Monthly Archives: July 2021

B Sides: Joselyn Reviews All the Books She’s Read So Far This Year



It’s literally just Joselyn reading her Goodreads reviews of the following books (with select commentary):

Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

Shit, Actually by Lindy West

The Viscount Who Loved Me (Bridgerton, book 2) by Julia Quinn

The Last Wish (The Witcher, #0.5…?) by Andrzej Sapkowski

The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow

Shadow and Bone (The Shadow and Bone trilogy, #1) by Leigh Bardugo

Siege and Storm (S&B #2) by Leigh Bardugo

Ruin and Rising (S&B #3) by Leigh Bardugo

The Constant Gardener by John le Carre

The Sign of Four (Sherlock Holmes, #2) by Arthur Conan Doyle

Annihilation (Southern Reach, #1)


Good Body



CW: We make brief reference to eating disorders in this episode. We talk about our weight, mostly about gaining it, plus guilt over not working out (okay, mostly Joselyn does). Even though we do not promote the toxic preoccupation with culturally-imposed unattainable beauty standards in this episode, we also acknowledge that discussing the subject at all can be super stressful and triggering. So join us if that’s where you’re at, and if it’s not then you just skip it and go do something nice for yourself. Maybe a bath. Or a face mask. Or listen to some good music.

Receipts for this episode:

Buzzfeed video of beauty standards throughout time: https://youtu.be/Xrp0zJZu0a4

Graphic memoir and historical telling of female body requirements through history by Nealie Tan Ngo: https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/what-historical-ideals-womens-shapes-teach-us-about-womens-self-perception-and-body-decisions-today/2019-10

We want photoshopped bodies even though we know they’re not real: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6061013/

These beauty standards are not only unattainable, they’re racist as shit (read this study in full – it’s worth it): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4713035/

How male body standards have changed through the years (someone should really talk about this…): https://www.chemistclick.co.uk/news/how-the-ideal-male-body-has-changed-throughout-history

There is nothing primal or instinctual about older men wanting to bang young chicks: 1.https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jul/05/men-sperm-male-fertility-40 2.https://theoutline.com/post/6061/older-men-younger-women-evolution-or-bullshit 3.https://psychcentral.com/blog/a-therapist-reveals-the-surprising-truth-about-older-men-marring-younger-women#3

Study suggesting moderate exercise can reduce cancer recurrence: https://www.breastcancer.org/research-news/exercise-improves-survival-and-reduces-risk#:~:text=The%20researchers%20found%20that%20women,t%20meet%20the%20minimum%20guidelines

Study of multiple other studies suggesting exercise is good for you (shocker): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4835133/

Exercise is good, but weight loss is not necessarily related to decreased cancer recurrence: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33541403/

The BMI (Body Mass Index) is racist: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/diet-nutrition/a35047103/bmi-racist-history/

My Body My Choice is not yours to appropriate, assholes: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskFeminists/comments/73bcl7/appropriate_use_of_my_body_my_choice/


B Sides: New Requirements for Pride and Breast Cancer Awareness Months



All corporations are hereby required to provide sufficient evidence of allyship prior to being cleared for the use of month-specific branding, marketing, social media posting, what-have-you. Tori, Charlie and I are founding members of the committee which will make these determinations and all corporations are currently in violation and subject to much fines. This is definitely a real thing. Put us on a t-shirt.