Can any of us shut the hell up?

+ Bel Chimes In with the rise of the girl dictionary 💅

Angels!! Hi!!! Back writing to you from my childhood bed after recording a chaotic Culture Vulture ep for you to hear tomorrow!!!!

Thank you for all your extra info on load shedding in my emails - so much for me to learn about it, like how it impacts schools, hospitals, supermarkets, and even the traffic lights!!? A bunch of you also told me how seriously devastating it can be, especially in rural areas where the power can be off for almost 12 hours a day. One of you even wrote in DURING load shedding, one of you has been dealing with it for 16 years, and one of you goes without electricity for nine hours a day sometimes. This newsy (aka your responses) fills me with more knowledge than google/school ever could, and for that I’m always so thankful 🥹

• I TOOK ALL THE CLOSE FRIENDS ON HOLIDAY WITH ME AND GAVE U A LOT OF NZ RECS (so that was fun!!!)

• I also filled you in on my fave movie RN and thankfully a lot of you agreed

• My opinion on Opinion Fatigue

• 🔔Bel Chimes In: The rise of the Girl Dictionary💅

• Taylor Swift sang ‘Exile’ and her note changes have changed the trajectory of my life

My opinion on Opinion Fatigue

Ok so our internet crush/ actual friend

kate lindsay

wrote ANOTHER banger today (she never misses) and it’s actually got a LOT of things we touched on when we caught up IRL in New York (over a very hungover bagel and breakfast sammie) so NATURALLY I wanted to share it here. It’s all about ‘Opinion Fatigue’ and how we’re entering an era of shutting the fuck up (or at least sharing less of our thoughts) online.

The reason I thought this piece was so bang on is because I FEEL THIS TO MY CORE!! I’ve spoken before about how Instagram used to feel like a safe space, but now it feels like EVERYONE WANTS TO TAKE WHAT YOU SAY IN THE WORST WAY POSSIBLE, and what that does to discourse, and that’s why, especially on Instagram, I mostly post memes and save the opinions for the newsy/ pods.

Can I get real for a sec?

[Opinion incoming]

Part of why I think give our opinions online in the first place is because a lot of us feel a bit powerless IRL - the world is burning, we don’t have enough money for anything, but somehow things are still happening, and all we feel we can do is comment on them. We go viral, the likes make us feel a bit good, and the comments make us feel a bit bad - but at least we’re being HEARD, right?? This is until it reaches the wrong side of the internet and the comment section makes you want to shut the hell up and never say a single thing of substance again.

But then there’s a problem. Can you imagine Joe Rogan or Ben Shapiro or Tucker Carlson getting insecure about their opinions and shutting up? No. So the more of us who quieten down with what we think/feel, the more room there is for those who perhaps should be shutting up, but don’t. Here’s what Kate said about this:

While conservative commentators are the ones who most vocally rally against “cancel culture,” lamenting that “you just can’t say anything anymore,” opinion fatigue anecdotally seems to be more common in left-leaning spaces. This could be because backlash to an opinion from people you disagree with is expected, whereas a negative response from people whose opinions you respect can feel more damning — and the left is more prone (publicly, at least) to disagreements within its own ranks.

It’s really classic Luce fashion for me to be giving an opinion on not giving opinions, but please, if you want more coherent thoughts, go and read this!

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This section is written by my crush, the refreshing-as-a-house-chardonnay-on-a-steamy-day, Bel Hawkins. She also writes our Sunday newsletter ‘No News is Good News’ which all our paying supporters receive. Upgrade your plan to get her newsy here!

The rise of the Girl Dictionary💅

Hello crushes how the hell are you? This week's Chime is a bit of a flow-on from the weekend's newsy, where we spoke about joy becoming a cultural event in the hum of Barbie and Harry and Taylor fever. Naturally, ja'dore, and I will welcome joy into any facet of my life with open arms, especially in those times where it feels hard to find, and I encourage you to do the same.

Out of the joy has also sprung a whole leixcon of Girl-attributed phrases and behaviours that are giving me so much lol and entertainment atm, so I wanted to share them with you, in case you're seeing them on the internet and wondering what they mean. 

Girl Math - creative maths applied to things you've bought or returned to rationalise how much you've spent. Also can refer to paying with cash so it feels free.

Girl Dinner - whatever's in your pantry that shouldn't belong together and requires as little effort as possible, often no cooking at all. Lad Bible energy.

Rat Girl Summer - spending the season scurrying around in an unaesthetic and mischievous way, doing what you want instead of what you feel you have to and not having a grammable camera roll at the end of it to boast about.

Goblin Girl - More of a 2022 thing (people's choice for the Oxford Dictionary last year) and in a similar vein to Rat Girling, but driven by an 'I'll be having that' state of mind, living your truth and slurping your two-minute noodles for lunch, splashing all over your face with wild abandon.

Chill Girl - The 'no worries if not' phenomenon when asking someone something, most often in a work email, and out of anxiety that you're coming across too needy and demanding. No presh! Honestly so fine! I could probably do it!

Girl Question - Asking one simple question (how was your night?), but wanting to know the answer in intimate detail (What did you wear? Who were you with? Were the drinks nice? What music were they playing? How did you feel? Who did you meet? was there chemistry? Were they wearing think Chuck Taylors?). A thesis in the making.

An NBC article talked about the rise in these sorts of trends as "stem[ming] from younger people's needs to ascribe themselves to something in order to feel some form of worth and belonging: and you know what? I'm kinda into it. Especially the ones that feel celebratory of friendship and being tired/lonely/weird/imperfect over terms that make you feel like you need to go out and buy a new outfit just to feel part of something bigger than yourself. Obviously, they don't capture the nuance of gender and I'm interested to know if you use some that are. Are you vibing them? Using them? Lmk!

See you Sunday! Talking about quitting bad things (eek, my bad). Ily! xo

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Taylor Swift sang ‘Exile’ and her note changes have changed the trajectory of my life

Don’t just take my word for it, take Flo’s

@shityoushouldcareaboutTAYLOR SWIFTS NOTE CHANGES IN “EXILE” WERE UNREAL

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A few links for you because I ran out of time by giving you all my opinion on stuff:

• Mushroom poisoning deaths: Family lunch mystery grips Australia (BBC)

• July was world’s hottest month on record, climate scientists confirm (The Guardian)

• Brazilian president Lula pledges ‘new Amazon dream’ at rainforest summit (The Guardian)

• Sandra Bullock's Longtime Partner Bryan Randall Dead at 57 After Private 3-Year Battle with ALS (People)

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