Unladylike

**CONSPIRACY, SHE WROTE episodes 1-3 are out now! Subscribe on your favorite podcast app so you don't miss new episodes every Thursday** Pack your rush bags! It's sorority recruitment season in the South. Elizabeth Bronwyn Boyd takes us beyond the spectacle of #BamaRush into the "competitive femininity" and gender ritual of rush. She also reveals why it's no coincidence that historically white sororities were founded in the antebellum South, how they remained segregated far longer than frats, and the regional race and class roles sororities perform in her book, Southern Beauty: Race, Ritual and Memory in the Modern South. Follow Unladylike on Instagram and TikTok Join the Unladies' Room Patreon Shop merch Advertise with Multitude Productions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Roxane Gay never envisioned herself as gun owner, until increasing threats forced her to reconsider what it means to be a Black feminist in a country where gun violence is rampant. From the historic role of armed resistance in Black liberation to the modern-day realities of misogynoir and the indifference toward Black women’s safety, Roxane confronts the complexities of gun culture, feminism and who is deemed worthy of self-defense. Her essay "Stand Your Ground" is the final installment of the Roxane Gay & series from Everand Originals. . . . Catch new episodes of Conspiracy, She Wrote every Thursday Follow Unladylike on Instagram and TikTok Join the Unladies' Room Patreon Shop merch Advertise with Multitude Productions Use code UNLADYLIKE30 for 30% off at nulastin.com/unladylike. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are good vibes the secret to success? Cristen revisits psychologist Dr. Gabrielle Oettingen, author of Rethinking Positive Thinking, who rewrites the "law of attraction" with science and one handy acronym. Keep listening: How to Manifest Your BEST Life (original episode) Ask Unladylike: Happiness vs Toxic Positivity Magical Overthinking Have you heard the NEW podcast - Conspiracy, She Wrote?? Follow Unladylike on Instagram and TikTok Join the Unladies' Room Patreon Advertise with Multitude Productions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Introducing the debut episode of Cristen's brand new podcast Conspiracy, She Wrote. Where intersectional feminism meet conspiracy theories. Grab your red string and follow along for the unhinged women's history and Illuminati paranoia that set the stage for today's conspiracy-pilled political and pop cultures. Cultural historian Lindsay Porter introduces us to the fascist foremothers of modern conspiracism who were spreading disinformation about deep state plots, elite cabals and shady secret societies a century ago.  Subscribe to Conspiracy, She Wrote, available where you get your podcasts. New episodes every Thursday. For ad-free episodes, guest interview extras and exclusive red string unraveling, join The Cabal! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From "peek n pokes" to chromosome testing, the Olympics has a questionable history of body policing female athletes. Tested host Rose Eveleth reveals the past, present and future of gender verification policies in elite sports, who they affect and what it has to do with fairness. Highlights include: Caster Semenya's swagger, Cold War paranoia, intersex identity, DDS status (Differences of Sexual Development) and misogynoir. Follow Unladylike on Instagram and TikTok Join the Unladies' Room Patreon Shop merch Advertise with Multitude Productions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When do we care about women in conflict zones? Feminist activist Lina AbiRafeh has spent decades doing exactly that and witnessing the disproportionate impact of war and terrorism on women firsthand. She takes us to Nepal, Afghanistan, Palestine and back to unpack the realities of gender-based violence, the necessity of moving beyond despair paralysis and hierarchies of pain. Highlights include: actionable rage, feminist whataboutery and Yalla Feminists: Arab Rights and Resistance. Follow Unladylike on Instagram, TikTok Join the Unladies' Room Patreon Shop merch Advertise with Multitude Productions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Inspired an unlady told her big nose needed "fixing", this 2022 gem asks: What happens when refusing a nose job means defying family tradition? Filmmaker Gayle Kirschenbaum shares why her mother endlessly agonized over the bump in her nose. Then, medical historian Sharrona Pearl deconstructs the "Jewish nose" myth, big nose stigma and rhinoplasty's vain reputation. Follow Unladylike on Instagram and TikTok Join the Unladies' Room Shop merch Advertise with Multitude Productions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why is menstruation still so misunderstood? Ask Kate Clancy, the anthropology professor and period scientist who cared enough to study the relationship between COVID vaccination and temporary cycle changes when nobody else was. Cristen talks to Kate about intersectional feminist period science, what "normal" means and Period: The Real Story of Menstruation. Highlights include: an imaginary menarche, problematic faves, pathologizing vs contextualizing, a serendipitous Slack and menstrual liberation. Follow Unladylike on Instagram and TikTok Join the Unladies' Room Patreon Shop merch Contact Multitude Productions for ad rates, etc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

**UNLADIES' ROOM teaser** Cristen's calling it. The presidential election in November ain't gonna be Trump v Biden. dun dun dunnnn! To hear the full, ad-free episode, join the Patreon - and THANK YOU!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why is number two extra taboo for girls? This listener fave originally aired in 2019, but unlike Joe Biden, it does not get old. Cristen revisits a pair of comedian "poop friends" and an IBS expert to find out how gender gets in our guts, the side effects of poop shame and generally dealing with unruly bowels. Highlights include: the Moth for poop stories, colonoscopy fun, wee pads and sad improv. Follow Unladylike: Instagram and TikTok Join the Unladies' Room Patreon Shop merch Advertise with Multitude Productions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the old saying goes, horses sweat, men perspire, and women glisten. In which case, call me a horse; I'm dripping. Cristen (and her signature sweat mustache) dives into the gender- and class-coded human superpower that is SWEATING. Science journalist Sarah Everts (The Joy of Sweat: The Strange Science of Perspiration) explains why our bodies make sweat and how deodorant marketers spun it into a societal problem for women. Highlights include: mythbusting sweat detoxes, smell dating, wild pig pheromones and stinky spinsters. Follow Unladylike on Instagram and TikTok Join the Unladies' Room Patreon Shop merch Advertise with Multitude Productions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sharing a preview of the Say More podcast, where, in a special series, Boston Globe columnist Shirley Leung is opening up the conversation about stress and burnout to help listeners feel less alone and inspired to get help. In this episode, Krista Tippett, says the uncertainty of the times we’re living in requires a larger spiritual quest for meaning and stillness in modern life. Krista shares her own journey managing burnout and “befriending reality” in all its glorious messiness. Then, she shares a benediction on burnout. You can listen to Say More HERE. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Samhita Mukhopadhyay is done sacrificing herself to ambition. Editorial director of The Meteor and former Teen Vogue executive editor, Samhita details how corporate feminism failed us, what got lost in the fall of the girlboss and why we have to think beyond the fact that work suuuuucks. Her new book is The Myth of Making It: A Workplace Reckoning. Follow Unladylike on Instagram and TikTok Join the Unladies' Room Patreon Shop merch Contact Multitude Productions for ad rates, etc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Women initiate 70 PERCENT of divorces in husband-wife marriages. But why? Are no-fault divorce laws to thank/blame? Cristen digs through the legal history divorcing women, surprising stats and an old LIFE magazine to help explain the paradoxical and persistent relationship between women and divorce. Highlights include: faking affairs, mythbusting "too easy" divorce, America's hottest divorce colony, cooling off periods, and the 1980s "Divorce Wars."  This episode originally aired in the Unladies Room Patreon.  WANNA SHARE? Send voice memos, etc to hello@unladylike.co Follow Unladylike: Instagram | TikTok Contact Multitude Productions for ad rates, etc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are diaries the ultimate form of authenticity? How do our stories shift when we're journaling for no one to see? On Theme co-hosts Yves Jeffcoat and Katie Mitchell read into Black women's diaries for the personal reflections, everyday details and emotional nuance that goes unseen elsewhere. Highlights include: social media vs. journal authenticity, Harlem Renaissance tea, Octavia Butler's bills, and Whose Diary Do You WISH You Could Read?  Follow Unladylike on Instagram and TikTok Join the Unladies' Room Patreon Shop merch Advertise with Multitude Productions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do 400 years-worth of women's published diaries tell us about the kinds of secrets and feelings we keep to ourselves? From a 16th-century spiritualist to the diaries of Anne Frank and Ma Yan, writer Sarah Gristwood reveals the everyday histories they document, the age-old frustrations they share and why she's a proponent of hanging onto your old journals. (Yes, even the embarrassing ones!) Highlights include: writing in code, pie for dinner, peach lingerie and notes to future selves. Sarah's new anthology is Secret Voices: A Year of Women's Diaries. Follow Unladylike: Instagram, TikTok Join the Unladies' Room Shop merch Advertise with Multitude Productions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How did Bumble get its (celibacy-themed) rebrand so wrong? What does it tell us about general dating app burnout? Cristen revises the brand's millennial girlboss origin story, its promise of female empowerment and Whitney Wolfe Herd's path to self-made billionaire. Highlights include: AI dating coaches, a sketchy Russian billionaire, corporate apologies, a Bumble-themed nunnery and costly roses on Hinge. SPILL YOUR DATING APP THOUGHTS AND STORIES: hello@unladylike.co Follow Unladylike: Instagram and TikTok Join the Unladies' Room Patreon Shop merch Advertise with Multitude Productions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Imagine having to host the Pope and the Chinese President. On the same day. Plus, a whole press corps and socialite circle is watching and waiting to blame you for anything that goes wrong. That’s what Deesha Dyer walked into when she was promoted to White House Social Secretary for the Obama administration in 2015. But even more than her high-stakes responsibilities, Deesha had to reckon with her own imposterism in a system setting her up to fail. Highlights include: a Condom Queen, 90s hip-hop, unpaid interning, handbag microaggressions and one infamous Tiffany's box. Deesha's new memoir is Undiplomatic: How My Attitude Created the Best Kind of Attitude.  Follow Unladylike on Instagram and TikTok Join the Unladies' Room Patreon Shop bRaNd NeW mErCh Advertise with Multitude Productions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

NeW ePiSoDeS returning next week, unladies! In the meantime . . . What happens when women in long-term relationships with straight men realize they're bi, and why are they less likely to come out? Writer and Culture Club host Maggie Zhou shares her own reckoning with the "Bittersweet Privilege of Straight-Passing in Queer Communities," queer imposterism and bisexual erasure. Maggie and Cristen also offer advice to two married unladies feeling stuck in the bisexual closet. (Originally aired May 25, 2023. ) Get in touch at hello@unladylike.co Follow Unladylike on Instagram and TikTok Join the Unladies' Room Patreon Shop Unladylike merch Contact Multitude Productions for advertising inquiries Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when adult women discover they're autistic? Cristen busts the gender stereotypes and neurotypical myths of Autism Spectrum Disorder with help from unladies who've been there. The Loudest Girl in the World host and producer, Lauren Ober, details the (expensive!) jungle gym she had to cross for a middle-age diagnosis. Meanwhile, listener Sarah has mixed feelings about self-diagnosis, and listener Anna feels finally free to unmask. Highlights include: refrigerator-mom blame, too-tight ponytails, a queer correlation and America's Next Top Model cringe. Send voice memos and emails to hello@unladylike.co Follow Unladylike on Instagram and TikTok Join the Unladies' Room Patreon Shop Unladylike doodads Contact Multitude Productions for ad rates, etc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices