Weekly Seeds | August 25, 2024 | About Those Weirdos

Imagine that I’m an Aussie and that I exercised my right to TIME OFF

You are receiving this email on Monday because I couldn’t get to it this weekend. You, too, can take the weekend off by embracing the laws of Down Under. According to the newly passed Right to Disconnect laws, Australian employers can’t punish workers who refuse to pick up the phone outside of hours. The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations says the right is “about making sure employees know when they can switch off and what they have to do when they are not working (and not being paid)”.

Happy final days of August.  

Weirdos.

OK, I’m disappointed. About five months ago, we came up with the marketing tagline “finally found those weirdos” (h/t to Rachel Lark coming up with this one). In our limited testing, the phrase was received with great excitement. But recently, the conversation about being WEIRD turned a corner and became less cool, and more.. weird. 

What do you think? Should we keep printing those stickers or put the phrase on ice until 2025?

Instead of chasing safety

I’m obsessed with Devon Price’s Instagram and Substack! In their latest post, There is no safe sex. There is no safe life, Devon reframes the conversation around Safe Sex. Devon writes, “Instead of chasing after the false promise of “safety,” trying to remain completely insulated from harm and challenge forever, we must get better at admitting risk into our lives.” I love this framing and am a huge advocate for shifting the focus to how we decide which risk we are exposing ourselves to instead of believing we can avoid risk and negative impact altogether. Free bonus content: watch “Your safer sex roadmap” workshop recording from Plura’s STI Symposium.

To truly understand the risk associated with any experience, one needs to be informed. Unfortunately, there is still a lot of stigma, misinformation, and misunderstanding associated with many STIs, with HIV at the top of the leaderboard. According to the CDC, as of December 2023, 37 states still have a criminal law related to HIV or sexually transmitted disease status.

Updated information: The 2024 International AIDS Conference in Munich included several promising research updates including a trial in SA and Uganda which showed that a twice-yearly injection could offer complete protection from HIV, and a German man who became the seventh person in history to be cured of HIV following stem cell transplant.

Risk admission on social

What happens when your job admits you to risks that cross your boundaries, like if you work in politics or entertainment? The Center for Countering Digital Hate released a report that highlights the ways IG is failing to create a safe platform for women in politics. The center analyzed 560,000 comments on IG posts from leading women politicians and estimated that 1 in 25 replies was toxic (mostly containing gendered terms) and that meta fail to act on 93% of abusive comments.

In perfect timing, the discussion about harassment and boundaries rose to the top of everyone’s TikTok feed. Chappell Roan calls out predatory fan behavior and Jackie Aina sets a boundary with fans by blocking fans who keep referencing Jackie’s personal life.

Alongside the comments celebrating Chappell and Jackie’s demand for a different experience when it comes to consent, it’s heartbreaking to read the many shaming replies, with many comments touching on the narrative of “it comes with the job”, “if you’re famous- you signed up for it”. I love Roan’s reply.

Silver streaks

I just found my second grey hair this weekend!  Am I freaked out about aging? Yes!

First, let’s acknowledge gendered ageism. The stigma against women has a foothold in the language (i.e., terms like “silver fox” vs “old maid”), the workplace (women are viewed as outdated, while men are viewed as wise), and medical research (underfunding for conditions affecting women). There are many underlying reasons for this gap (patriarchy, capitalism, sexism), but one issue that was brought to my attention last month is the absence of female mice in research labs as a limiting factor in research.

Now, to the good news. People are starting to talk about menopause more, or at least ‘my people are talking about menopause more’. New books are coming out on the topic including On All Fours, What Fresh Hell is This? and an upcoming book from Noami Watts. These stories share an empowered and inspiring story about the era of eldering.

Related to research, it’s is also catching up, with promising results for a non-hormonal pill, which significantly reduces menopause symptoms (this is important for the many people who can’t or don’t want to take hormones).

In line with aging norm of nostalgia, we invited you to share what your younger self thought you’d be when you grew up. Here’s what you answered:

Finally, clarification from last week’s newsletter

In last week’s newsletter, I referenced 401k and meant to call out Social Security. Thanks to those who wrote in and helped me identify this mistake.

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. 

Contact me anytime: noa@heyplura.com