This Week's Discussion: expectations of a (s)hot girl summer 🥂💉
What's been blowing up the group chat this week.
roarin’ twenties.
There’s been a slow drum beat of excitement for summer. The world has been through collective hell over the past 13 months, and this summer seems to be the small light at the end of the tunnel.
New York City, where I am, is coming back to life. The traffic and aggressive honking are back, street performers are assuming their rightful positions in Union Square and in subway stations again. The NY Post just put out a story about how NYC singles are readying for a “slutty summer.” And most importantly, lots of people are getting vaccinated.
(I’m speaking from a purely American perspective, as I’m aware that the covid vaccine rollout is sadly not equitable across the world. For example, Haiti hasn’t received any covid vaccine doses yet.)
I’m lucky enough to have been vaccinated and so have most of my family and friends. But unlike a lot of people, I didn’t post a vaccine selfie on Twitter or Instagram. When I got the shot, I snapped a photo, and sent it to some group chats. It’s not that I’m not excited to be vaccinated and resume “normal” life. I’m just kind of overwhelmed and nervous!
Everyone I know is getting ready for a wild summer. I made a promise to myself that I would never turn down plans ever again after being forced to stay inside for so long. One part of me cannot wait to be drunkenly bonding with a woman I just met in the bar bathroom; another of part of me is afraid I don’t know how to talk to people about anything other than covid now. I feel tipsy after one drink and I definitely can’t walk gracefully in heels anymore.
There’s this expectation to have the best summer of our lives but covid is still a reality and a lot people rightfully have anxiety over getting back out there. All this to say, having a “shot girl summer” doesn’t necessarily mean you need to go to raging parties and travel constantly. A shot girl summer can mean finally getting to reconnect with your group chat IRL, having a lowkey outdoor dinner date, or taking your first vacation since covid to a quiet beach town.
All the pain and loss of the pandemic are supposed to usher in “the roaring twenties.” While I hope that’s true, it’s OK if you want to tiptoe into the upcoming decade rather than jump in head first.
Even if you’re vaccinated, you should still take precautions to protect yourself and others. Here’s a good outline of what you should do from Scientific American.
what’s the joke?
Last week, SNL did a skit called “Will You Take It?” in which the performers — who were all Black — mocked Black people who are hesitant to take the covid vaccine. The skit was not only extremely unfunny, it relied on offensive and dated tropes of Black people. When actor Daniel Kaluuya, playing a medical doctor and gameshow shot, questions one character who is a “diabetic” and “has been shot in the lung,” about why he won’t be getting the vaccine, the man replies, “I never get sick because I sleep in my socks.” I honestly felt like I was watching a minstrel show.
I’m assuming this is supposed to be some sort of satire, but like this article titled “PSA: If You Have To Tell Everyone It’s Satire, You’re Bad At Satire” so perfectly states, “Such satire doesn’t really achieve anything because it fails to puncture a widely accepted and yet problematic way of thinking; it’s performative both of one’s own enlightenment and, in a perverse way, the regressive thoughts lying underneath.”
This skit does nothing to satirize the structural reasons many Black people and other people of color have vaccine hesitancy and mistrust of the medical establishment as a whole, some major reasons being documented mistreatment by doctors and nurses, and atrocities like forced sterilization and the Tuskegee Experiment. It also does nothing to point out the fact that white republicans are actually the most hesitant to get the covid vaccine.
This is on top of the inequitable roll out of the vaccine I wrote about a few issues back. Many Black and brown people who want to get vaccine have been unable to do so.
This is an example of how so-called “liberal” entertainment and media is oftentimes just as complicit in demeaning people of color as more obvious offenders. I’m not sure what SNL was trying to accomplish with this skit but it just reminded me why I don’t watch the show anyway.
can’t keep up with the beauty standards.
Khloe Kardashian has been trending all week all because an un-photoshopped picture of her in a bikini leaked — and she’s been trying to get it scrubbed from the internet.
Her trying to get rid of the photo obviously just brought more attention to the situation, which led her to release a long statement saying:
"The photo that was posted this week was beautiful. But as someone who has struggled with body image her whole life, when someone takes a photo of you that isn't flattering in bad lighting or doesn't capture your body the way it is after working to hard to get it to this point - and then shares it to the world - you should have every right to ask for it not to be shared - no matter who you are … the pressure, constant ridicule and judgment my entire life to be perfect and to meet other's standards of how I should look has been too much to bear."
I definitely have empathy for Khloe; she’s been the brunt of jokes, bullied for her looks, and compared to her sisters since Keeping Up With The Kardashians debuted in 2007. But that well crafted statement leaves out that Khloe and the rest of her family have a huge hand in pushing the extremely unrealistic beauty and body standards of today. All have clearly had extensive cosmetic surgery but continue to deny it and pretend it’s all the result of genetics and “hard work,” while pushing their followers to buy laxative teas and appetite suppressing gummies.
It’s their right to get surgery and edit their photos, but there’s something really insidious about Khloe and her family trying to make everyone believe that’s not what their doing, all in the name of selling people more stuff.
I hope Khloe is eventually able to be at peace with her looks and who she is and that we all move away from the overly perfect aesthetic that has taken over social media.
cardi haircare
Cardi B will be releasing a haircare line later this year, saying on Instagram, “I think is time for people to educate themselves on nationality, race and ethnicity. Being Hispanic/Latina don’t make your hair long , don’t make your skin light or don’t make your face features slim … Dna have something to do with your hair not your nationality but guess what you can always maintain your hair.”
Cardi gets a lot of heat for the way she talks and writes but I actually love the way she approaches these conversations. She’s posted videos in the past of her homemade hair masks and says this line is something she has been working on at home for her and her daughter’s hair. I also think she brings up a really important topic: your race doesn’t automatically mean you’re going to have “good” or “bad” hair, terms I actually wish would die forever. All hair is good hair and it’s all about learning how to take care of your hair.
I’m always wary of celebs venturing into hair and skincare but I’m interested to try this out. I’ll definitely write a review when I do.
🥕🥦🥬
Starting next week, I’ll have a new (yet to be named) section reviewing vegetarian food products and sharing plant-based recipes I’ve tried. Since 2017, I’ve actively been eating less meat and mostly eat pescatarian now, though I will have chicken and turkey occasionally. I went cold turkey at first but that’s not the most realistic method for most people so I’ll also be sharing tips on to slowly cut meat out.
Deciding to go vegetarian or eat less meat can be daunting and this space can be judgmental and inaccessible for many. More and more Black and other POC are cutting out meat and I want to help those of you who are considering it, too. Let me know in the comments if there are any vegetarian/vegan products and recipes you’d like me to review!
Thank you so much for joining the group chat. If you liked what you read, please share and subscribe. Leave a comment to let me know what you’d like me to discuss next week or products and services you’d like me to try. If you’re a brand interested in working with me, email me at needsdiscussionnewsletter@gmail.com.