So Very: Goth Emoji; A Cranky Old Man Comments On Teens; Mindy Kaling in Spanx
Goth Emoji App
When a girlfriend sent me a group email that began, "We're starting a collective, constructive, and uplifting exchange. Please send an encouraging quote or verse to the person below," I knew there was only one way to respond: with a goth emoji.
Here is my highly anticipated (LOL) piece on Goth Emoji for Racked.
Cranky Old Men Comment on Teens
I am an old person too! But you can't get so dire about the culture of teens and how doomed they are if you only interview ONE teen for an article on books, which is exactly what old man David Denby did in this article about teens not reading enough for The New Yorker. Denby says that kids aren't reading as many books today and the nation is going down the tubes, which is why Donald Trump is thisclose to becoming president.
What?
I have so many issues with this piece:
1. My 12 year old plays sports, is a gamer AND reads books. So do a number of his friends.
2. Denby writes: "When they become twelve or thirteen, kids often stop reading seriously. The boys veer off into sports or computer games, the girls into friendship"
Did this statement actually happen? Did the New Yorker allow Denby to tell us that boys don't have friends? Or that girls don't play sports? I must be in the Twilight Zone.
3. So, yes, there is evidence by Pew Research that late age teenagers are dropping off in their reading habits, but Denby admits that this might have to do with being overloaded with school work. Still, he writes: "Literature will survive, too, somehow."
Somehow. Oh my god, this article. Please remember when you write about teenagers that you were once a teenager. It's easy to get Paul Lynde in Bye Bye Birdie and say "Kids! I don't know what's wrong with these kids today!" Kids are awful, this is no secret. But have some faith.
Mindy Kaling Rocking Deodorant, A Corset and Spanx
What I'm watching, listening to, reading:
Why do we teach girls that being scared is cute? Lauryn Hill and the Weeknd perform on the Tonight Show. The HPV vaccine works for teenage girls. Laura Miller on not wanting kids--but loving other people's children. (This is so great.) The lovely Nicole Blades on 13 things you don't need to give a fuck about. Single women are the most important political force in American AND this amazing article about Marcia Clark by Rebecca Traister. Lena Dunham on Kesha. We don't need the Oscars, people! The Texas abortion case, explained. This Winona Ryder interview and stunning photos.
Thanks for reading my newsletter, have a nice week.
--Hayley