007 NOTES ON NOURISHMENT
OCTOBER: the ritual humiliation of life online, hysterical women, and lilly allen's breakup album
TL:DR | WATCH READ LISTEN DOWNLOAD FOLLOW
In October, once the global fashion weeks had come to an end, reports started surfacing on size inclusivity. Out of 9,038 looks on the SS26 runway, 97.1% were straight-size (roughly US 0–6/UK 4–10), only 2% mid-size (roughly US 8–14/UK 12–18), and 0.9% plus-size (US 16+/UK 20+), according to Vogue Business’s latest size inclusivity report. Plus-size model representation dropped sharply from 370 looks at SS24 to just 25 at SS25.
WTF happened to body positivity? Something I’ve been thinking about a lot recently, especially as it seems we’ve already entered the ozempic-fuelled #SkinnyTok era — societal ‘standards of beauty’ have swung back to the heroin-chic days of my youth. Growing up with size ‘0’ being the supposed norm certainly had an affect on my mental health.
I’ve been monitoring the psychological journals and scientific publications for reports on the body-image backlash and mental health impact of these renewed standards of thinness. Sadly, I was right: numbers for eating disorders are on the rise. Germany, America, the UK, the UAE; all have reported sharp increases. And while most focus on teenage girls, more and more note how a growing number of older women are also seeking treatment, too. As well as men and boys. No one is immune.
In treatment, you focus on nourishment. Not food. For many who suffer, food can carry judgment, fear, or control, and is often tied to rules and guilt. But nourishment centres care, restoration, and your body’s needs. It’s a holistic approach about fuelling your body, supporting your mind, and re-establishing trust in your relationship with yourself — not just what’s on the plate.
And this is where my obsession with nourishment began. Beyond food, I’m continuously searching for food for thought. What brings me joy. What soothes my mind. What makes me think. Much of it comes from literature, film, and art. And some of it, you’ll find below.
WATCH
FILM CLUB
BBC [UK]
Aimee Lou Wood as Evie and Nabhaan Rizwan as Noa star as cinephiles in this super-sweet rom-com. Each episode focuses on a different classic — from Shashank Redemption to Bridesmaids — as the friends get together every Friday evening, dress up and quiz themselves on the film of the week. Following on from the likes of Aisling Bea’s This Way Up and Kat Sadler’s Such Brave Girls, darker themes are woven through the narrative, tapping into the growing category of comedy about women’s mental health, written by women.
RIOT WOMEN
Do not be put off by the opening scene of this very British series, in which Beth (Joanna Scanlan) attempts to hang herself; this is a must-watch for anyone socialised as female in the UK. Expect angry rock songs about menopause, and the return of Tamsin Greig’s face.
THE ROSES
APPLE [US] | PRIME VIDEO [UK]
If you didn’t catch The Roses’ cinematic release back in August, you can now stream it. Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch play a British married couple who move California, find success, and then implode. The ending is brilliant, as is the writing. Tony McNamara’s screenplay is a reimagining of Warren Adler’s 1989 The War Of The Roses with the driest of UK wit and snarky sarcasm that’s hilariously juxtaposed by the American sensibility. Kate McKinnon’s comedic injection is the cherry on top of this deliciously dark comedy.
READ
A PSYCHOANALYST AND AN INTERNET THEORIST GET REAL ABOUT THE RITUAL HUMILIATION OF LIFE ONLINE by JAMIESON WEBSTER [AND MINDY SEU]
Interested in sex, the internet, the future, and the convergence of the three? Read this culturally stimulating convo between psychoanalyst and Neurotica coloumnist, Jamieson Webster, and artist, theorist, and author of A SEXUAL HISTORY OF THE INTERNET and CYBERFEMINISM INDEX, Mindy Seu. From algorithmic echo chambers to the evolution of cyberfeminism, Webster and Seu dive deep into the shifting landscape of digital sex work, and how its informed by the loneliness epidemic — as well as the coining of new terms like “techdomme” and “data dom.” I’ve always gravitated towards the findom concept, personally.
“Now, we all have anxiety in spades, disoriented in such a wildly shifting technological landscape. Down the rabbit hole, we are Alice in Wonderland swimming in a pool of our own tears because we followed the directions that said, “Eat Me.”
SHRINKBOTS, PART II by ADINA GLICKSTEIN
I may have forgotten most of my university psychology, but my fascination with the subject has only grown in tandem alongside the rise of social media — and now, AI. Use artificial intelligence for coaching, sure. But for therapy? Adina Glickstein also has a fixation on chatbot therapy, and for her column in October, the reformed e-girl and an editor-at-large for Spike, “ventures further into the philosophical deep end as she fumbles towards a theory of psychoAInalysis.”
WE STILL CALL WOMEN HYSTERICAL – BUT NOW WE DO IT THROUGH BOTOX by ELLEN ATLANTA
In this article, social historian of girlhood and the internet, Ellen Atlanta, unpacks the contemporary rules of beauty: basically “Don’t move a muscle. Don’t express. Don’t object.” But do we really want a future with faces that never read as angry? Or one with no laugh lines to display how much fun you had? And isn’t this just another form of control? Great read.
LISTEN
PROFESSOR SOPHIE BISHOP ON INFLUENCER CREEP, AUTHENTICITY, AND THE FUTURE OF CREATIVE WORK on DEEP READ WITH PHOEBE LOVATT
Happy this topic is getting the discourse it deserves. It’s something I’ve been ruminating over for years: to post, or not to post. In this episode of DEEP READ, Phoebe Lovatt and Sophie Bishop dive into the social landscape, questioning how modern dynamics continue to shift visibility, labour rights, AI, and the future of cultural work.
IS ROSALÍA THE MOST AMBITIOUS POP STAR ON EARTH? ‘LUX’ MAKES HER CASE on POPCAST
“Words have so much power. They’re spells,” explains Rosalía in a recent Popcast episode; the first in which she discusses her new album, Lux. The Spanish singer’s first track off the album, Berghain, is experimental and emotive — and a small taste of what’s to come, apparently. Listen to Rosalía wax lyrical on her musical journey so far, creating Lux in 13 different languages, Björk, the London Symphony Orchestra, and “the feminine mystic.”
LIV LITTLE AND MIRANDA SAWYER HAVE NOTES ON… LILY ALLEN’S BREAKUP ALBUM
While it seems everyone has an opinion on Lilly Allen’s recent musical release, Liv Little and Miranda Sawyer remind everyone that this is a work of autofiction, before deftly dissecting the songs and lyrics on West End Girl on their weekly culture podcast produced by The Observer.
DOWNLOAD
THE FUTURE OF MENOPAUSE
Ultra Violet is the only women’s health forecasting agency. Working to drive innovation in the sector, it produces strategic foresight and futures reports, and its latest focuses on menopause. “Ageing is entering an aspirational era. As Millennials approach menopause, they’ll embrace this new life phase differently from the women who’ve gone before them.”
NEXUS
This UK-focused AI-powered health app is on a mission to close the gender health gap. The in-app AI health coach utilises a proprietary AI model and is guided by Nova to help women connect the dots when it comes to their well-being. With medical misogyny still rife, people are looking for insights and control over their health, and Nexus is here to help with everything from hormonal cycles to nutrition and mental health.
COMET
A new browser from Perplexity that acts as a personal assistant, helping you automate tasks, research the web, organise your email, and more. While it hasn’t replaced Chrome on my mac, it is quite helpful when it comes to reading multi-tabbed Google Docs and embedding research questions into search.
FOLLOW
J'Nae Phillips
Follow this London-based writer, trend analyst and cultural researcher and her Substack, Fashion Tingz, for contemporary commentary on the industry at large. Start with: Exclusivity Economics.
Amni Raihan
For intriguing essays and critical takes on internet culture, fashion, tech, and more, follow Amni Raihan and her Substack, The Field Test. Start with: is ai and its slop all we can talk about?
i-D
In October, i-D magazine launched its Substack that’s described as a “more intimate look insi-De the brains of our editors, with deep dives and data dumps from across culture—and around the world.” Start with: Should “legacy” media even be on Substack?