A Few Things
Hello! Support from readers keeps this newsletter sponsor-free. Please consider a paid newsletter subscription: just $5/month or save money with the $50/annual sub. You can also go above and beyond by becoming a Founding Member at $75. Or, some of you have let me know you’d rather support my work directly via Paypal and Venmo (@gabrielle-blair). Thank you! Seriously, thank you — for reading and for the support.
Hello, Barbie!
We just got back from the Barbie movie (it’s Friday night in France when I’m writing this), and I enjoyed it so much more than I expected — and I went in with high expectations. I knew I would laugh, but I didn’t know I would laugh so hard. And I had no idea that I would cry. If you’re going to see it, don’t forget to bring your hanky!
As per usual, we used this as an excuse to dress up. Click to watch:
A Few Things
Here are a few things I’ve been wanting to share with you.
You may remember the harrowing situation that my niece and nephew went through last summer when Child Protective Services in Massachusetts took their toddler and nursing baby in the middle of the night with no warrant or paperwork. Pacific Legal Foundation is helping them fight back with a federal lawsuit, so that no other family has to endure the same unnecessary, unlawful trauma for seeking medical care for a sick child. You can read about their lawsuit here.
I’m still getting messages about my last newsletter, which was on medical patriarchy. I’ve collected 100 of the messages in this Instagram highlight if you’d like to read them. There are also lots of comments on that newsletter.
I loved this review of the Barbie movie from Charlotte Clymer.
People complaining about recipes because of their own substitutions — apparently there’s a whole subreddit of these. Hahaha!
Below the Belt: The Last Health Taboo, is a new documentary that follows four people on a years-long search for effective treatment for endometriosis. This feels like it connects to my last newsletter as well.
According to a new study, no mother can escape the ‘motherhood penalty’ — even breadwinners.
Domestic Violence Hotline Reports 99% Increase in Calls Post-Roe. This is reproductive coercion.
Alt Summit 2024 tickets go on sale this coming Wednesday, July 26th! Alt Summit is the conference I founded in 2010 — and it’s still going strong. The flagship event is happening March 2024 in Palm Springs. Space is limited, so if you want to come, mark your calendar. If you’re curious, I made a little video about who comes to Alt Summit, and another video about why people come to Alt Summit.
A Little Shopping
I’ve been sharing shopping links in my Instagram stories and here are three of the items that my Instagram readers liked the best.
You can find more of my shopping picks in this highlight on Instagram.
Lately on Design Mom
Tree branch planters. An inexpensive project that you’ll actually put to use.
Chicken Pasta Salad with Bacon and Jalapeños. The perfect summer salad.
Make a Tricycle Car Wash. A great way for your kids — and all the kids in the neighborhood who will inevitably congregate — to beat the heat this summer.
That’s all for now. I hope you have a beautiful weekend. Feel free to comment on anything I mentioned above, or whatever’s on your mind.
kisses,
Gabrielle
Gabrielle, on the topic of medical patriarchy, Dr. Mary Claire Haver, a board certified Ob/Gynie specializing in perimenopause and menopause just highlighted an Instagram reel by another doctor talking about the FDA approval of an FDA topical gel available over the counter for erectile dysfunction, wondering if they tested its safety on the women/vaginas/partners it would enter? and also potentially increases in violence against women? Thought provoking and concerning: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cu9a8OGOqWX/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
WHY are people pairing Barbie with Oppenheimer ( haven't seen either ) ?
I reiterate, I haven't seen Barbie, BUT I think that I'd pay to see Quentin Tarantino's Barbie. 😉 Give her the briefcase from Pulp Fiction or make her like Beatrix Kiddo !