So much for weekly...

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

Feels like that's the official motto of the world in COVID. And writ large. And on repeat.

We meant to write weekly. But, you know. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

And a lot has been going on. Like, a LOT.

So we haven't checked in since Mother's Day. We totally meant to. But, again, you know the saying.

Collectively, we're at an inflection point. And it is just possible that Wyoming is the place that the inflection point plays out. Here are some thoughts on all of that while we get back in the Quarantine Kit groove. Because, apparently, this pandemic is not a thing that is going away and community is a thing we all still need more of so we'll get back to writing these (and other) things.

Essays

1. The Subtle Look and Overwhelming Feel of Today's Misogyny by Anne Helen Petersen over at Culture Study | "In Down Girl, Kate Manne argues that the dominant understanding of misogyny fails to describe its actual power and prevalence. Misogyny, she argues, is best understood as the whole, pulsing cloud of things that upholds patriarchal order."

2. How Kyrsten Sinema Uses Her Clothing to Signal Her Social Class by Tressie McMillan Cottom | "I wrote about Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s political storytelling the past couple of weeks. We covered why it is not only OK but incumbent upon us to talk about style as political craft, even when the politician is a woman."

3. There Have to Be More Sides Than This: Balance doesn't exist in a lopsided world by Lyz Lenz over at Men Yell At Me | "By weighing the fake thing in balance with the real thing, the fake thing becomes real by comparison."

Books

1. Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive by Stephanie Land

2. No Cure for Being Human by Kate Bowler

3. The Making of Biblical Womanhood

Bonus read: Down Girl by Kate Manne

TV Shows

1. Never Have I Ever | Season 2

2. The Morning Show | Season 2

3. Ted Lasso | Season 2

Movies

1. Julia | review here

2. RBG | review here

3. Anita | review here

Recipes

You might need a cocktail. Because in these days of deception and disrespect, during these ongoing fights where your body is the *literal* battleground, and the ongoing fires in the world (both literal and figurative) have certainly left everyone more than a little on edge and with a thirst for democracy, integrity, community--not to mention something to take a little bit of that edge right off.

1. Paper Plane | Equal parts: Bourbon, freshly squeezed lemon juice, amaro, aperol. Shake over ice. Strain into a glass. Drink.

2. Margarita | Two parts tequila, one part freshly squeezed lemon juice, one part simple syrup, dash of St. Germain. Serve over ice. Drink.

3. Bees Knees | 2 oz. gin, 3/4 oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice, 3/4 oz. honey syrup. Shake over ice. Strain into a glass. Drink.

Bonus drink: Bourbon, rocks. | Put ice into a glass. Pour bourbon. Drink.

Twitter Follows

Eh. We're kind of off of twitter rn. Hit us up next time.

Unsolicited Opinions

1. You might need a soundtrack to go with your cocktails and existential vertigo. So, we made that for you. (feat. TSwift + Britney + Ms. Lauryn Hill + Dolly + Carly Simon + Blondie + Olivia Rodrigo + Kelly Clarkson + Rhiannon Giddens + Angelique Kidjo + The Highwomen + Brandi Carlile + Maren Morris + Beyonce + Mary J. Blige + Dua Lipa + Whitney Houston + The Pointer Sisters + Go-Gos. Click here.)

2. The world at large overlooks how policy impacts women. This goes with Anne Helen Petersen's point about Kate Manne's point about misogyny. It happens all the time because it is part of what holds up the existing world order. You've heard us talk and write and research about a lot of it, but here's a quick recap of the high points. Women are disproportionately impacted by workplace policies about wage transparency. Secrecy about pay harms women the most. Read more about that here. A low minimum wage relegates women to poverty. 3 out of 4 minimum wage workers in Wyoming are women. Women are three times as likely to age into poverty as their male counterparts and the gender wealth gap is even bigger than the gender wage gap. Here's more on why and how that happens. Tax policy is gendered. Check out what the National Women's Law Center has to say about this. Our election systems protect incumbents which negatively impacts women (here and here), redistricting disadvantages women (here), and new "fair and equitable" voting policies actually make it harder for women to vote (here).

3. Silencing works. We've written less because the blowback has been more. We've been told that speaking out hurts more than it helps--and we've been considering what that means even as we know that it is simultaneously a little bit true (short/immediate term) and not true at all (all other time horizons outside of "now"). We've seen other women around the state grow quieter because they've been getting hate mail and threats. And, even more insidiously, we've watched how being ostracized or undercut by other women is an effective tool. When women look to put daylight between themselves and the "offensive" or "feminist" women it signals that these are things you cannot and should not say. On the other hand, we've watched the inimitable Sen. Tara Nethercott endure public threats followed by a public refusal by the powers-that-be to hold anyone accountable and continue to use her voice. Want to be inspired? Tune into Sen. Nethercott at the 1:43:15 mark in this video.

As we get back to writing, you'll be hearing more from us on all of these issues. Unless we speak up, nothing will change. Here's hoping you'll join us. Become a member today!