Momfluenced some love and a shout-out in this piece about performative motherhood online by Kate Lindsay, who I interviewed for Momfluenced (and who made me kinda cry because she reminded me so much of my twenty-something self!)Claire says her father has told her he may be her father, but he’s also her boss.
Aubrey Hirsch’s breastfeeding comics are the best breastfeeding comics. I donated breastmilk when I was nursing my second kid, and I’ll never forget that mom’s face when she accepted my tote of frozen milk. She looked like all new moms look -exhausted and desperately hopeful.
I contributed to this piece by Rina Raphael about mothers being pressured and shamed about feeding their children “right,” and holy shit when I tweeted about it, someone tweeted back that she received a note from her kid’s preschool about “one rather than two mini muffins” being a “more appropriate serving size” for future packed lunches to which I say wow fuckkkkkkk that.
So. Much. Trad Wife discourse!
I related so hard to this beautiful piece about bodies and aging and the male gaze by Joanna Schroeder in
Subject lines like these are why Cup of Jo is the queen of The Good Rec.
On social
Who doesn’t want
to sign a copy of her new book, Quietly Hostile?
Delight (h/t
)
Obsessed
Remember that piece I shared a bit ago about the second lives of fancy jam jars? I am about to provide what I believe to be the best hack I have in my arsenal of hacks. All you need is scissors, your hands, and really any kind of jar.