Weekly Seeds | August 04, 2024 | Find Your Match In a Porta-potty
Published by Noa Elan on
Thank you for taking care of yourself
It’s been a pleasure to witness Simone Biles's triumphant return to the Olympic games. In the context of Biles stepping away from the 2021 games to take care of her mental health, her wins are a powerful reminder of the power of listening to one’s boundaries and needs.
To J.D. Vance and anyone else who shames themselves or anyone else for saying no, MarciaB created this beautiful poster on how to do so gracefully.
Transphobia, Sexism, and hate in the Olympic games
It’s been ugly. My heart hurts as I read through the articles, tweets, and hate speech coming at Olympic athletes. Unfortunately, these attacks are not directed at athletes who are convicted felons but rather at people who hold marginalized identities: women, people of color, and transgender athletes. Requiring people to prove they belong and challenging their success in "their space" and community is absolutely heartbreaking. I can only hope that the supportive voices reach these athletes as well ( paywall).
Happy Orgasm Day
August 1st is Orgasm Day in multiple countries. I love that we’re able to celebrate sexual pleasure, and normalize talking about it. H/T to Feeld who brought this day to my attention, and created some sweeet and sweaty content on social this week.
Orgasms are amazing, but they can also be complicated. Some people can only orgasm alone, and others only with a partner, some are deeply attached to their partners orgasm, and others have shame around their own pleasure. I know I’ve experienced all of the above at some point in my adult life.
Check out these conversation prompts from Plura x MarciaB, which invites us to notice the unspoken assumptions we walk into a partnered engagement with and make our engagements more conscious.
Missed the opportunity to celebrate? No need to wait another year! Women Orgasm Day takes place on 8/8.
A man in Philadelphia made this billboard his IRL dating profile, in hopes to find a solid match. He likely improved his match rate in comparison to transitional online dating apps.
I personally decided to Swipe Left, after I saw that he “promised he has normal hobbies”. No thank you.
For someone more my type (i.e hot weirdos) I would jump on the opportunity to do more "offline swiping" (even if this means skipping my turn to pee at the portos!). And that’s exactly what I did last month, at a NorCal festival, when I discovered Fiona’s “Toilet Tinder” experience. Check out Fiona’s IG post for data-driven insights, and apply on ToiletTinderLove.com
The solution to social-media-led loneliness is.. social-media-ai-led loneliness
Last week week, Instagram started rolling out Meta AI, inviting users to create an AI version of themselves or a different character based on their interests.
My take: It is great that chatbots allow people to experience someone who is actively listening to them, but this is only part of what makes a relating and connection magical. Unlike human relationships, AI chatbots are inherently at service to the human and offer a one-direction relationship experience (see Replika AI’s tagline: Always here to listen and talk. Always on your side). But what about the other sides of relating? Where you support others, service them, compromise, change, and stretch yourself in the process of engaging.
Without having these experiences and learning these skills, I'm afraid we will continue seeing unsatisfied and unrounded 7-year-old brains in 40-year-old bodies. And the cycle of loneliness continues.
Sex positive spaces that are designed for people who are queer, trans, disabled, and kinky
I loved learning about The Toolbox Collective, NYC’s new traпs-owned, quеег-centered sехцаl health and plеаsuгe shop. What I appreciated when reading this article covering the collective's work is that the narrative wasn’t about inclusivity (”also good for..”), but rather building spaces and companies for people with disabilities first. If you want to support the Toolbox Collective, head to their GoFundMe.
This is a good opportunity to (re)share some related content and companies that I love:
Note: This newsletter represents my personal opinions and thoughts. I understand I may have unexamined views and I appreciate when people point them out so that I am made aware and can start thinking about them. When I make mistakes I am committed to learning about my impact on others and repairing.
paywall).
