‘This trend ruined my relationship’
Plus: babygirling the CEO shooting suspect, Sabrina Carpenter's 'jaded Stepford wives aesthetic,' the political aims behind Ballerina Farm fame, and more in the weekend roundup.
Happy Sunday. In this week’s roundup, we’ve got a bathroom sit-in for trans rights, Christopher Meloni sponcon, a “Girls Gone Wild” documentary, and more. A reminder: paid subscribers get full access to these weekly posts, where I sort through the cultural muck for you. If you haven’t already, upgrade now so you don’t miss out.
To the links…
The internet is babygirling a suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Police released surveillance footage of a man sought in connection with the shooting, inspiring a flood of memes suggesting that said person of interest is hot. A representative tweet: “United Healthcare CEO gunman lookalike contest in my room 8 pm tonight.” Of course, this is part of a broader outpouring of anger toward a murderous healthcare system and extreme wealth inequality. I also think it’s reflective of irreverent and absurd expressions of desire online, a topic deserving of a gender studies thesis (or a future post).