we've health and wellness'd too close to the sun

Ever since I was a little girl, I knew that history would repeat itself, but gosh is it devastating to watch how dumb it is when it happens! In the big decade that is the 21st century, we are deeply interested in making harm chic again. From body standards to cigarettes to political ideologies…nothing is safe from the comeback. But what’s interesting (and frightening!) about this particular moment, is the way that things we once recognized as harmful are making themselves popular through a unique marketing angle: the wellness market. Take for instance, nicotine. In a beautiful oxymoronic moment, you’ll find the wellness gurus and bio-hackers (mostly MAHA) so deeply concerned with solving aging, now pushing big nicotine to their followers and fans. The NYT recently called this out in the piece “Influencers Are Spinning Nicotine as a ‘Natural’ Health Hack”. I suppose with the rise of red meat-maxxing and raw milk being touted as the key to optimal health again, this was sort of par for the course. But a second bombshell has entered the villa! Coming in hot are the tech bros. In a piece from WIRED called “The Tech Bros Are All In on Zyn” we learn that the secret to selling your start up is actually having a Zyn in your mouth for 16 hours of the day! I, for one, am fascinated by how quickly the tech bubble may crumble if we cut off access to nicotine…but I digress. There’s nothing more powerful than the wellness industry when it comes to convincing you to buy things. Turning nicotine into a health hack? In our wellness era? That has the potential to kickstart a generation of addicts (it already has!). But this isn’t the only substance we’ve integrated into optimization culture. And the ones we’ve already normalized paint a not-so-pretty picture of what’s to come. Let’s take caffeine, for example. Held up as a performance enhancer, the gym era has taken it to new heights with every brand launching their own neon-branded, artificially flavored energy concoction. The normalization of truly diabolical caffeine intakes has led to severe issues for many, including the premature death of a teen that swept news cycles in the past few weeks. A new culprit on the scene? The widespread use of unregulated peptides that lure in users with promises of their dream body achieved with ease. Just a few minutes of snooping and you’ll find comment sections littered with teenagers looking to get their hands on these miracle drugs. While certain peptides have been made widely available like GLP-1s, their popularity has normalized a market of un-related injections that are not subject to typical quality control. What could go wrong? Clearly, we have so severely lost the plot. A reality made possible by frustrating health care systems, a resurgence of unrealistic body standards, and so much more we can hardly cover the tip of the iceberg here… Yes, the wellness industry boom has been productive and innovative in many ways. Getting people moving, empowering them to take control of their health, democratizing knowledge, these are all good things! But we’re really cruising into wax-melting territory, and I’m scared of watching even more people fall. IN OTHER NEWS: Harry Styles and Zoe Kravitz engaged...oh so she's just going to ignore the future Mrs. Styles shirt I wore all throughout middle school...what happened to dibs?? Will be posting a poem about this to my IG story a la Channing Tatum It's Devil Wears Prada 2 week!! And we’re excited to see the movie and the end of weird brand partnerships to promote it. Barry Keoghan talking about Sabrina Carpenter on Benny Blanco’s podcast....STOP GIVING MEN MICROPHONES Speaking of exes, embarrassment, the fumble of the century etc… we ride at dawn for Megan Thee Stallion Secret Lives of Mormon Wives OC cast reveal!! Apparently the reality show name doesn’t have to match the reality of the show anymore. Fascinating stuff for the industry. almost may means time for new vision boards what did she put in this song?! we’re having a moment with summer food pesto pasta tomatoes on bagels (and on their own with salt and peppa) zucchini white miso wherever Cierra Miller Oscar Isaac (saw a reel of him that really hit obviously) feeling tired all day just to feel really wired before going bed when you listen to all your podcasts too early in the week and have nothing to look forward to critiquing things without an ounce of critical thought Stuff we are consuming rn that you may enjoy too: Reading: Listening: Watching: Mother Mary my landlord won't raise my rent this year katseye at the met gala Cheers, the everygirlz P.S. Want to ask us a question? Submit one here!