Welcome to Broke But Moisturized 3.0! All that means is this newsletter is now written by a 30-year-old, which is to say you are in a space of WISDOM and MATURITY. To celebrate my birthday and the first birthday of Broke But Moisturized on Substack, you can subscribe for a full year for $30 now through the end of July. Studies show people who support independent media are better in bed.
Listening to: “Carolina” by Harry Styles, who speaks well to today’s theme of divine balance of masc and fem. His first album does not get the love it deserves! Also any song that mentions books and parties in the same verse is perfect. We’ll call these lyrics the Quote of the Week:
Currently Reading: At Home in the World by Joyce Maynard. I came upon this book via a review for another book, funnily enough; confessional memoirs by women of the 60s and 70s are always up my alley, but the story of J.D. Salinger’s elusive teenage lover really sold me. I’m enjoying it thus far. Maynard has a way of discussing even the uglier aspects of her youth with tenderness and an unmistakably New England, Ivy League ease.
Thinking: About this post on masculinity. Disclaimer: Neither I nor its original poster are gender scholars, but I will have one on the newsletter Thursday! Take from this what you will.
I read Claire’s words in the context of everyday relationships, rather than systems of power and violence (Though, aren’t they inextricable? Anywho…), and thus found the overall sentiment gripping. I sent it to multiple people whose thoughts I knew would help clarify the nebulous reckoning that stirred in my mind.
I spent years pushing a “men are trash” narrative as a defense mechanism/trauma response. But now, that seems a lazy, reductive approach to effecting real change, or even just moving through the world. The idea that masculinity is inherently bad undermines my own masculinity and that of the wonderful people in my life. When I view gender through less binary terms, I see how it’s not the masculinity of men that’s toxic, but a lack of integrating it with their femininity; one in such a state of imbalance is naturally apt to hoard their power rather than relinquish it for a relationship. Perhaps derision isn’t the empowering tool I’d once believed it to be. What are your thoughts?
Excited for: The second edition of Let’s Be Friends, hitting inboxes this Thursday! If you’re new here or simply forgot, Let’s Be Friends is an interview series with people whose jobs, interests, and stories give them unfiltered, IRL allure. It was sparked by my own annoyance with the elevation of celebrities, influencers, and other online personas as all that is cool and interesting. Bleh. This week we’ll hear from Dr. Rita Mookerjee: poet, professor, scholar, and all-around groovy muse who just so happened to grow/glow up in my home area.
Just Read: E.M. Ricchini’s hilarious new Substack post on the poorly executed Y2K fashion trend. If you feel like laughing at looks from the early aughts, there’s a gratuitous belt or a shrunken vest somewhere in there with your name on it.
Just Purchased: Philly friends, did you know that in Chinatown sits a dazzling Asian beauty store called S. Mart? I asked the girl working to point me toward popular cleansers and she showed me one from Cosrx (a brand I know and use), and this one from SOME BY MI which I ultimately purchased for around $15. It’s so foamy and brightening and I love it. Now go support this candyland of yummy products.