Last summer was a celebration of girlhood. We had the Barbie movie, we saw the Eras Tour’s first leg wrap the USA in handmade friendship bracelets, and we revelled in being ‘just like all the other girls.’
This summer? It’s a femininomenon!
Throughout the Olympics - and now again during the Paralympics, my screen was filled with amazing sportswomen. They came to Paris from all of the world to show their skills and strength, in bodies of all shapes and sizes.
I saw an interview with the (gold-medal winning!) GB women’s quadruple sculls boat (that is, four women in a rowing boat, each using two oats), where there was a question asked about how much fuel it takes to train at that level.
In my age group, and I think still outside of the world of high-performance sports, we’re socialised to be self-deprecating, to talk about food as a necessary evil, and almost be ashamed of it. By contrast, these young women talk enthusiastically about how oats move boats (a slogan I love) and about how much fuel they have to get on board in order to perform at their level.
At the same time, we’ve got Ilona Maher and the US Women’s Rugby team shooting women’s rugby right into everyone’s news feeds, showing that you can be a demon on the rugby pitch one day and dress up fancy the next - or, as you wish, be a demon Lego-builder the next!
And of course I can’t talk about women at the Olympics without talking about Imane Khelif, who had to deal with all sorts of nonsense being shared about her online while she was just trying to get her head down and win a damn gold medal (which she did!). Super brave and resilient.
In more ‘ways to be a woman’, this has been the summer of queer pop music right in the mainstream - as well as women singing about their friends and the men in their lives, we now get Billie Eilish singing about eating a girl for lunch, and Chappell Roan’s fantastic lyrics about being who she is and sleeping with who she wants to sleep with. More power to them!
Then there’s the ultimate Femininomenon of 2024: Kamala Harris!
Harris and her team have brought much-needed joy and effervescence to the US presidential race, and I’m really enjoying watching from this side of the pond.
Speak soon,
Lily
Missed Friday’s recommendations post?
Or August’s links roundup?