Feminine Chaos

Kat and Phoebe discuss divisions of labor, poet finances, and the zombie discourse about reaction GIFs that makes us want to peel our faces off. LINKS: Anne Helen Petersen and the ongoing gospel of "men suck" Maggie Smith (the poet, not the Dame) on viral poetry and divorce Kat requests a cease-and-desist on digital blackface op-eds Phoebe on husband discourse This is a public episode. If you'd li...

Kat and Phoebe discuss the controversies we didn't mean to start, the Jewish tradwife philosopher polycules we shall not be participating in, and the fancy NYT real estate section stools we can't afford to sample. LINKS: Wait, is that price per stool? https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/07/realestate/georgetown-home-renovation.html Kara Kennedy interviews Estee Williams, maker of husband’s sandwiches:...

Kat and Phoebe discuss the greatest genderfluid fashion heist of our time. Then: the bowdlerization of Roald Dahl, the controversial banning (or is it?) of pornography (or IS it?!) from school libraries, and the illustrated dildo heard round the world.  LINKS: Asyakhamsin brings the receipts: Sam Brinton, they/them, deputy assistant secretary of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition in the Office of Nu...

Kat and Phoebe are joined by Leigh Stein to discuss why TikTok is the next big thing for books, why high-falutin’ literary folk are so loathe to join the platform, and why her essay about this made everybody Mad Online. Links: Leigh's essay at Lithub: https://lithub.com/booktok-is-good-actually-on-the-undersung-joys-of-a-vast-and-multifarious-platform/ The saga of Stone Maidens: https://www.usatod...

Kat and Phoebe discuss a viral incident of racism-or-is-it on the long prairie road to Canada, the socialist darling who was cancelled for flouting the Covidian Collective, and the blondes of TikTok who may be having more fun but who are not having the last word on blondness in the pages of the New York Times. Links: “Old Racist Karen” is not a song title but the news in Canada: https://www.blogto...

Fellas, is it gay to go maskless? Kat and Phoebe discuss recent coverage of the few, the proud, the covid faithful. Also, Kat has a generous offer for those who preorder her new book! Links: Libs of TikTok ( via ) finds someone saying you can be gay but not queer if you don’t mask. Forever Covid: Mx. And Mx. nix leaving the house. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/26/us/covid-masks-risk.html Emma Gr...

Kat and Phoebe discuss the kissing of cheeks, the petting of pets, the cancellation of Junot Diaz, and the intolerable slander of Seinfeld by a New Yorker essayist. LINKS: Ben Smith on Junot Diaz, notorious cheek-kisser: https://www.semafor.com/article/11/27/2022/junot-diaz-in-limbo Kat's tweets on l’affaire bisou: Saïd Sayrafiezadeh on finding “Seinfeld” problematic: https://www.newyorker.com/cul...

[singing] I am the very model of a modern Demisexual My sexual proclivities are purely hypothetical I’m here to say it loud and proud, my internet confessional I’ve never touched a boob, which makes me very intersectional! LINKS: Kat offends Twitter's demisexuals: https://unherd.com/2022/11/demisexuals-are-scared-of-sex/ Phoebe watches 1990s YouTube: The complete “Pam” song: This is a public episo...

It’s El Dia de los Edgelords on Feminine Chaos! Kat and Phoebe discuss the mom who will not be apologizing for committing a Halloween war crime, the provenance of a crudely drawn picture of a wiener, and the Elon Musk Twitter takeover that will soon relegate our blue checks to the dustbin of history. Links: Phoebe on Twitter’s Musk Era: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-early-ret...

Kat and Phoebe discuss the woman who committed literal violence by discussing her happy marriage on Twitter, the self-congratulatory feminists of “Gutsy”, and the girlfriend who stayed home to heat (but not eat) her boyfriend’s soup. Links: Daisey aka lilplantmami, sharing how #blessed her existence is: The privilege. The privilege! Stay at home girlfriends of TikTok: https://www.dailydot.com/uncl...

Kat and Phoebe discuss the professor who was fired for making organic chemistry too hard, and the Guggenheim curator who was fired for making an enemy of the wrong art monster. Links: At NYU, Students Were Failing Organic Chemistry. Whose Fault Was It? - The New York Times Phoebe on Team Brats A prior, relevant Feminine Chaos: The Guggenheim’s Scapegoat - The Atlantic Chaedria LaBouvier's amazing...

Kat and Phoebe take on a series of pendulous topics: the “disgusting” appropriation of serial killer culture, Adam Levine’s text messages, and the Canadian shop teacher who gives new meaning to the term “rubber baby buggy bumpers.” Links: Phoebe on the boobs: Opinion: Ontario teacher’s prosthetic bust offers a lesson about body shaming - The Globe and Mail Woody Allen's Giant Boob scene Wait, what...

Special guest Tara Henley joins Kat and Phoebe to discuss leaning in, leaning out, and leaning away from cat ownership for extremely compelling reasons . Links: Helen Andrews essay: Lean Out - The American Mind About Tara's documentary The making of '39': field notes from producer Tara Henley | CBC Radio Tara on Substack: A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle Tara's documentary: Thirty n...

A question from the Feminine Chaos AMA launches Kat and Phoebe into a free-associating chat about group chats as commune, men going their own way in the wilderness, “I’m with stupid” merchandise, and the internet newsletters that tell us how to live.  Links: Lyz Lenz on the life-sustaining group chat Anne Helen Petersen's manifesto on behaving like a normal person Our previous episode on the "trag...

Kat introduces Phoebe to a DEI training failure so cringe you'll want to d-i-e, and Phoebe unpacks the sociology beef that can only be settled with a dance off. (With special cameo appearances from two barking poodles, one noisy vacuum, one shrieking toddler, and the Fresh Prince of Bel Air.) Links: Wellcome's "womp, womp" thread on its diversity failures Wellcome's diversity report: PDF The Konfe...

Early access for premium subscribers! Kat and Phoebe discuss how many times they've had, you know… *whispers erotically* the coronavirus, and what happens when there are no covid virgins left to deflower. Then: the absolutely bonkers saga of a literary plagiarism scandal, followed by an apology, which was also plagiarized. Links: If You’ve Never Had COVID, Are You a Sitting Duck? - The Atlantic Th...

Early access for premium subscribers! Kat and Phoebe discuss poetry in translation (or, aggressively, NOT), sensitivity readers, and whether we could please stop fighting about the word "women". Isabella Wang's screed against translation ( screenshot )  Kat in Reason: Sensitivity Readers Are the New Literary Gatekeepers   The Bad Tweets from Michael Hobbes: Phoebe's Substack: Cisheterodoxy Pamela...

Early access for premium subscribers! Kat and Phoebe discuss where babies come from, the fractured pro-choice movement, and how the recent Dobbs decision overturning abortion protections will force many many men, particularly Arnold Schwarzenegger, to carry unwanted pregnancies to term.  Links: The fall of feminism led to the fall of Roe - The Spectator World In Defense of Pregnancy - The Bulwark...

Kat is joined by Amna Khalid for a discussion of the Sonmez-Weigel media meltdown and what it means for free speech. Links: Amna's Substack: Banished by Booksmart Studios The Washington Post Fires Felicia Sonmez Amid Week of Infighting 'I'm Radioactive' Court tosses out reporter's discrimination suit against Washington Post - POLITICO This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with ot...

Kat is joined by Iona Italia for a discussion about sleeping with younger men, why she writes personal essays, and what happens if you have all the right junk in all the wrong places. Links:  Iona's substack: Cheri and the Last of Cheri Paperback - Colette Areo Magazine This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit femchaospod...

Early access for premium subscribers! Kat is joined by Christie Smythe to talk about serializing memoirs on substack, becoming Twitter's main character, and why she decided to document her romance with The Most Hated Man in America. Christie's substack: Previously on Feminine Chaos: The Journalist Who Fell For the Pharma Bro Is Publishing a Memoir Just Imagine Getting Dumped Like This! Who is Mart...

Kat is joined by Liz Wolfe for a wide-ranging discussion about Roe v. Wade (and also, roe v. cod milt.) An extended cut of this conversation is available for premium subscribers. Links: The Politico scoop: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/02/supreme-court-abortion-draft-opinion-00029473 Liz at Reason: Pro-Life Libertarians Can Cautiously Cheer the End of Roe Kat at Unherd: Roe v Wade to fall ...

In light of certain events at this year’s Oscars ceremony, Sasha Stone is back to talk about why Will Smith’s ten-year Academy Awards ban isn’t totally a punishment, how the Oscars can come back from the most exciting thing that’s ever happened on its stage, and what it was like to be in the room during the infamous slap. (No exclusive content on this one but paid subscribers get it early!) Links:...

Kat is joined by Christina Emba to talk about how some of you, we're not saying who, are doing sex totally wrong.  An extended cut of this conversation was previously released on our Substack for premium subscribers. Links: Christine's WaPo essay: Opinion | Why we need a sexual ethic that goes beyond consent - The Washington Post Rethinking Sex: A Provocation Christine on "radical monogamy": Opini...

Production note: This episode was recorded in late February and got delayed in the transition to Substack, but it’s still here in time for the Oscars on March 27. Enjoy! Kat is joined by Oscars journalist Sasha Stone to talk about the convoluted drama of the Academy Awards, the conflict over Hollywood diversity quotas, and how best to serve underrepresented filmmakers. Sasha's website: Awards Dail...