Freemium Friends and Ballet Bodies

brat summer 🤝 bon iver fall

Charli XCX is teasing a remix with Bon Iver (who, as I mentioned over the weekend, Gen Z loves); Charli D’Amelio joined the Broadway cast of ‘& Juliet’; and Romeo Beckham made his catwalk debut at Balenciaga.

PLASTIC SURGEONS SAY THE ‘BALLET BODY’ IS IN, wapo
In its annual report of yearly procedures, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons says everyone wants a “ballet body,” which combines “an idealization of thinness with a vogue for fitness that arose in the wake of the pandemic,” like if a ‘90s-era Kate Moss frequented Forma Pilates. The most popular surgeries in the United States last year were liposuction, breast augmentation, and the tummy tuck; there’s also been an increased preference for a smaller size of surgically sculpted breasts and buttocks.

PHARMA EYES MALE BIRTH CONTROL PILL FOR GEN Z, axios
In response to increasing abortion restrictions in the U.S., drug developers are working on new options for male contraception aimed at Gen Zers and millennials. Last week, California-based YourChoice Therapeutics launched an early phase human trial of an experimental birth control pill for men that’s quite promising. Experts say this could become a $200 billion market, though that depends largely on consumer adoption — Gen Z men generally identify as pro-choice, but getting them into a doctor’s office is another matter.

DATING APPS SEARCH FOR USERS WHO WANT TO BE ‘JUST FRIENDS’, ft
To fight dating app fatigue, Bumble, Grindr, and Match Group are doubling down on their investments in friend-finding and community-building. Ah, yes, a pivot to friendship will certainly be the silver bullet for all of the struggling dating apps. Worth noting that all of these companies rely on freemium models, and IMO, the only tougher sell than paying to meet a potential partner is paying to meet a potential friend.

WHAT IF THE SOLUTION TO MEN’S LONELINESS IS … FREEMASONRY?, slate
Freemasonry, a social fraternity for grown men, has seen its numbers shrink since the boom days of the 1940s and ’50s, but there are still nearly 1 million Masons in the U.S., and 6 million Masons worldwide. “Anyone who’s a good guy who’s looking for a little bit of community, that’s what we’re looking for,” says Tyler Lee, a 26-year-old Mason based in Boston.

WE ASKED 10-YEAR-OLDS ABOUT THE ELECTION. HERE’S WHAT WE LEARNED, cnn
Researchers who spent more than 40 hours talking politics with 80 elementary schoolers in Arizona, New Jersey, and Texas found that Democrat-supporting kids drove polarization, and they were more likely to say they wouldn’t be friends with someone who supports Trump. Kids in red states, meanwhile, were more likely to repeat misinformation; one example is that some kids believe Trump gives much of his wealth to the U.S. military, something that is obviously not true.

CRYPTO BROS 2024, businessinsider
Cryptocurrency ranks “extremely low” on the list of priorities for most voters, but it's playing a major role in politics because crypto corporations have dumped some $119 million into this year's federal elections, more than any other industry. This has led both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris to try to attract the crypto community, which is disproportionately young men.

Related: In the last week, there’s been a serious uptick in headlines around young men, politics, and the gender divide. We can assume we’ll only see more of this over the next month… 😵‍💫

• For young men who grew up in the Trump era, the 2024 election is about one big, NBC News, Sept 26

• Teenage boys’ lives are more complex than ever, The Face, Sept 27

• It’s not just Trump v Harris: America’s men and women are also locked in battle now, The Guardian, Sept 27

• Trump embraces ‘American badass’ image to get young men to vote, Bloomberg, Sept 27

• Young men and women are moving in opposite directions, Axios, Sept 28

• America’s young men are falling even further behind, WSJ, Sept 28

• Trump and Harris battle over male voters — and what masculinity looks like in 2024, NBC News, Sept 29

One last thought:

@talantorriero#onthisday the first ep of #lagunabeach premiered #mtv

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