This week we use TikTok star Alix Earle as a vessel to tackle one of my favorite topics: Blondeness! I discuss what it "means" to be/go blonde, the sorry state of blonde discourse, and how blondeness is deployed as a device in art vs. real life. I also pose the big-kahuna question: What is the beauty standard in 2023? and argue that our collective quest to "transform beauty standards" is less about changing on-the-ground sexual preferences and more about increasing access to commodification. Scary....

Discussed:

"Does Parade Underwear Make You Feel Good About Yourself?" Brock Colyar in The Cut

"Spiritual Bimboism" Nymphet Alumni episode

"What Does It Mean To Choose to Dye Your Hair Blonde?" Interview with Claudia Rankine on NPR

"Why So Many Asian-American Women Are Bleaching Their Hair Blond" Andrea Cheng in the Times

"The Enduring, Invisible Power of Blond" Tressie McMillan Cottom in the Times

"The Age of Instagram Face" Jia Tolentino in The New Yorker

"Botoxic Masculinity" Red Scare episode

"The Class Politics of Instagram Face" Grazie Sophia Christie in Tablet

"Hozempic" Red Scare episode

"Will the Ozempic Era Change How We Think About Being Fat and Being Thin?" Jia Tolentino in The New Yorker