This week we tackle the backlog of "are they or aren't they" potential-Stargirls, revisit the Too-Too-ness, and talk about the importance of meaningfully alienating people with your ideas. Come play in my world! 🤸

Discussed:

Also discussed:

*Full episode on Patreon*

This week we delve deep into the uncanny world of the D2C underwear brand Parade and its CEO, Cami Téllez. I talk about the downsides of bridging art and editorial, the botched AI-ness of everything we're forced to look at, and the tendency for powerful, beautiful women to reject their normie power for the sake of 'relatability.' 

My essay "Late to the Parade: The Self-Own of Influencer Marketing in 2021"

*Full episode on Patreon*

This week we go long on Azealia Banks, the American rapper who can't STFU to save her life. I talk witchiness, how mean women problematize fourth-wave "Do You" feminism, and the thin line between being an aesthete and being a bully. 

Discussed:

"Perpetual Childhood: The Rise of Cute Feminism" by Mikaela Dery in Soft Punk
"#MeToo Will Not Survive Unless We Recognize Toxic Femininity" by Meghan Daum in Medium **I kept saying "Doud" instead of "Daum" — brain lapse — apologies!!**

Lena Dunham's Girls is my favorite piece of art that's been created in my lifetime. I talk about why writing off the show as "narcissistic" is a massive missed opportunity, Lena's compulsion toward self-exposure and body horror, and her acute (unmatched?) understanding of how people behave. Happy Holidays y'all, and see you in the new year! 🌠

Discussed:

Joining us this week is one of my dearest friends, Molly, to discuss the musician and de facto Sad Girl cult leader, Mitski. We talk about the liminal space of teenage girlhood, extended adolescence, how to elevate melodrama into art, and the social power of female passivity.

Mentioned:
Addison + archival fashion by Janelle Okwodu in Vogue
"Grand Unified Theory of Female Pain" Leslie Jamison in VQR
"The Misreading of Mitski" Jia Tolentino in TNY

*Listen to the full episode on Patreon!*

This week we explore The Myth of Julia Fox: her hard-partying youth, various artistic endeavors, explicit sex appeal, and attempts at provocation in 2022. We also talk about the fragility of the dream(s) she represents: being young, hot, and reckless in New York; representing a milieu just by being yourself; and turning out just fine (and famous) after following your impulses to the bitter end.

Mentioned:

⁠"A Retired Dominatrix Goes to Church"⁠ Naomi Fry in The New Yorker  ⁠

"Julia's Box: Where the Legend of 'The Fox' All Began"⁠ Cat Marnell in PAPER 

⁠IDEA⁠ on Julia's art books ⁠

"Sex, Blood, and the Ritual of Rebirth: RIP Julia Fox"⁠ Jill Di Donato in Huffpost ⁠

Julia's Into The Gloss interview⁠

This week, we recap the foundational STARGIRL themes: the nature-artifice continuum, ripe/dead, and the quest for narrative control. Then, we analyze one of the world's highest-profile MPDGs, Grimes, and discuss the power/limits of self-mythology and caricature, how to safely court Evil, and the deep threat of the effortless Weird Girl.

Mentioned:

"On Duplicity: Grimes and the Allure of the Fantasy Self" Emma Baker in Soft Punk

*Full episode on Patreon*

Meet Tinx, the TikTok-er turned omniscient multi-hyphenate bae! We talk about her knack for world-building (RMWs, ESWB, LTG, Miss Egg, roti chick, Tinky Tequila, Leg on the Wall Fall etc. ETC.), the downsides of hyper-transparency, and the fragility of the relatable X aspirational influencer model. 

Mentioned:

"Meet Tinx, Your Girlfriend's Favorite Dating and Life Advice Expert" John McDermott in Esquire
"Athleisure, barre and kale: the tyranny of the ideal woman" Jia Tolentino in The Guardian (excerpt from her book!)

Follow Tinx!!

This week, we are joined by my dear friend Mikaela Dery to discuss Sally Rooney, the Irish novelist. We talk about the high-brow/low-brow nature of her books, how to make malaise stylish, the power dynamics between bookish girls and jock-y dudes, and how Sally foretold young people's preoccupation with Catholicism. 

Discussed:

"What's Really Driving the Sally Rooney Obsession?" Katie Roiphe in WSJ

"Normal Novels," Becca Rothfeld in The Point

Follow Mikaela on Twitter and Instagram

Coming events at McNally Jackson

Welcome to the first installment of STARGIRL Auditions: Sydney Sweeney! We evaluate Sydney's potential to become an era-defining actress and sex symbol, and dig into some Paglia-informed ideas about the power of vacant women. Also discussed: AirPod bodies, Maddy vs. Cassie in HBO's Euphoria, and the recent embrace of Americana and GOP aesthetics more generally.

Mentioned:

"The Age of Instagram Face" Jia Tolentino in TNY

"The Politics of Blondness, From Aphrodite to Ivanka" in The Cut

Sexual Personae 

"The Snapocalypse" Nymphet Alumni