Did Bumble just try to shame me back into using dating apps?
There have been so many articles written on the latest ad flops from Apple (catch up here) and Bumble (catch up here) so I'll try to keep it short. Without even addressing the celibacy topic (which is discussed at length here), what struck me most when viewing these ads was the limited (to non-existent) inspiring human story. Will my life be better if I use Bumble? Will you help me meet a deep emotional need? Instead, it feels like Bumble is saying “yea, dating apps suck, but we've made it that it's currently the only way to find a partner, so suck it up and get with the program”.
Shoutout to Feeld for jumping on the opportunity and standing for choice and adding the ability to tag your Feeld profile as "celibate".
Watching the video of Diddy violently attacking Cassie Ventura is horrific. Listening to Harrison Butker say that being gay in sinful and that being a homemaker is the highest role for women is horrific. Everyone is condemning these actions, but I struggle to find hope that anything will change. Is this the first act of violence we're seeing from celebrities and people with power? I don’t believe so. We pretend that these are bad apples, but I believe that the barrel is rotten and we need to address to cultural and societal issues that enable these behavior.
The debate continues: is polyamory the ruling class’s latest fad?
Recently, two posts came out addressing Tyler Austin Harper Atlantic’s writeup “Polyamory, the ruling class’s latest fad” and exploring whether polyamory is more common among wealthier people.
Brett Chamberlin, the executive director of OPEN-love.org, also responds to the Atlantic with data showing that non-monogamy is practiced by a broad swath of America and adds the political perspective: “Hardly an abdication of political responsibility, polyamory is an expression of political values which place cooperation over competition, connection over consumption, egalitarianism over individualism, and which elevate compassion, communication, and consent.”
Sexy movies are back!
I grew up in the 90s and remember being very turned on by movies, including heavily making out in the cinema. I found this NYT article fascinating, covering how sex in mainstream movies was “pretty much gone” by 2019 (with only about 1.2 percent of films released between 2010 and 2020 contained an overt sex scene, the lowest decade total since the 1960s) and how they might be making a comeback this summer. Feels like the right time for Drive-In Theaters to make a comeback?
Speaking of sexy movies- people are raving about Challenger as (a) sexy, and (b) about polyamory. I haven’t seen it yet, but based on watching the trailer and reading some articles that say it is poly, I think it’s not poly at all. But it does look very sexy. Send me your reviews!
Speaking of sexy movies that do a terrible job representing sex+ culture, check out this convo between William Winters of Bonobo Network and Midori about everything that’s wrong about Eyes Wide Shut.
Community spotlight- Lady V of Sex Positive World
I attended Lady V’s “Gender Affirming Intimacy” workshop last week and was blown away by her deep knowledge, space-holding skills, and tactical insights on gender, sexuality, kink, and empowerment. One of the gems I discovered through Lady V is the Fucking Trans Women zine including step-by-step illustrations of unique sexy moves. You can follow Lady V’s workshop through Sex Positive World.
See you next week.
Noa Elan
Community Builder | Plura
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.
