The real deal

Strap in, I'm feeling salty today.

Surprise me View in browser March 22, 2019 Happy birthday, Yayoi Kusama    This week On the podcast, journalist Samantha Allen joins us to discuss her new book, Real Queer America, which is about LGBT communities in conservative states. Title aside, Samantha puts "real" in quotes throughout the text—a nod to the false binary set up by so much election-related news coverage. Just so we're clear: The 4-H barn at the rural county fair is the real America, and so is the art-queer cabaret night in Manhattan, and, hey, so is the art-queer cabaret night in the rural Midwest. If it's happening, it's real. In other real/fake binary news, I've been so annoyed by the conversation about Elizabeth Holmes's voice in the wake of the HBO documentary. What kind of person fakes their voice? A cis woman trying to project authority at work. A trans women who wants her voice to more closely match her gender identity. A person who's been skewered for perceived "vocal fry" in dozens of podcast reviews. Imagine what it feels like to be reading all this stuff about Holmes's voice—which is honestly one of the least objectionable things about her—if you're a person who has ever made a conscious choice to moderate the way you speak in a world that's biased against you. We should be dragging Holmes for endangering people with fake blood tests and treating her employees like garbage, not for her vocal pitch. Every body is a real body. Every voice is a real voice. Every part of America is the real America.  I'm reading Barbara Hammer's exit interview. One woman's quest to end her life on her own terms. A father's life and death in music. The community toll of the white-supremacist rampage in Christchurch. Stacey Abrams considers her next step. The banal, evil reign of Mitch McConnell. Psychiatrists don't want to admit that much of mental illness is still a mystery. The accessibility of injectables and the disappearing stigma around plastic surgery. "When you’re your own worst critic, sometimes you need someone you love and trust to help you acknowledge and counteract those hurtful thoughts." Racism meets sexism at "replacement theory," just one of many conspiracies running wild on Instagram. The unwritten rules that underpin elite universities. The "Men's Liberation" movement that time forgot. The feminist paradox of Cathy comics. The small town that romance writer Nora Roberts built. "Cute aggression" is when you can't contain yourself in the presence of a baby or puppy. (I don't suffer from this.) Inside the uncanny world of the Shen Yun dance troupe. Ikea hacks its own furniture to make it more accessible. An Amtrak trip across America. Apparently fantasy birding is a thing. Who still buys Wite-Out? Who misses ditch weed? What happens to the flavor of cheese when it's exposed it to music? Celery is back and calories are over. Members only Alas, you're missing a darkly confessional pie chart about Elizabeth Holmes. Become a member for $5/year and get the full newsletter experience. I’m looking & listening The Last Bohemians podcast, especially the Molly Parkin and Cosey Fanni Tutti episodes. The Elizabeth Holmes documentary, naturally. The health-fad history of California, in photos. The 2020 candidates as Vines. Phoebe Robinson and Jameela Jamil in conversation. GIFspiration Me, a woman who owns no fewer than a dozen turtlenecks, watching the Elizabeth Holmes documentary. I endorse Kacey Musgraves' "High Horse" as the soundtrack to all fawning 2020-primary coverage of Beto (or Biden or Bernie for that matter). These men are, in Kacey's words, classic in the wrong way. It doesn't cut it to say you're aware of your privilege. For that acknowledgement to be meaningful, you have to actually make some sacrifices and check your ego. You don’t just get to say you’re a good guy while acting like every previous generation of entitled men. What do I want these guys to do with the national spotlight that, somehow, keeps refocusing on them? I want them to take a cue from Andrew Gillum and Stacey Abrams, who also lost very prominent races last year. Gillum and Abrams are dedicated to the long-haul, unsexy work of trying to change the system and improve things at the state level. But I guess some people just feel "called" to put themselves at the center. Classic. You endorse #the100dayproject. "We're in our 6th year and the next round starts soon on April 2nd. Seems like the kind of thing your readers might be into if you'd like to share – the idea is to pick something creative, do it every day for 100 days, and document and share your process online. It's free and anyone can participate. People do everything from paint to dance to knit to write and all sorts of things." -Lindsay Jean Thompson What do you endorse? Submit a link here. The Classifieds Hungry to publish in 2019? Turn your ideas into bylines: Laura Goode’s online writing class How to Pitch Anything at Catapult winds up 4/4. LEATHER TRAVEL & WORK BAGS by women-owned Kámen Road committed to natural materials and American artisan and small scale production. Want to start a podcast? Learn how to write, record, and launch your next hit in a brand-new online class, only on Skillshare! The class is free and perfect for all levels. Start watching today. You know those money chores in your relationship, like tracking spending, bills, & goals? Hand them over to Zeta, a free tool for couples. Memoir "Failing Better" shares an honest look at a naive, enthusiastic American who struggles to learn a new language and a new way of life teaching English in China, all with her boyfriend in tow. On sale now on Kindle. Are you a forever learner? READ OUTSIDE OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE. Visit reads.delivery. Real deals, indeed! Classifieds are super affordable.  Click for rates + info. Testimonials "This newsletter is supremely enjoyed over a glass of wine, at a restaurant bar, living my best per diem life." -Colleen. Yes! The tagline of this newsletter could be "The business traveler's friend." This newsletter is has got to be real. Your love is my love, my love is your love. Email is here to stay. AF WEEKLY Subscribe Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Manage paid membership MORE ANN Email me About me Writing archive Public speaking Rent my brain Manage Preferences | Unsubscribe | Ladyswagger, Inc. PO Box 26932 | Los Angeles, CA 90026 © 2019