Setting aside the inexorable, sad influence of patriarchy and misogyny in all this, don't we know Olivia Nuzzi's sexual 'shame' will reap only rewards? She is the new American archetype - shameless and successful because of it, in the same vein as the Kardashians. Their sordid lives are the spectacle, and for those who can stomach that shame - the payoff is big, because "we love to see it."
Instead of removing the Scarlet letter, we made it a gold star. I'm afraid we all suffer from the loss of decency and shame, and the moral meritocracy it promoted.
Thank you for reading and for this, there is food for thought. The spectacle economy point is real - I'm just not sure 'shamelessness' is what's being rewarded so much as our appetite for watching shame performed or vice versa. Or even in doing the shaming. There's many layers to it and I think the incentive structure benefits the patriarchy still (which drives its existence). A lot to think about!
This. Is. Brilliant. I could say A LOT. I mean A LOT LOT. But I'm just going to keep it short and take the low road. Nothing about Olivia Nuzzi will age well. Nothing. I'm not mean. It's just facts. Is that mean? Again, facts.
Absolutely. I am by no means exonerating The Politician. Perhaps my focus on ON and my non-mention of the Insane/Acutely Dangerous and Reckless Kennedy is coming from a place deep in my subconscious that says not "DO NOT" expect too much from men but (at least in this particular phase of my life) my lived experience is "I CANNOT" expect much. So I overdelegate responsibility to women (including myself) not to (pardon) fuck up. This is of course not a good operating principle and does not allocate responsibility properly. Also, although Livvy has seemed in interviews to be incapable of self reflection, which is the only thing that allows growth, she's only 32 (?) - loads of time to build a new set of values if she wishes. RFK Jr is irredeemable. That doesn't mean the same as "he's off the hook." It just means that writing about him feels as fruitless as I imagine a seance attempting to bring his Central Park Bear Carcass back to life would feel.
I completely get it and the "I CANNOT expect much from men" operating principle is so real and so exhausting to see...I've witnessed it over and over in iterations across countries and couples and conundrums. Women indeed end up doing their accountability work for them because waiting for them to do it feels like waiting for Godot! As for the rest, time will tell and I think we (ideally) just want the best for the people and the people they become like we'd want for ourselves. Looking forward to sharing more bangers soon, apparently my email function did not send out 75% of my current posts due to a malfunction so it's time to get a crackin' for 2026!
Thanks for writing this, it clarifies a lot. The idea of quantifiying love like a balance sheet is hilariously brilliant. I often think my Pilates class is less predictable than the Twitter algoritm, even with all my AI research feeds. You've really hit on something insightful here.
The NYT book review of American Canto just popped up on my screen as I was reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Interesting contrast. Anyway. It's absolutely delightful.
Thank you for this enjoyable read.
Setting aside the inexorable, sad influence of patriarchy and misogyny in all this, don't we know Olivia Nuzzi's sexual 'shame' will reap only rewards? She is the new American archetype - shameless and successful because of it, in the same vein as the Kardashians. Their sordid lives are the spectacle, and for those who can stomach that shame - the payoff is big, because "we love to see it."
Instead of removing the Scarlet letter, we made it a gold star. I'm afraid we all suffer from the loss of decency and shame, and the moral meritocracy it promoted.
Thank you for reading and for this, there is food for thought. The spectacle economy point is real - I'm just not sure 'shamelessness' is what's being rewarded so much as our appetite for watching shame performed or vice versa. Or even in doing the shaming. There's many layers to it and I think the incentive structure benefits the patriarchy still (which drives its existence). A lot to think about!
This. Is. Brilliant. I could say A LOT. I mean A LOT LOT. But I'm just going to keep it short and take the low road. Nothing about Olivia Nuzzi will age well. Nothing. I'm not mean. It's just facts. Is that mean? Again, facts.
Well done.
I think women are always paying a price for something or another when you compare it to the men involved too. Thank you for reading :)
Absolutely. I am by no means exonerating The Politician. Perhaps my focus on ON and my non-mention of the Insane/Acutely Dangerous and Reckless Kennedy is coming from a place deep in my subconscious that says not "DO NOT" expect too much from men but (at least in this particular phase of my life) my lived experience is "I CANNOT" expect much. So I overdelegate responsibility to women (including myself) not to (pardon) fuck up. This is of course not a good operating principle and does not allocate responsibility properly. Also, although Livvy has seemed in interviews to be incapable of self reflection, which is the only thing that allows growth, she's only 32 (?) - loads of time to build a new set of values if she wishes. RFK Jr is irredeemable. That doesn't mean the same as "he's off the hook." It just means that writing about him feels as fruitless as I imagine a seance attempting to bring his Central Park Bear Carcass back to life would feel.
I completely get it and the "I CANNOT expect much from men" operating principle is so real and so exhausting to see...I've witnessed it over and over in iterations across countries and couples and conundrums. Women indeed end up doing their accountability work for them because waiting for them to do it feels like waiting for Godot! As for the rest, time will tell and I think we (ideally) just want the best for the people and the people they become like we'd want for ourselves. Looking forward to sharing more bangers soon, apparently my email function did not send out 75% of my current posts due to a malfunction so it's time to get a crackin' for 2026!
Thanks for writing this, it clarifies a lot. The idea of quantifiying love like a balance sheet is hilariously brilliant. I often think my Pilates class is less predictable than the Twitter algoritm, even with all my AI research feeds. You've really hit on something insightful here.
Thank you as always for your support and readership Roxy, I appreciate it and 'hilariously brilliant' is the exact tone I'm going for!!
Love requires self-debasement [ ]
Love requires self-abandonment [ * ]
Por que no los dos
Because i never debase myself. Why guilt
An interesting distinction to ponder!
You’re on a roll! This also means I need to finish my Olivia Nuzzi essay lol
I have to more to say later when I read this again. 🤓
The NYT book review of American Canto just popped up on my screen as I was reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Interesting contrast. Anyway. It's absolutely delightful.