Trauma Dumping on Elmo
Also in this quickie: A pet detective, plastic surgery, the torture of personal branding, a Rihanna-loving parrot, Hailey Bieber blandness, Yutori, and our next book club book🕵️♀️✂️👩💻🦜💄🍃📚
I have been reeling over this article for days. It perfectly captures the stress of being an artist in 2024, the shackles of “personal branding,” and why this Substack (and book club and TikTok account…) exists. Highly highly highly recommend.
The internet has made it so that no matter who you are or what you do — from nine-to-five middle managers to astronauts to house cleaners — you cannot escape the tyranny of the personal brand.
And one more quote about posting on social:
….You’ve got to spend your time doing this even though it’s corny and cringe and your friends from high school or college will probably laugh as you “try to become an influencer.” You’ve got to do it even when you feel like you have absolutely nothing to say, because the algorithm demands you post anyway. You have to do it even if you’re from a culture where doing any self-promotion is looked upon as inherently negative, or if you’re a woman for whom bragging carries an even greater social stigma than it already does. You’ve got to do it even though the coolest thing you can do is not have to.
Elmo Asked People Online How They Were Doing. He Got An Earful, KSL
If you haven’t seen this yet, you’re welcome.
“Elmo each day the abyss we stare into grows a unique horror. one that was previously unfathomable in nature. our inevitable doom which once accelerated in years, or months, now accelerates in hours, even minutes. however I did have a good grapefruit earlier, thank you for asking.”
My favourite part was how Elmo replied:
Cosmetics ≠ Clothing, The Unpublishable
I love this Substack about the beauty industry, and this nugget really stuck with me:
Wearing clothing (primarily) began as a matter of health and safety — a need. It evolved into a method of expression. Wearing cosmetics (primarily) began as a method of expression — a want. Health and wellbeing claims came later as a way to justify the space cosmetics take up in our lives.
The Bland Allure of Hailey Bieber, Vox
While we’re on the topic of beauty: “…it’s fascinating watching a new, seemingly more progressive generation embrace a bland uniformity at the expense of individuality.”
How Emily Weiss is Fixing Glossier, Financial Times
Lastly, a profile on the girl bossiest startup to ever #girlboss (and where the company is heading now)
“I naively assumed that the beauty industry would be more female-led, and it was astonishing. Looking at the top 20 beauty companies in Europe, only three of them are led by a woman. The lack of representation [at the top] in a $500bn industry that has been built around women looking and feeling a certain way is shocking.”
✂️ Snip snip! How Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X really feel about plastic surgery
🎶 Lol. UMG took their music off TikTok, and fans are singing over videos instead
🍃 That’s nice. A feel-good post about Yutori to remind you to slow down
🎧 Shake it out. Florence & The Machine will feature on Taylor Swift’s new album
🐑 Ph-ewe! Thank god this criminal was caught
🦜 Pon De Replay. This parrot loves Rihanna
This real-life pet detective reunited 330 lost dogs with their owners 🕵️♀️🐕
Our Next My Side Plot Book!
A lot of you are annoyed that I finished our first book club book so fast. My bad! I got excited.
Don’t worry though - we’ll only be reading one book a month so everyone can finish on time. Plus, our Ghosts discussion on Fable is always available for you to come back to.
Ready to see our February pick!?!? Drum roll, please…
This book won my Instagram poll by a landslide!
Tomorrow, and Tomorrrow, and Tomorrow has been on so many “best of” lists and has been sitting on my TBR forever. Can’t wait to dive in with all of you! 🌊
