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        <title>Evie Magazine</title>
        <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com</link>
        <description>
          Focusing on women and celebrating what makes them so unique, Evie Magazine helps women seek truth and find beauty...the kind that really matters.
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        <copyright>© 2021 Evie Magazine</copyright>
        <pubDate>Sat, 09 May 2026 13:25:17 GMT</pubDate>
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          <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com</link>
          <title>Evie Magazine</title>
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      <title><![CDATA[Everything New Moms Wished They Knew Before Having A Baby]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/everything-new-moms-wished-they-knew-before-having-a-baby</link>
      <dc:creator>Anna Hugoboom</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[Every baby is a miracle, but for first-time moms, the transition into motherhood can feel anything but magical in those early days. Between the sleepless nights, emotional highs and lows, and the steep learning curve of caring for a newborn, many women find themselves thinking: Why didn't anyone tell me this?]]></description>
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      <content:encoded><![CDATA[Maybe you read all the pregnancy books, did your birthing classes, wrote your ideal birth plan , stocked up on raspberry leaf tea and ate the dates . But many, if not all, first-time moms (and dads) find themselves unequipped mentally and emotionally for the learning curves that come with nurturing a tiny human that's completely dependent upon them for everything. The newborn stage and postpartum is its own ballgame, in addition to the whole birth scenario. As a doula and a sister with expectant sisters, I've seen enough newborn mamas to know that firsthand. So, we gathered honest reflections from new moms to give some genuine and realistic guidance. This way, whether you're currently expecting or just want to be informed for the future, you can feel a little more prepared for what lies ahead. The Surprises No One Warns You About You can read every book and still be caught off guard. Often what surprises new moms most isn't the logistics, but the intensity of everything. The sacrificial love of parenthood isn't often glamorous. Many mothers didn't expect challenges like illnesses, hormonal rollercoasters, or how unpredictable a newborn's schedule can be: "Juggling postpartum self-care while taking care of a baby is brutal even with family to help!" "Colic. I was not prepared and didn't know anything about it or how to help my baby." "How your schedule is never your own again. You can't even poop when you want you want to." Then, there's the emotional side: the overwhelming love, yes—but also the fear, self-doubt, and constant questioning. And changing hormones don't help! "That you actually really have maternal instincts and it's crazy. But also being scared and not knowing what the best thing is." "It's surprising to realize truly how much your baby will need you." "How easily he fits into our lives." "Gosh how much you love them the MOMENT you see them. What a GIFT." "How much love you could have for a tiny little baby." "How much stronger I instantly became once they put her on my chest." Postpartum: The Part We (Still) Don't Talk About Enough While much of pregnancy focuses on preparing for baby, many women felt unprepared for their own recovery. From night sweats and physical healing to "baby blues" and anxiety, postpartum can be intense. Several readers even shared how the loss of bladder control was a hiccup they had to adjust to. And that's just your body, not accounting for your baby who doesn't yet register it has a separate body from yours. Add in sleep deprivation and the pressure to "do it all," and it's no wonder so many moms feel overwhelmed. As one mother lamented: "I was so prepared for baby girl and not well enough for myself and my own postpartum recovery." Another shared: "My postpartum hormones made me very emotional for a bit—like one time I literally looked at a doorknob and broke down crying, haha—so I took some herbal supplements like passionflower to help calm my nervous system and some like omega-3s and Vitamin D3 to balance my hormones." The isolation is something that many mothers mentioned as a very real and difficult part of the new-mother phase. One stated: "Gets a bit lonely when you can't just up and meet up with friends like you used to." What helps most? Accepting help—from your husband, family, or friends. Eat enough nutritious foods so your moods stay balanced (especially if you're breastfeeding and burning a lot of fuel). If you have people who are willing to contribute, a meal train helps a ton. Staying connected helps as well (even daily calls can make a difference). Carve out small moments for yourself, like a shower or a short walk (even better if your baby can fall asleep in the stroller so you can still have some quiet time). Several mothers said going on a walk and taking a shower every day really makes a difference and helps you feel more like yourself. Another added: "Doing a little bit of my fav hobby for about 30 min a day helped keep me grounded." One mother said, "My husband and I have an arrangement where I have Saturday mornings to myself for some me-time, so I can go to Pilates, get my nails done, or meet up with girlfriends, and he has time with the baby. Honestly, it's been so good and it's so necessary." A mother of eight stated very matter-of-fact: "Your life changes forever once you become a mother. Your focus is your baby. Your friend group changes. I didn't have family living nearby for my first few babies, so it was really nice when I could meet young moms and we'd go on walks together in the park with the strollers." Leaning on faith or personal grounding practices proved to be a comfort, because motherhood is indeed a whole new level of sacrifice which pairs with the overwhelming love that comes with the territory. Multiple mothers mentioned how praying during difficult feedings or night shifts helped their morale and shifted their perspective. One mother shared: "Reflecting on Christ on the cross who gave His body for us as I am for my baby." Sleep: Letting Go of Perfection Sleep quickly becomes the most talked-about topic for new parents, and for good reason. Some moms swear by strict schedules and wake windows, while others follow their baby's cues more intuitively. Techniques like swaddling, babywearing, or nursing to sleep are common tools. Later on, some couples found gentle sleep training helpful. To quote directly: "Sleep training is actually compassionate (despite how stressful it may seem for the baby)." "Light exposure during the day and keep it dark at night. Tummy time during the day." "CIO as soon as the 4-month sleep regression hits…gave us 11 hr. night sleep stretches." "I used earplugs when we eventually sleep trained, otherwise I'd hear her and feel guilty then not sleep." "Turn off the WI-FI at night and it helps quality sleep, and don't use your phone near the baby's head! The EMF waves are so harmful for their tiny developing brain." "Following wake windows and sleep training when baby is old enough." "A snuggle me lounger made the transition from our room to her crib soooo much easier." "Sorry not sorry but kind sleep training is the move for the whole fam's sake. Also nursing to sleep and naps in baby carriers 100%." "Nap schedule and infant lounger. Nap time also on me was great lol." "Staying on a schedule and watching for baby's cues." "Once the baby is old enough you just have to sleep train, otherwise the baby gets super clingy and won't sleep when you're not with them and you never get a break." "Nursing to sleep! We had the bassinet next to my side of the bed and then moved her to her crib at around 3 months. I read a lot of sources saying it would create bad habits but honestly, it's biology! My baby was sleeping long ranges or through the night." There seems to be no one-size-fits-all solution. But the most helpful mindset seems to be to stay flexible and do what works for your baby, and your sanity. What Are Some Handy Tricks? "You can never have enough baby wipes and paper towels." " Swaddling helps the baby feel secure." "Learning your baby's language and skin to skin is always a safe bet for a crying baby." "Get a wipe dispenser lol." "If baby gets upset, he/she probably just wants the nipple, haha." "My Montessori Topponchino (baby mat) and my Breast Friend nursing pillow ." "The 5 cries!" This one is interesting, but you might not be familiar with it. We know that babies cry to communicate their needs , right? Well, as it turns out, a baby gives five specific cries , each with its own little sound. Here's what they sound like: "Neh." This cry is often associated with hunger and comes from the baby sucking and pushing their tongue into their mouth, indicating they might be hungry and looking to feed. "Owh/Oah." This cry resembles a yawn and often means that your baby is tired or sleepy and ready for a nap or bedtime. "Heh." If a baby is feeling uncomfortable, itchy or burning, they might use this cry to indicate a need for a diaper change or that they're too hot or too cold. "Eairh/Eargghh." This cry often signals gastric distress, such as discomfort from trapped gas or indigestion. "Eh." When babies need to burp, they may make this noise to indicate that there's trapped air in the chest that needs releasing. On Feeding Strategies Breastfeeding can be beautiful, but it can also be demanding, both physically and emotionally. Several readers said nursing felt "so draining, literally." One mother shared with me how she just felt like a cow, always tied to pumping or nursing, and how it sometimes was emotionally hard having it dominating so much of her focus and energy. Mothers shared experiences that range across the board: "Babies might not immediately latch after birth and that's ok." "She had a tongue tie, and I almost gave up over it…perseverance is really the key. It'll get to a point where it clicks, and the dedication was 100% worth it." " Combo feeding from the start makes mom's life WAY easier." "The physical challenges of breastfeeding—latching, clogged ducts , nipple injuries." "The silver nipple shields truly help with cracked nipples." "I actually liked breastfeeding! I did natural births and the babies usually latched well, and I loved the bonding connection I felt with my baby." "My baby had acid reflux and spit up constantly. I couldn't eat dairy or drink wine or coffee." "Nursing in the bathtub is a handy trick!" "I couldn't produce enough for my baby, so I ended up having to supplement." "Using a nipple shield is sometimes necessary at the beginning… and staying calm." "See a lactation consultant. Sometimes latching issues can signal a deeper issue." "I just found it so demanding, especially cluster feeding." "It was so interesting to find out that the breastmilk actually changes in composition if baby gets sick—it literally becomes the medicine the baby needs to get better." "When my milk coming in, it was actually pretty painful, and I didn't want to pump." "Breastfeeding was my favorite thing about having all three of my babies. For me, at least, it wasn't nearly as 'painful' as everyone warned me it would be. It helped me feel so connected with my babies and I really cherished every feeding. Don't feel like you need to write down every time you feed your baby, or keep a specific schedule. I found that that just stressed me out and made it way less enjoyable. Just stay plugged into your baby's cues and feed on-demand, wherever, whenever. Lastly, please don't call yourself a 'dairy cow,' it's not only degrading, but will just make you view yourself as a perpetual victim of this beautiful, natural process. Resist the urge to complain and just be grateful that you have this ability to breastfeed and provide these incredible nutrients to your baby (so many women can't)." "Even if you can't breastfeed for some reason or another at first, don't give up! I was hospitalized for a month following the birth of my son (as was he) and tried (unsuccessfully) to pump several times in the hospital between surgeries. I was so discouraged that it wasn't working that we eventually gave into using formula when the hospital told us they couldn't give him any more donor milk. When I was reunited with him a month after birth, I was encouraged by my pediatrician to try to latch him anyway. I didn't think it would work, but to my surprise, he latched right away and I started dripping milk. From there, we were able to wean him off of formula and solely onto breastmilk until he was one year old. It felt like a miracle." One mother urged: "Don't get the epidural! Babies latch better from the get-go when the mom doesn't receive it." Granted, everyone goes on a different birthing journey, where some opt for natural, others welcome the epidural, and some have complications arise that were not in the birth plan. However—and don't shoot the messenger—there are medical studies that show that the epidural can affect the baby's ability to latch and suck in the beginning, possibly because the epidural slows the baby's reflexes and response time. Here's an important note for nursing nutrition (from a naturopath mother): "I had to remember to eat every few hours. This is not the time to go on a diet or calorie deficit so you can lose the 'baby weight.' That will happen, and breastfeeding will actually help with that. You have to eat more when you're nursing than when you're pregnant so you can make enough breastmilk. Not empty calories like potato chips, but nutritious and fresh-cooked foods with solid protein, fiber, and natural fats for baby's brain health. And it's so important to drink a lot of fluids and eat enough fruits and vegetables and things like sourdough bread. You can't nurse a baby on the carnivore diet. And if I or my baby got bound up, I ate a can of pineapple (in its own juice) so the natural enzymes helped bowel movements, and it always did the trick. I did at one point have mastitis, so I drank comfrey tea for the vitamin C and took hot showers." The Small Things That Make a Big Difference Sometimes it's the simplest tips that save your day, as these moms discovered: "A bit of time in nature makes everything better." "Sitz baths were so helpful for vaginal healing after the birth trauma." "Shower every day, you'll feel so much better." "Getting outside is the cure for anything." "Don't ever do something during nap time you can do while the baby is awake." "Learning your baby's language and skin to skin is always a safe bet for a crying baby." "When the baby sleeps, you sleep or at least try to rest so you can recharge." "Keep easy, nutritious snacks on hand." "Peanut butter protein bites and meal train!" "Setting up a meal train is so helpful!" "Mute, unfollow, or block any negativity surrounding motherhood online. It's so incredibly unhelpful to see moms complaining about their babies or their new identities. Even if you don't feel that way initially, the negativity has a way of creeping into your subconscious, reminding you in moments where you'd usually be grateful and happy that you should feel like a victim of your circumstances. It quickly leads to resentment and dissatisfaction where there was none." And perhaps the hardest, but most important, lesson: learn to accept help. If you have family nearby to help, you are blessed! If you don't, try to set up a system of some kind with your husband so you don't crash and burn. Your baby needs you, but don't forget that you also need some time to recharge as well. The Hardest Parts (And Why They Matter) Many mothers described feelings of isolation, especially when far from family or adjusting to a new routine. Others struggled with mom guilt, loss of independence, or worries about whether they were "doing it right." "The hardest thing was my whole birth—it was miserable! It's important to not compare and read too many birth stories and get intimidated and feel like a failure in comparison to another's birth story. I was so unprepared for the pain. After the birth, it burned so bad to pee so I had to use comfrey compresses." "The hardest things for me were my birth and the constant feeling that I wasn't good enough or a good mom." "Natural labor and a cracked nipple that took almost a full two months to heal." "Birth was the most painful thing I've ever experienced in my life, but it was also so empowering and so incredibly primal. I think not having the epidural helped my body and muscles stayed more in touch with the process, and I think that helped prevent me tearing. I also exercised all before and during pregnancy." "We didn't have any family nearby to help support and our whole friend group changed, so it was really helpful once I was able to meet young moms I could relate with more. It was a huge help having meal trains set up and my mother-in-law came in town for a week." "Gotta rest especially the first 6 weeks—you rest when the baby sleeps. And meal trains were so helpful!" "I felt unprepared with meals for postpartum." "The postpartum night sweats!" "The isolation, not being near family, not having mom friends." These feelings are more common than you think. One mother told me: "It took me a while to get back to being myself. I was close to postpartum depression and anxiety but once I started eating better and moving my body more, it helped." Motherhood stretches you in every way—physically, emotionally, and mentally. But within those challenges, many women also discovered a strength they didn't know they had. Another Factor For PP Depression This is a delicate topic, but necessary for enlightenment and awareness: if a woman has had an abortion and later has a birth, it's often common for her to have (increased) postpartum depression and/or anxiety. A medical study found higher levels of depressive affect in women with past abortions in months 1, 6, and 12 after birth than the women without this history. This is because the woman in this situation might suffer from a delayed sense of anxiety and depression; the reality of seeing her baby born live might trigger and solidify the realization that her past baby was killed in the abortion . This is not the rule, however, especially if she has experienced healing and obtained help and support through counseling ( Rachel's Vineyard is an example of an organization that provides wonderful support and healing after abortion). But it's a factor to be aware of, if applicable, and it's something that's not usually talked about. Support Changes Everything Whether it's a husband, family member, or doula, support can make all the difference. One mother emphasized: "My mother-in-law was a huge support! I thought I wouldn't want any help outside the hubby but boy was she our saving grace." Partners who showed up, especially during the night, with meals, or emotional reassurance, were described as lifesavers. One mother said of her husband: "emotional support and getting up with me in the middle of the night so I wasn't alone." Another: "He was there for so much—[guys], just be present emotionally to your wife." Speaking of support, almost every mother who participated in our poll wished she had a doula , and those who didn't only said so because their husband rocked at being her "doula." A few mothers had their sisters help them through their births. I know it was so special for me to be my sister's birth doula . One mother mentioned, "I regret not having a doula, especially since I did a hospital birth. Next time I want to have one." It can be extremely daunting to have a baby for the first time, especially if you're the first out of your friends or siblings to experience it. Don't underestimate how valuable that extra guidance and care can be! Also, just because you hear the phrase "women have been squatting in fields for millennia," doesn't mean you shouldn't set yourself up to have a birth and postpartum that's as empowered and supported as possible to minimize trauma and burnout. Women are incredibly strong, but we do need support. Here's what the contributing mommas had to say about their husbands: "The biggest help from him was taking the night shift so I could sleep." "Helped cook, held baby to give me a break/on nights when baby wouldn't sleep." "He refilled my water 10000x, made food for me, and held the baby so I could shower." "Emotional support and getting up with me in the middle of the night so I wasn't alone." "Providing protein heavy snacks and encouraged healthy eating." "Taking early morning shift so she could sleep, doing extra chores, making meals." "Thoroughly taught himself about birth and postpartum, physical/mental/emotional toll." "Offering support and steadiness when I was in baby blues, getting the things to keep the house afloat handled." "My husband is a deep sleeper, so sometimes he slept through everything, but then he'd watch the baby in the morning so I could sleep. Eventually he sometimes had to sleep in the guest room so he could get sleep before the work day, but still would watch her in the early hours so I could rest." "It's so necessary for your husband to do his research and learn about the birth and recovery." "My husband was so encouraging and helped me know I could get through the pain of the birth labor, and he was really good about massaging my back." From a mother of 8 and wife of 42 years: "Good communication is key—men are often clueless and have no idea how painful or exhausted the baby process is, during and after birth. They just can't understand it and will never experience it themselves. You often have to ask for what support or understanding you need. So, I went through things with my husband so that he knew what to expect or what I was going through. This is especially important for things like not having expectations with intimacy, so your husband understands and doesn't feel neglected." Intimacy On that note, let's talk about intimacy—sexual and emotional. The newborn and postpartum phase is quite the rollercoaster, and it's common for couples to experience intimacy issues because of the lifestyle changes, sleep deprivation, and the sex abstinence period after birth. It's medically recommended that a woman wait 4-6 weeks postpartum before having sex so that her vaginal area and any tears (if applicable) have time to heal. This can be difficult, and men can often feel neglected while most, if not all, the attention is going to the baby. This is when good communication—about feelings, presence, and appreciation—is key. Men want to feel needed and appreciated . A man who doesn't feel affirmed in his efforts will start to feel invisible, which is especially easy to slip into during the newborn fog when most of the attention is going to the baby. A genuine "thank you," a sweet pet name, telling him he's doing a great job too, that he looks hot holding your newborn, all of it lands more than you think. And if you find yourself needing some affirmation back, ask for it. Words of affirmation might not be his love language, so don't wait for him to read your mind. It's also worth remembering that intimacy is about so much more than sex. While you're navigating the abstinence window, there are still plenty of ways to feel close to him. Send him a flirty text in the middle of the day. Wrap your arms around his waist from behind while he's cooking dinner. Snuggle up on the couch after the baby goes down. A quiet night in with takeout and a show counts as quality time. Sex isn't the only way to stay connected, and during this season, it physically can't be. The good news is your marriage was never built on that alone. Practicing good, loving communication also creates a calm environment for the baby. Babies absorb your emotions, and your stress management affects them more than you realize. One wife shared some marriage wisdom: "I know that as the woman, I am the heart of the home and how I talk to my husband sets the tone for our marriage and how he will respond to me. So I have to remember to be patient, affirming, loving, and respectful instead of reacting to something emotionally." Another simply said: "Remember that, above all, you're a team. You're both navigating this new season together for the very first time. Give a lot of grace." A Final Word to New Moms If there's one thing these mothers want you to know, it's this: You will figure it out. Not all at once. Not perfectly. But little by little, day by day. There will be moments of doubt, and moments of deep joy. There will be exhaustion, but also a kind of love that reshapes you entirely. And somewhere in the middle of it all, you'll realize this: you're stronger, more capable, and more intuitive than you ever imagined. Because while no one can fully prepare you for motherhood, you are more ready than you think.]]></content:encoded>
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      <pubDate>Fri, 08 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Relationships</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[35 Feminine Workout Sets That Are Cuter Than Your Actual Outfits]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/35-feminine-workout-sets-that-are-cuter-than-your-actual-outfits</link>
      <dc:creator>Anna Hartman</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[Some girls have a five-step morning routine. Others have a matching workout set. ]]></description>
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      <content:encoded><![CDATA[The math is simple. Whether you're sprinting to class, meeting a friend for matcha, or genuinely making it to reformer pilates (proud of you, babe), a matching set is the closest thing to a cheat code that exists. Throw on your sunglasses, a pair of mini hoops, a fresh blow-out, and call it a day. The only update for spring? Skip the black. This season is all about butter yellow, ivory, baby blue, and pink. The soft, feminine palette that makes you look extremely that girl. Here are 35 of the prettiest sets to grab before they're gone. This article may contain affiliate links or paid partnerships. We may earn a commission or compensation at no extra cost to you. All products are chosen independently by our editorial team and reflect our genuine recommendations.]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/35-feminine-workout-sets-that-are-cuter-than-your-actual-outfits</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 08 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Style</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[When Did Motherhood Stop Being Sacred?]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/when-did-motherhood-stop-being-sacred</link>
      <dc:creator>Lisa Britton</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[We’re living in one of the most advanced eras in human history. Smartphones connect us instantly across the world, medicine has extended our lifespans, and women have shattered “glass ceilings” in boardrooms, labs, and government. Yet beneath this progress lies a pervasive illness.]]></description>
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      <content:encoded><![CDATA[In the name of “economic parity” and “female empowerment,” we’ve reframed womanhood itself as a “burden.” Motherhood, once the crown of feminine power, has been made out to be an obstacle to status, income, stuff, and self-actualization. We tell young women that to matter, they must become more like traditional men: relentless competitors in the workplace, unencumbered by pregnancy, nursing, or nurturing, when in actuality it’s the beautiful foundation of life itself. This isn’t liberation but, like I always say, a unique, insidious form of misogyny dressed up in progressive clothing. The symptoms are everywhere. Fertility rates are plummeting in the western world. Young women report record levels of depression and anxiety, many of them admitting in therapy sessions or late-night conversations that the promised fulfillment of career-first, stuff-seeking living feels hollow. Boys, meanwhile, are lost in a culture that offers them little belief of masculine purpose, raised in homes where the sacred work of motherhood is sidelined or outsourced. The gender wars rage away on social media and in political debates, pitting men and women against each other as rivals rather than teammates. We’ve devalued the very thing that makes women uniquely powerful: the capacity to create and sustain life, to try to reach “parity,” and I’m sick of it. Motherhood, once the crown of feminine power, has been made out to be an obstacle to status, income, stuff, and self-actualization. It doesn’t have to be this way. We can (and must) give women freedom to make their own paths. Some will thrive professionally, others in the arts or in family life. But society as a whole must once again glorify womanhood and motherhood with the reverence it deserves. We don’t need to return to the past. I believe we simply need to recover ancient wisdom that understood motherhood not as limitation but as the beating heart of civilization and work that into our thinking today. Across time and geography, certain cultures elevated the feminine, honored mothers as sacred vessels of life, and built societies around matrilineal strength. Their examples remind us that valuing women as women creates harmony, not hierarchy. Perhaps by studying them, we can start to heal the rift in our own chaotic time. Let’s begin by looking at ancient Egypt which offers one of the clearest examples of this balance. Far from the oppressive patriarchy we often imagine throughout history, Egyptian women possessed remarkable legal autonomy. They could own and inherit property, initiate divorce, and even be doctors, scribes, or priestesses. Royal succession frequently traced legitimacy through the female line, underscoring the belief that a queen’s blood carried divine continuity. This kind of respect wasn’t an accident. It flowed directly from the culture’s reverence for motherhood. Goddesses like Isis embodied fertility, protection, healing, and the nurturing force that sustained the cosmos. Human mothers were seen as earthly reflections of these divine figures, life-givers whose role connected them to the sacred order of Ma’at, the principle of truth and harmony. Far from being sidelined by childbearing, Egyptian women were honored precisely because of it. Their capacity to bring new life was understood as a holy power , not a “professional detour.” Travel farther back to the Bronze Age civilization of Minoan Crete, which is often described as woman-centered. Excavations at sites reveal a society where the primary deities were female: the Great Mother Goddess, the Snake Goddess symbolizing fertility and authority. Art and religious iconography showed women in positions of high status like priestesses conducting rituals, elegant ladies participating in public ceremonies. Motherhood was visually and spiritually central to their living. Figurines of women in childbirth or nursing babies suggest that the natural power of the female body wasn’t hidden but celebrated. In this culture, the feminine wasn’t an afterthought; it was the spiritual and aesthetic core to them. Scholars debate whether Minoan society was fully matriarchal, but the evidence is clear: womanhood and motherhood were sources of prestige and divine connection, not obstacles to be minimized like they are today. On the other side of the world, Vedic India in its early traditions showed women as living embodiments of the divine mother goddess. The texts portray the mother as the highest guru, worthy of reverence a thousand times greater than the father. Shakti, the feminine creative energy, animated the universe, and women were seen as her personification, the essential source of life and creation. Women composed hymns, debated philosophy, and held intellectual status alongside men. Motherhood wasn’t just a domestic chore but a cosmic act linking each family to the eternal rhythm of birth, sustenance, and renewal. The epics reinforce this: devoted sons like the Pandavas and Duryodhana have their mothers’ counsel above everything else. In the Vedic worldview, honoring the mother was honoring the very force that sustains human existence. Womanhood and motherhood were sources of prestige and divine connection, not obstacles to be minimized like they are today. Indigenous North America gives another noteworthy model to look at. The Iroquois Confederacy operated as a matrilineal society in which women held real authority. Clan Mothers (respected elder women) nominated and could remove male chiefs, making sure leaders remained accountable to the community. Women controlled agricultural land, managed property, and shaped the political and spiritual norms of the tribe. Descent and inheritance passed through the female line. Motherhood here was explicitly tied to leadership and sustenance. Iroquois mothers had power that was both practical and sacred. Their role was foundational. Closer to me personally, let’s look at the Mi’kmaq in eastern Canada. I grew up in Nova Scotia and I have Mi’kmaq in my ancestry. In the Mi’kmaq worldview, woman and man are not rivals but the fulfillments of one another, bound by shared duties and a deep harmony. Yet women carry a sacred obligation to the Holy Spirit as keepers of the unknown, and they view them as gifted to see the ordinary with wonder and to “shape tomorrow.” To them, each woman becomes the primal path that draws her man past the grind of daily life into the unknowable future. They are wisdom on earth, helping guide their men and communities. Even deeper in prehistory, the Neolithic settlement of Çatalhöyük in Anatolia (modern Turkey) hints at a world saturated with female divinity. Among the thousands of artifacts they found, the most iconic is the Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük, an 8,000-year-old clay figurine of a female figure on a throne between two leopards, possibly in the act of giving birth. Hundreds of similar goddess figurines suggest a culture that placed the Mother Goddess at the center of spiritual life. While interpretations vary, the overwhelming emphasis on mature, fertile female forms points to a society that glorified the life-creating power of women. Motherhood wasn’t a burden; it appears to have been the organizing principle of their worldview. These patterns happen even in the modern era. Among China’s Mosuo people, often called the “Kingdom of Women,” society remains proudly matrilineal. Women head households, manage property, and pass inheritance directly from mother to daughter. Children belong to their mother’s line. The system prioritizes female authority in domestic and economic affairs without diminishing men’s roles in other spheres. Another group, Indonesia’s Minangkabau (the world’s largest matrilineal society) trace descent and property through the female line. Women control ancestral lands and big houses, while husbands are welcomed as honored guests. Despite being devout Muslims, Minangkabau culture has kept this structure for centuries, showing that matrilineal respect for motherhood can coexist with faith and the modern day. What unites these cultures? Three powerful themes stand out. First, matrilineal inheritance: property, lineage, and authority flowed through mothers, grounding society in the undeniable reality of maternity. Second, goddess worship: a central Mother Goddess, whether Isis, the Snake Goddess, Shakti, or the Seated Woman, symbolized fertility, creation, and spiritual power. Third, and most importantly, a profound respect for motherhood itself. It was never viewed as a limitation on a woman’s worth. Instead, it was the way of leadership, sustenance, and cosmic order. Motherhood elevated women rather than diminishing them. Imagine a culture that once again crowns motherhood. We don’t need to copy these societies exactly. I’m in no way saying that women should be more important than men or have all the authority. Balance and respect for both sexes is most important. And these past civilizations’ imperfections—like slavery in Egypt, ritual sacrifice in some of the Minoan groups, or the real challenges of matriliny—remind us that no human culture was ever flawless. But what we can recover is the underlying wisdom: men and women aren’t interchangeable, nor are they rivals. They’re complementary. Masculine and feminine each carry universal significance. When we honor both equally without pretending they’re the same, we create space for harmony . Imagine a culture that once again crowns motherhood. Young women would feel less pressure to delay or forgo children out of economic desires or “betraying women.” Mental health would improve as the sexes wouldn't be encouraged to compete and the lie that fulfillment comes only from corporate ladders and material things would dissolve. Boys would grow up witnessing moms valued as powerful, not victims, giving them clearer models of family and their purpose. The gender wars might quiet down as we stop forcing women into male molds and instead celebrate the unique glory of the feminine. Men and women were never meant to compete for the same crown. We’re on the same team, designed to thrive together. By looking honestly at our past, not through the distorted lens of modern ideology but with open eyes, we can regain the ancient truth that motherhood is not a burden to be managed but a sacred power to be honored. When we give womanhood its crown again, I think everyone wins, and our children, our families, and our civilization itself will be the richer for it.]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/when-did-motherhood-stop-being-sacred</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 08 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Relationships</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[Having Kids Didn't Ruin My Mental Health. It Fixed It.]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/having-kids-didnt-ruin-my-mental-health-it-fixed-it</link>
      <dc:creator>Hadley Heath Manning</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[Sometimes, like any mother, I think: “These kids are driving me insane!” But what if my kids are the very reason I’m still sane?]]></description>
      //
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[In a world where people are increasingly isolated, removed from nature, deprived of physical touch, and filled with negativity, one thing has forced me into a more mentally healthy lifestyle. And that thing is motherhood. This Mother’s Day, I’m examining the mental health effects of motherhood—a subject of hot debate. And I’m dwelling on how motherhood has changed my life, directionally and daily. Most people are familiar with the sleeplessness, isolation, guilt, and stress that accompany motherhood. On the other hand, some surveys have found that married moms are the happiest group of people. Much of the commentary on these apparently conflicting messages posits that while the day-to-day stresses of motherhood are a negative , this stress is more than offset by the deep sense of satisfaction that moms derive from their families. But this analysis misses how the motherhood lifestyle, specifically, benefits moms, even in the here and now. Kids correlate with better mental health and daily happiness, largely because parenting forces behavioral changes you might not choose otherwise. Childless people can certainly adopt these same habits, but they have to decide to. Parents often don't have that luxury, and sometimes that constraint is exactly what they need. Physical Connection One of the biggest differences between moms and childfree women is how little time and space moms have to ourselves. This is often depicted as a negative for moms, but what about the positives? Mothers, especially those of us with young children, are in physical contact with small bodies frequently. We hug, cuddle, and carry our kids so much that cultural commentators describe the phenomenon of being “ touched out ” or smothered by so much physical affection. Although the baby phase can be very physically intensive, life with little kids is more balanced. My elementary-aged kids still hug me and hold my hand, and if I’m lucky, cuddle up for movie night. Touch (when it’s welcome and comfortable) is good for mental health. A 2021 study found that touch frequency during COVID-19 lockdowns predicted better mood and lower loneliness. On the other extreme, people who live alone are at greater risk for “ skin hunger ” or a lack of physical affection that is associated with depressive symptoms. People who live alone are at greater risk for “skin hunger” or a lack of physical affection that is associated with depressive symptoms. Similarly, while moms sometimes feel annoyed or overwhelmed with young kids who say “mommy” one thousand times each day, the truth is that deep down, it feels good to be wanted, to be the center of someone’s universe. The pop-culture narrative focuses on how children’s needs are often a drain on moms. But this attachment is healthy for kids and moms . Moms know our lives have value. What would our kids do without us? Too Busy to Spiral Conversely, sometimes I wonder: what would I do without my kids? According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey , employed parents of kids under 6 have the least leisure time of any adult subgroup. We devote about 3 hours per day on average to leisure compared to 4.5 hours for childless employed people. Understandably, we spend more time on caregiving and household tasks. But is that all drudgery and hassle, or is it fulfilling purpose? Earlier in my life, before I had kids, I often struggled with my mental health. Particularly, I wrestled with questions around my value and the direction of my life. These questions weighed on me. Sometimes, it was even difficult for me to get out of bed in the morning. I remember sharing something about these feelings with a stranger on an airplane ride. He commiserated, and said he used to feel the same way before having kids. After having kids, he told me, “I don’t wonder what I’m doing in the morning. I’ve got to get up and pour the Cheerios.” Pouring Cheerios might not sound like a roaring good time, but it’s better than wallowing in bed. People who engaged in small, creative projects (like cooking or crafts) reported higher daily well-being and more “flourishing” the next day. While my parenthood experience has included plenty of monotonous caregiving tasks like changing diapers and cutting up grapes into smaller pieces, the kid-oriented activities are getting more fun as my kids get older. I enjoy attending Little League games, building model castles, and racing Hot Wheels around the house. My days are full, and so is my heart. A growing body of evidence shows that even the menial tasks of motherhood can hold mental health benefits. A 2016 study in the Journal of Positive Psychology found that people who engaged in small, creative projects (like cooking or crafts) reported higher daily well-being and more “flourishing” the next day. In sharp contrast to my career-oriented work (much of which is done at a computer desk), motherhood is a job that requires working with my hands. And working with my hands anchors my mind. It provides sensory engagement and visible progress, which counteract the abstraction, overstimulation, and anxiety that define much of modern life. Offline by Necessity Let's be honest, if I wasn’t spending so much time with my kids, I’d likely be watching Netflix or scrolling on my phone. There have been many times that I’ve put my phone down or have avoided checking it altogether because I’m with my kids. I don’t want to be rude to them by looking at my phone during our time together, and I want to model healthy limits on phone use. As an increasing and unavoidable body of research shows, heavy, passive, or comparison-driven social media use correlates with higher rates of anxiety, depression, loneliness, and body image concerns . So each time I can’t reach for my phone (because I’m helping someone across the monkey bars), I have my kids to thank. I literally “touch grass” daily. Protecting my kids’ innocence keeps me from perseverating on events outside of my control. Many people struggle to stay emotionally and mentally healthy today under the weight of the 24-hour news cycle in a world that often feels out of control. In addition to pure rage bait, our non-stop media diet also includes legitimately disturbing news at times. But being a mom helps me put even these events into perspective. I know that as my kids get older, I will have to talk to them more about current events, including wars, school shootings, assassinations, and other evil things. But protecting my kids’ innocence keeps me from perseverating on events outside of my control, and that’s healthy . I focus on what I can control: doing my best to give my kids a good life. Purpose Disguised as Carpools Another healthy habit that's more common among parents than childless adults is church attendance. Thirty-six percent of parents (with kids under 18) attend religious services at least weekly, compared to 27% of non-parents. Many people re-engage with religious practice when kids enter their lives, often after a period of secular drift in their 20s. The mental health benefits of church are strongly established: In a large, longitudinal study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, regular (weekly) service attendance was linked to a 30–50% lower risk of depression and five-fold lower risk of suicide , even after controlling for baseline health and social factors. Religion offers people a sense of belonging, ritual, and truths to guide us through hard times. This has certainly been true for my kids and me. Fifty percent of college-educated moms and 42% of college-educated dads say they volunteer at least a few times a year, compared to 28% of all Americans. Parents, especially mothers, also volunteer often, particularly through schools, religious groups, and community sports. Fifty percent of college-educated moms and 42% of college-educated dads say they volunteer at least a few times a year, compared to 28% of all Americans. Volunteering is good for the soul, and also good for the mind. According to the Mayo Clinic , volunteering lowers the risk of depression and anxiety. Volunteering also boosts self-esteem and social connectedness (and lowers blood pressure). But, as I sometimes remind myself, all of motherhood is volunteer work. So while moms might clock some hours at the local rescue mission or school fundraiser, we never really stop feeding the hungry or clothing the naked. Motherhood Fixed What Therapy Couldn't There are many ways that motherhood can put a strain on our mental health. Of course, we worry about our kids, we lose sleep, we manage the mental load of family activities and finances, and we miss out on some work or social opportunities when our kids need us. These stresses are much heavier for single moms or families facing financial insecurity. But even moms with the best possible social and economic circumstances experience a rough day, week, or month from time to time. Some readers might think that my perspective is skewed by my relative socioeconomic privilege. It's true that I'm blessed in many ways. But it’s worth noting that, perhaps counterintuitively, socioeconomic status has an inverse relationship with self-reported enjoyment of parenting. Lower-income parents are more likely to say they find parenting enjoyable and rewarding than middle- and high-income parents. The presence of stress doesn’t have to mean the absence of joy. In the big picture, motherhood offers (and perhaps even demands) a lifestyle that is others-focused and that points us toward what is best for our kids. My kids keep me active, honest, and intentional. And that's a good thing for my mental health, not just in the long run, but also in the here and now. Of course, people without kids can find other ways to prioritize mentally healthy habits, but for me, motherhood is a life hack. Like any mom will tell you, there are still days when I want to pull my hair out, but most days, I just pull it back in a ponytail and pour the Cheerios.]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/having-kids-didnt-ruin-my-mental-health-it-fixed-it</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 07 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Relationships</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[How Dating Became A Cycle Of Aesthetic Consumption]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/how-dating-became-a-cycle-of-aesthetic-consumption</link>
      <dc:creator>Hannah Bruck</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[Your type isn't a person anymore. It's a product.]]></description>
      //
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[Timothée Chalamet is a rat boy. That’s why women loved him. “Loved,” because, like many leading men who rise quickly in public attention, his cultural moment has cooled. What’s a rat boy, you might ask? It’s a boy who has angular features, expressive eyes, a certain wiry unpredictability, or “rat-like,” as the internet so generously labeled it. The archetype remains today, but Chalamet is no longer the one carrying it. It can be difficult to track the constant ebb and flow of male figures elevated as representations of the “ideal man,” but it's safe to say that Chalamet has been replaced. Most recently, public fascination has returned toward a more classically yearning figure, more reminiscent of older romantic archetypes, such as Paul Anthony Kelly’s portrayal of John F. Kennedy Jr. in the television series “Love Story,” in which longing and restraint replace boyish eccentricity. Like fashion and art, the “ideal attractive model” rotates through cycles of popularity. Dating back to early cinema, the scene was dominated by figures like Paul Newman and Gregory Peck, men defined by effortless masculinity, a quiet confidence paired with physical presence. Over time, this singular model fractured into a range of more specific archetypes. The internet accelerated this fragmentation, generating new language for increasingly niche categories: the “golden retriever boyfriend,” the “sad boy,” the “soft boy,” with each featuring a micro-adjustment of tone, posture, and emotional availability. Each iteration does not erase the last, but layers over it, compounding expectations of beauty, femininity, and performance. The evolution of leading ladies follows a similar trajectory, from Clara Bow to Angelina Jolie. Each era ushered in its own model of desirability. The flapper of the silent film era gave way to the polished glamour of mid-century bombshells like Marilyn Monroe, which in turn evolved into the sharper, more controlled allure of figures like Sharon Stone and Michelle Pfeiffer. Today, these archetypes have splintered into hyper-niche identities, such as the “black cat girlfriend,” and the “manic pixie dream girl.” Each iteration does not erase the last, but layers over it, compounding expectations of beauty, femininity, and performance. By 2024, the culmination of hyper-focused, idealized “hot guys” adapted into the somewhat absurd and yet entirely predictable “summer of the hot rodent boyfriend .” This era brought with it the rise of figures like Timothée Chalamet, Josh O'Connor, and Jeremy Allen White, men whose appeal lay not in conventional symmetry but in something slightly off-center. Women, half-seriously and half in jest, began “setting traps” for this new wave of desirable men, men who felt accessible yet elevated, flawed yet magnetic. But as quickly as the archetype rose, it began to shift. Today, only two years later, the landscape of desirability continues to evolve at a dizzying pace. There now exists an informal but widely recognized system for tracking who is “in” as the “white boy of the month.” Like any popularity index, it is inherently unstable. Today’s obsession is tomorrow’s afterthought. What’s different now is that these preferences do not remain confined to online discourse; they manifest physically. The emergence, and re-emergence, of lookalike contests is perhaps the clearest example of this translation from digital to real life, and of a growing desire not just to admire archetypes, but to inhabit them. Men gather to embody a particular ideal, dressing and styling themselves to match the current template, competing until one is declared the closest approximation. While lookalike contests are not new , their recent resurgence can be traced to an October 2024 Timothée Chalamet lookalike contest, where the actor himself unexpectedly appeared. That moment sparked a kind of renaissance. Since then, contests have been organized for Jeremy Allen White , Paul Mescal , and a rotating cast of internet-approved figures. The point is no longer simply resemblance; it is participation in the cycle itself. You are no longer simply yourself; you are a category, a type, a reference point in a larger aesthetic vocabulary. In this sense, the “rat boy renaissance” of 2024 was less a passing trend and more an inflection point. It marked the beginning of a more fully realized ecosystem of archetypes, one sustained by the chronically online and deeply commercialized nature of modern dating and identity formation. From there, something subtle but consequential happens: individuals begin to pursue archetypes rather than people. They shape themselves to fit a mold, and in turn, expect others to do the same. You are no longer simply yourself; you are a category, a type, a reference point in a larger aesthetic vocabulary. The internalization runs deep. Style, posture, and even personality traits become curated outputs. Consider Justin Bieber. At the height of his early fame, his signature swooping hairstyle became a cultural shorthand for a certain kind of boyish appeal. It was widely imitated, copied in middle school hallways, suburban barbershops, and across social media profiles. Today, that look reads as dated, even as Bieber himself remains widely admired, evidenced by his massive following at events like Coachella, where he broke records for sales . The affection persists, but the archetype has moved on. The lesson is about the disposability of the form. The result is a culture in which people see not whole individuals, but fragments, pieces of an ideal self, pieces of an ideal partner. Attraction becomes less about discovery and more about recognition: Does this person match the template I have already decided I want? The cyclical nature of attraction to archetypes is not new. What is new is the speed, scale, and commercialization with which these archetypes are produced, distributed, and internalized. Women and men alike are no longer limited to the cultural icons of their immediate environment. Instead, they can access, remix, and idolize an endless stream of curated identities, each one optimized for attention and replication. We have muddied the waters to the point where a coherent philosophy of getting to know another person, without first requiring them to fit a highly specific mold, feels almost radical. Are we dating people, or are we dating ideas? What is needed in this modern ecosystem is not a rejection of desire or imagination, but a recalibration—a willingness to see people not as archetypes to be matched or assembled, but as individuals to be encountered. If attraction is increasingly mediated through archetypal templates, then the work of building relationships requires something deliberately countercultural. It asks for a posture that resists the ease of categorization and instead returns to something slower, less legible, and ultimately more human. In practice, this begins with humility. As people contemplate what it means to find partnership and build relationships, they must do so with a willingness to recognize both the limitations of the self and the limitations of others. Not as a form of resignation, but as a corrective to the inflated expectations produced by a culture that treats people as assemblages of traits rather than whole, imperfect individuals. It is only through the lens of these imperfections that real intimacy becomes possible. Two people, neither of whom has been optimized to meet a curated ideal, are forced into a different kind of honesty. They are no longer performing toward an imagined standard of desirability; instead, they are learning how to meet each other in the unpolished space of reality. This requires an active rejection of entitlement to a particular combination of aesthetics, behaviors, or personality traits. It also requires a loosening of the belief that compatibility should feel immediate or visually intuitive in the way archetypes condition us to expect. As attention becomes increasingly mediated through screens, so too does the temptation to curate both self and other into something more consumable. But intimacy cannot be sustained through curation alone. It depends on transparency, on the gradual permission to be seen beyond what is filtered or protected. And it requires extending that same permission outward. Because while the rat boys will come and go, the underlying question remains: Are we dating people, or are we dating ideas?]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/how-dating-became-a-cycle-of-aesthetic-consumption</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 07 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Relationships</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[The Childfree Dream Is A Scam]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/the-childfree-dream-is-a-scam</link>
      <dc:creator> Johanna Duncan</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[I don’t have children and my algorithm knows it. I'm constantly fed high fashion and travel content, and it’s my fault. I’ve trained my FYP by saving this type of content for inspiration on my nights out in the city and I'm prone to booking last minute vacations. And while this by itself is harmless, more recently it’s taken a dark turn. ]]></description>
      //
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[There’s a particular kind of video that keeps finding its way onto my screen. And if you're riding the childless-women algorithm like me, you’ve probably seen it, too. It’s usually a stylish woman listing off the things she enjoys specifically because she doesn’t have children. She brags about her sleep, her travel, her designer bags, her Botox appointments scheduled without interruption. The list goes on to include wine and spa visits on a random Tuesday. Sometimes the tone is playful and funny. Sometimes it’s defiant and a shameless brag. But almost always triumphant. The subtext is clear: Look at all I have because I didn’t choose motherhood. As a woman without children myself, I must admit that I do enjoy the flexibility in my schedule and the extra funds for clothes and other fun things. So while I should be the kind to resonate and feel affirmed by these types of videos, instead I find myself deeply unsettled by them. Sometimes, I'm even embarrassed by this community that I fall into. Not because there’s anything wrong with enjoying your life or your freedoms, but because of what this trend is celebrating: a life centered entirely on the self. When Selfishness Becomes the End Goal Let’s start with the obvious: there's nothing inherently wrong with not having children. Some women can’t. For others, the time simply hasn’t come yet, or they aren’t ready. Some women may never feel called to motherhood at all. Life unfolds differently for everyone, and reducing a woman’s worth to whether she has children is both unnecessary and unfair. But what's emerged online isn’t just a defense of childless living, it’s a rebranding of it as a superior and luxurious lifestyle. One defined by leisure, consumption, and the absence of obligations. In this framework, selfishness is disguised as freedom; it becomes the highest good. While freedom is undeniably valuable, it was never meant to be turned into a self-centered lifestyle. When it does, it creates a life that looks full on the outside but feels strangely hollow on the inside. It may work for a while, especially because you’re always distracted and entertained. But at some point, the question creeps in: free for what? When you’re the center of your own world, your world gets uncomfortably small. The Emptiness of Self-Absorption A life organized entirely around personal comfort and material luxuries has a ceiling. There are only so many brunches, purchases, and self-care routines that can sustain a sense of purpose. What begins as indulgence slowly morphs into repetition, and repetition, and since it lacks meaning, breeds dissatisfaction. This isn’t a moral judgment as much as it is a human reality. I'm not criticizing anyone for enjoying an expensive bag, but let’s not fool ourselves: We are not wired to exist solely for ourselves. We are not wired to exist solely for ourselves. Self-absorption, despite how glamorous it’s made to appear online, has a way of collapsing in on itself. It narrows your world to the point that it makes your problems feel larger than they are. It disconnects you from the very things that bring joy. Ironically, the pursuit of a completely self-directed life often results in a kind of comfortable loneliness. Not the dramatic or cinematic kind, but the subtle, persistent awareness that something or someone is always missing. The False Divide Between Mothers and Childless Women Part of what makes this trend so troubling is the way it frames the conversation as a competition. Mothers versus childless women. Who is doing better? Is it the women waking up early and wrangling their children through morning drop-offs or the women savoring their breakfast and putting on precisely the right amount of blush while listening to a podcast? These videos pit a world of chaos and sacrifice against one of calmness and indulgence. Mothers are often portrayed in TV shows and movies, and even on social media, as exhausted, overburdened, and resentful. They're often the ones that have "let themselves go" and look twenty years older than they are. Childless women, in contrast, are depicted as carefree, polished, and perpetually relaxed. They're youthful, energetic, and happy. Each side becomes a caricature of the other, and the result is a growing cultural divide that benefits no one. The truth is far more nuanced. Motherhood is a source of profound meaning, but it also comes with real challenges. And not having children (or not having them yet) can offer flexibility and opportunity, but it can also come with its own questions about purpose and legacy. These experiences are not in opposition. They are different expressions of the same underlying human desire: to live a fulfilling and beautiful life. Rather than competing, these two groups of women have far more to offer each other than they might realize. A Personal Shift in Perspective I've always wanted kids and I still do. But these past few years, I've felt a shift. Those late nights out no longer appeal to me the way they used to. Now, even when I go out, I'm wishing I was home with a family instead. When I share this with my friends who are mothers, they often mention how much they envy me just because I'm able to sit down and watch a movie or my favorite show without interruption, or because my Instagram showcases a lifestyle they miss at times. Whichever path you choose, no woman gets to have it all. The point is that while going through it, we can have each other. Recently, a close friend of mine had her fourth child. Shortly after, she was placed on bed rest. Her husband was doing everything he could, but managing a newborn and three young children is not exactly a one-person job. She was one of those friends I had enjoyed plenty of Chicago nights with, but we had lost touch somewhat since she got married and became busy with pregnancies, infants, and family life. But she was still my friend nonetheless, and when I reached out to congratulate her for her fourth child she told me about how she was struggling. Without hesitation, I started going over to help. Sometimes, I’d play and make dinner with the older kids. Other times, I’d simply sit and talk with her. Compared to our late nights out after concerts, it was decidedly unglamorous. I could’ve chosen to stay home with a face mask and watch Netflix (one of my top favorite post-work rituals). But being present for her and her family was not only nice for them, it was also nice for me. It brought me out of my bubble and in doing so, gave me an opportunity to love and be loved. Isn’t that what it’s all about? It reminded me that my time, my energy, and even my freedom aren’t just assets to be spent on myself. They’re resources that can be freely shared. And giving, it turns out, is far more satisfying and fulfilling than consuming. Redefining a Meaningful Life We often talk about meaning as though it’s something you stumble upon or something you need to travel to exotic places to acquire ( Eat, Pray, Love. I love you, but I’m looking at you.) Or something tied to major life milestones or dramatic turning points. But more often, meaning is built quietly, through consistent choices that orient your life outward rather than inward. It’s a habit of thinking and caring for those around us and choosing to give a hand when needed. For some women, that will absolutely include raising children. For others, it might look different: mentoring, volunteering, supporting friends and family, building something that serves others, or simply showing up where you’re needed. It’s defined by your willingness to invest yourself in something beyond your own immediate desires. The specifics matter less than the posture. A meaningful life is not defined by how much you can accumulate or how little you’re obligated to others. It’s defined by your willingness to invest yourself in something beyond your own immediate desires. And while that investment is sacrificial in the sense that it costs you something, it's also enriching as it gives you what money can’t buy: meaning. Both Women Need Each Other One of the most overlooked aspects of the moms v.s. childless women conversation is how much women, across different life stages and conditions, rely on each other. Mothers need support. They need friends who can step in, offer relief, and remind them of the world beyond their immediate responsibilities. Childless women, in turn, benefit from being integrated into those family dynamics. There’s a lot to be gained in relationships, perspective, and a sense of connection that can’t be replicated through solitary. This isn’t about obligation in the rigid, burdensome sense. It’s about choosing to give and the joys of what we receive. A healthy society isn’t built on individuals maximizing their personal comfort in isolation. It’s built on networks of people who show up for one another, who share the weight of life, and who recognize that their well-being is interconnected. A Different Kind of Aspiration What if, instead of asking how much we can enjoy our freedom and independence, we asked how we might use it well? What if the measure of a good life wasn’t how uninterrupted it was, but how meaningful? This kind of shift doesn’t require abandoning everything we enjoy or taking on responsibilities that don’t fit our circumstances. It simply asks us to expand our perspective. It demands of us to look for opportunities to contribute, to connect, to be useful in ways that extend beyond our own immediate gratification. I don’t want to look back and realize that all my freedom was spent avoiding responsibility rather than embracing purpose. I don’t have children. Maybe I will someday, maybe I won’t. But I do know this: I don’t want a life that revolves entirely around me. I don’t want my greatest victories to be my luxury purchases or my most meaningful moments to be my uninterrupted mornings. I don’t want to look back and realize that all my freedom was spent avoiding responsibility rather than embracing purpose. I want a life that feels full; not just in schedule, luxury, and entertainment, but in substance. And increasingly, I’m convinced that fullness doesn’t come from having less asked of you, but from choosing, willingly, to give more of yourself where it matters. That might not make for the most glamorous social media content, but it makes for a better life. And in the end, that’s what actually matters.]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/the-childfree-dream-is-a-scam</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 07 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Relationships</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[Pragmata: A Video Game About Fatherhood Just Outsold Every Major Release. Here's Why It's So Popular.]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/pragmata-a-video-game-about-fatherhood-just-outsold-every-major-release-heres-why</link>
      <dc:creator>Brooke Brandtjen</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[A game about protecting a little girl and teaching her about the world just became the most-played game among young men. And it's forcing a reckoning about what masculinity actually is.]]></description>
      //
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[Pragmata is an action-adventure video game released in April 2026 by the legendary Japanese studio, Capcom. Within just two days of its release, Pragmata sold more than one million copies worldwide, a massive achievement in a growing gaming landscape. Thousands of players have praised the game since its release. It currently has an astounding 97% rating on Steam , and a 96th percentile ranking on OpenCritic . It's acclaimed not only for having quality graphics and excellent gameplay mechanics, but also for having a strong emotional center. The game follows the relationship between a systems engineer, Hugh Williams, and a young android girl whom he names Diana. The pair work together to take on an evil AI robot, IDUS, that's controlling the mining outpost on the moon where they're stranded. Together, the two work to fight robots and make contact with earth in the hope of making a safe return. Throughout the course of the game, players take on the role of Hugh, and slowly develop a relationship with Diana. The relationship between Hugh and Diana has garnered a lot of attention from players because it looks a lot like a father-daughter relationship. In many films and television series, children are often depicted as annoying and burdensome. Video games, despite the hate they've received by critics, have typically taken the opposite stance. One famous example can be found in The Last of Us. When Joel loses his daughter in one of the most painful openings in a video game or TV series, he finds his redemption story in a young girl named Ellie. Ellie is his daughter's age and immune to the infection that's killing people all over the world. Because of this, the doctors want to use her to create a cure to destroy the infection. But when Joel realizes Ellie will have to die in order to create the vaccine, he chooses to save her. Their father/daughter relationship is much like his with his own daughter and he's given a second chance to save his daughter's life. In The Witcher , we see another non-biological father/daughter relationship with Geralt and Ciri. Although theirs is more destiny than redemption-based. Geralt trains Ciri and she, who's lost everything, relies on him to protect her. She's strong in her own right, having trained like a witcher. In Pragmata , although Hugh is initially hesitant to let her accompany him, their relationship is noticeably happy. Diana is frequently helpful, being the one who initially revives Hugh after a dangerous moonquake. She is also eager to fight alongside him, using her special abilities to take down antagonistic robots. When players level up, Diana will cheer for them. She even has a cute but silly 'happy dance' that anyone with kids will instantly recognize. She brings the optimism of childhood joy to an otherwise dark game. Her goal of returning to Earth stems from her dream of seeing a tropical beach in real life. Pragmata is special because it shows players that there is beauty in appreciating a young life. Modern media has built an entire ecosystem around the idea that children are life-ruining. Television shows and movies exclusively focus on the difficult aspects of parenthood, such as temper tantrums, sleepless nights, and messy houses. For many young people, the prospect of having children is frightening because that's the only way they've ever seen it portrayed. Video games are the medium that portrays men as protectors. Men want to protect their own. In the U.S., a growing number of young people are unlikely to have children , with the number of adults under 50 who believe they won't have children rising from 37 percent in 2018 to 47 percent in 2023. Some of the primary reasons they cite include concerns about affordability and fears about the state of the world. They're hesitant to become parents because they're nervous that their circumstances will make parenthood too difficult. However, studies consistently show that parents, especially fathers, report higher levels of happiness and fulfillment than childless people do. Regardless of a family's financial situation, the result of having children is living a happier life. Pragmata sets out on a mission to prove to players that fatherhood is a powerful mission, not burdensome and draining. Throughout the game, Hugh increasingly enjoys being around Diana, with the two forming a special relationship even in the midst of chaos. Writer and artist George Alexopolous praised it for weaving together the gameplay with their relationship: "The game celebrates and reinforces their relationship at every turn… the Player is incentivized to go out of their way to find presents for [Diana] not simply because it earns rewards that can buy upgrades, but because it makes her happy." It's clear that players are feeling it , too. A 30-year-old reviewer wrote that the game "gave me a feeling of what it means to be a father, deep within my bones"—something he'd never experienced before. For him and countless others, the impact was immediate and undeniable: "Damn, I wanted to become a father now." Another player warned others: "You will want to have a daughter after this game, so be aware!" The praise for the actual experience was equally emphatic. One reviewer who completed the game reported: "Having played the game fully I can wholeheartedly say it is worth every penny. The puzzles are short and simple, the gunplay is nice and smooth, and the girl is the most adorable thing on the planet. 10/10 story 10/10 game." For another, the combination of mechanics and emotion was the real draw: "This game is heartwarming, action-packed, and a dad simulator all in one. So far this is my favorite game this year." Video games themselves are a perfect example of how something that is challenging can also be enjoyable. They often encourage players to be more responsible, even if they don't realize it. Many require players to think critically, make bold decisions, and multitask. If gamers want to make progress, they have to plan ahead and make well-informed decisions. These skills transfer to the real world, too. Players can use what they've learned and apply it to situations like holding a job, buying a house, and dealing with everyday obstacles. Pragmata 's central message is simple: men are guardians. The relationship between Diana and Hugh is distinctly paternal. As the game progresses, players don't merely grow to tolerate or simply 'like' Diana; they feel the need to protect her. Men have an innate instinct to protect what they care about; they defend their homes, their parents, their wives, and their children. One of the reasons why Pragmata has resonated with so many young men is that it allows them to become protectors. Although they're defending a fictional little girl, it might be their first time experiencing that kind of paternal strength. Men are bold, selfless, and sacrificial. When they're given the opportunity to meaningfully become protective, they find fulfillment. Pragmata shows men the unmatched joy they achieve by becoming protectors of children and being good fathers. Despite the game's overwhelmingly positive reception, it has also drawn criticism from niche communities and websites like Reddit. Some have stated that the game is an attempt for men to "prove" their masculinity, while others have accused it of being "creepy." Yet, the game is incredibly wholesome and much of this criticism is an attempt to mischaracterize a positive father-daughter relationship. Playing a video game won't teach you everything about fatherhood, but it could be the beginning of something truly wonderful. The fact that one million young men bought this game in two days says something. It says they're hungry for permission to want what their culture told them to reject. Men don't need to be fixed. They don't need to apologize for wanting to protect what they love. Pragmata understands that. And so, it seems, do a million young men.]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/pragmata-a-video-game-about-fatherhood-just-outsold-every-major-release-heres-why</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 06 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Culture</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[The Devil Wears Prada 2 Is A Love Letter To Print And A Warning About Its Fall]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/the-devil-wears-prada-2-is-a-love-letter-to-print-and-a-warning-about-its-fall</link>
      <dc:creator>Jaimee Marshall</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[The Devil Wears Prada’s gravitational center is arguably not even about fashion; it’s about fighting for humanity in a digital world gone rogue. That’s why it works.]]></description>
      //
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[The long-awaited sequel to a beloved cult classic for the girlies, The Devil Wears Prada , is finally here. I’m thrilled to report that despite the online discourse surrounding the declining quality of film lighting and color grading since the early 2000s, as well as Anne Hathaway gloating about pressuring the production to hire more size-inclusive models (later clarifying this did not result in the firing of slender models and purportedly created more jobs), this movie was a surprising delight. It’s a sequel we all thought we didn’t need, and maybe we didn’t, given the first film’s reputational upgrade from glossy chick flick to cult following to cinematic perfection, with time. Looking back, it was like lightning in a bottle. An arguably perfect film. Many will continue to insist this second entry was redundant or worse, regressive, because its gravitational center is arguably not even about fashion. That’s because it has loftier messaging. All my doubts were dispelled once I saw what the film was really saying, and boy, does it have a lot to say about the modern world. About what’s been lost, about the futile resistance of creative human enterprise, and the value of raging against the dying of the light. That is, the tension between tradition, the Platonic ideals of art and beauty, and the demands of modernity. The film explores this through a dialectic of values: tradition and modernity, analog and digital, human creation and automated content, perfection and human fallibility. The film doesn’t know if this fight is futile. In fact, it gives us every indication that it might be. Nevertheless, it asks us to try anyway. To harness the human spirit and refuse to go gently into that good night. It explores this tension through many different sub-contexts: Andy’s fight for journalistic integrity versus the industry’s push for clickbait and engagement retention, Miranda as evil visionary supergenius versus being squeezed by changing cultural and HR standards, and being held budgetarily hostage by tech bros who want to do away with human artistic creative integrity in favor of streamlining and replacing everything with AI. Out-of-touch billionaire tech mogul Benji Barnes, who is clearly modeled after the likes of Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, gloats about this vision. These Silicon Valley tech bros are attempting to acquire everything with their outsized buying power and reducing fashion magazines like Runway to its spare parts, gutting everything that made it what it once was in favor of a soulless, bare-bones copy. In between his delusions of grandeur (he wants to build a rocket to fly to the sun and name it Icarus, failing to see the irony), bizarre health fads (he’s “not doing water these days” because he believes it’s poison and there are health benefits to be reaped from operating at an “aqua deficit,” he fails to value Runway for what it truly represents: “a commitment to beauty, artistry, the very best in human innovation.” Rather than attempting to jump right back into the atmosphere of the first movie, set in the optimistic haze of 2006—a world so jarringly different from the one we exist in today, it might as well be a fantasy—this new installment addresses the elephant in the room incessantly. Print is dying. Real journalism is beholden to social media clicks and engagement. The entire fashion industry now hinges on an ethos of ‘I scratch your back, you scratch mine’ via product placement and glowing “objective” profiles for advertisers just to stay afloat. Fair warning: Below, I'll be discussing the plot’s more intimate details, which may contain spoilers. “No us, no you,” Miranda is reminded by advertisers after her pending promotion from Editor-in-Chief of Runway to Global Head of Content across all Elias-Clarke publications is put in jeopardy thanks to a PR crisis. We’re thrust into the inciting action of the movie when Miranda and Nigel are walking a red carpet for an event, just as a scathing story breaks, threatening to ruin Runway ’s reputation. The headlines read “Miranda Priestly FOOLED: Runway publishes glowing article about sweatshop clothing brand.” The brand, called ‘Speed Fash’, which is a bit on-the-nose, but nevertheless, “tricked” Runway ’s reporters by lying about their working conditions, Miranda claims (but context clues indicate Runway ’s reporter failed to do their due diligence). We get an adrenaline-rushing inside look at what it must be like for the higher-ups who have to take the fall for these PR scandals, and at the complexities entailed by going into full damage-control mode. Having to be all smiles for the cameras and circling sharks, with little more than subtle body language, Nigel indicates to Miranda’s assistant that she must bypass the press tonight. Once they’re within ear’s reach, Nigel informs her that the story is live and a disaster. “It’s gone completely viral,” and “you’re getting blamed for absolutely everything.” The panopticon of social media is its own character in this movie. Miranda’s entire career and planned promotion hinge entirely on how the public responds to her online and whether they can successfully navigate the scandal with the proper optics. She must appease the online mob eviscerating her enough to keep advertisers happy. Social media is awash with TikToks calling her out-of-touch and irrelevant, memes photoshopping her as Pinocchio and AI images of her as a fast food worker with the text, “Would you like some lies with that?” This latter image was actually painted by a real commissioned artist to pass for convincing AI—an important detail to the film’s throughline that safeguarding human artistic creation is a good in itself. It becomes clear rather quickly that the film’s main antagonist isn’t one character but an industry. As Nigel and Miranda are saving face while the internet is going feral, Andy Sachs is winning a journalism award. Only, she and her entire table are fired by text just before she goes on stage. She takes the opportunity to air out her grievances in place of her acceptance speech, ranting about the changing media landscape. Here, the film sets up what this story will really be about. She tells the room of journalists, “We understand journalism is changing, but it’s still devastating when something like this happens to you.” Irv calls Miranda to rip her a new one, “We are getting killed online, I am getting angry emails from ad buyers for top-level designers.” Miranda says she’s already been on the phone with advertisers and is meeting with them in the morning, and plans to have a very direct conversation with ‘Fash.’ He tells her not to bother; he’ll fix it, he says, before delivering the veiled threat. “This is abysmal timing. I’m pondering this huge move for you, and this happens.” Irv and Miranda are both scrambling to take control of the narrative. Irv, because he’s chairman of Elias Clarke, has to figure out how to claw back any shred of credibility with advertisers pulling out, and Miranda, because without fixing this crisis, her upward career move might be at jeopardy. Irv’s tech bro son, Jay Ravitz, (because there are a lot of tech bros in this movie and they all talk like they're in an episode of Succession ), shows him his phone, displaying a viral clip from Andy's impassioned speech, "Because some things still matter more than money. Journalism still fucking matters!" It’s a lightbulb moment—a fittingly plausible inciting incident to get Andy back at Runway to reunite with our principal characters. Not just because she’s being offered double the salary to run the features department and promised a real budget to tell stories and hire real writers, but because she’s proposed as the random whim of a nepo baby tech bro whose attention is just as easily piqued as it is diverted. Nigel is still Miranda’s right-hand man. Emily left Runway under mysterious circumstances for Dior. Miranda is still Miranda, only with the rise of workplace HR culture, her biting remarks are blunted by the disapproving sighs and tone policing of her assistant, Amari, and she’s no longer permitted to throw her coat at people. Andy is shocked to see Miranda hanging her own coat, who is seemingly winded by the effort. Miranda is still venomous and apathetic, referring to body positive models as “body negative” and making inappropriate remarks about models looking like they came from a methadone clinic in New Jersey, or threatening to kill herself when people pitch their uninspiring ideas. That being said, she’s also being neutered by the changing world and the new people who rule it. The film explores so many modern ills, including the tension between journalistic integrity and the attention economy, which Andy struggles to navigate. The tension between old and new. We get evocative monologues from Nigel about the fall of print and the rise of digital. “ Runway stopped being a magazine years ago.” While they still have a book, no one buys it (which is very much the real situation Vogue and virtually every legacy magazine are dealing with as they shift to modern digital tastes). Nigel says, "We are digital, we are downloadable, we are streamable, we're in the ether." Besides a shift to digital, he also describes sad budgets compared to the resources he used to have for dream shoots. "Now I'm lucky if I get two days at Milk Studios to shoot content people scroll past whilst they pee." It becomes clear rather quickly that the film’s main antagonist isn’t one character but an industry (technology, specifically AI) and its avatars: tech bros. They represent moral nihilists who will welcome humanity’s demise in the name of “inevitable innovation” and efficiency and who have no regard for beauty. It’s a dichotomy of tradition versus modernity, masculine versus feminine, but the film’s conclusion doesn’t seem to be that we ought to value one at the expense of the other. Rather, they are in symbiosis. Andy wants to write highbrow intellectual fodder about climate change and other elitist progressive issues, but they aren’t getting clicks or engagement because no one finds them interesting. She confides in her assistant that she's spent her whole career reporting what people need to know, and now she needs to figure out what people want to click. Jin tells her maybe she needs to reconcile the two and figure out how to do them at the same time, "the smart stuff and the fun stuff." If only there were a magazine that did that! Miranda chides her for failing to “move the needle” with her pieces. Desperate to keep Miranda happy, she lies about scoring an interview with Sasha Barnes, a famous and elusive woman who’s recently divorced from Silicon Valley tech billionaire Benji Barnes, making her one of the richest women in the world. Consequently, following her divorce, she has not agreed to any press in years, making Miranda suspicious that she’s lying about scoring the “holy grail” of exclusives. With Andy’s resourcefulness, persistence, and many tangentially related contacts, she finally gets Sasha to agree to sit for the interview, and they break the story of her new engagement. It proves to be a huge win that earns Andy an invite to Miranda’s home in the Hamptons for the weekend. Before going, Andy tells her Australian boyfriend that she hopes this role is just a stepping stone to doing real journalism because, as proud as she is of the Sasha story, she’s had to do eleven other stories that day about (what she sees as) trivial trends like coconut water and enzyme peels. This push-and-pull dynamic is alluded to repeatedly throughout the film. When she first meets the Australian hunk, she’s touring a luxury apartment she can now afford at the convincing of her friend to check it out. She dismisses it as “everything that’s wrong with the world,” not realizing the man she’s talking to owns the building. With some playful back-and-forth banter, Andy learns that he's a contractor, "not a greedy developer," and the city was planning to knock the building down, so he really saved the building, foreshadowing the lengths they’ll have to go to in order to fight for the preservation of what is right, good, and beautiful, within the corporate structures that confine them. The film is winking and nodding at what we're fighting for: not just magazines, but full artistic integrity, human creativity, art itself. In the backdrop, Andy’s friend is also trying to convince her to write a tell-all book about what it’s like to work for Miranda Priestley. Andy at first outright rejects this notion, but throughout the film, the temptation grows, and she sends over some pages, though she insists she won’t do the trashy tabloid version—only if it’s “elevated and rigorous.” Just before Irv is set to announce Miranda’s new role at Elias-Clarke, he unexpectedly collapses and dies. When they all attend the funeral, we become acquainted with one of the film’s main antagonists, Irv’s nepo baby tech bro son, Jay, who does not share Irv’s reverence for fashion or Runway . This guy is the antithesis of Runway , in his “head-to-toe synthetics.” He’s a badly dressed Kendall Roy who talks in bro-speak, is too touchy, and too casual. He’s constantly throwing his proverbial dick around the place, seemingly to overcompensate for the fact that Miranda has largely known him as this little child his father would bring to the office. Jay represents cold, calculated, utilitarian efficiency, but also a masculine energy that doesn’t quite care for refinement, elegance, or taste. He immediately brings in McKinsey consultants to talk shop with Miranda, in the cafeteria of all places—a place Miranda amusingly has never heard of. Jay and the consultants bring a “bro” culture with them. One consultant attempts to compliment Miranda by telling her they call her “Miranda Beastly” around the office, because she’s a beast. Meanwhile, Jay is constantly fist-bumping Miranda and keeps referring to everyone as “the guys” before correcting himself: “people.” Mainly, though, he just doesn't value Runway as a creative enterprise; he's in the business of profit. He tells Miranda the consultants are here to “weigh in on our organizational alignment” and introduces their roles: “operational strategy, financial architecture, digital transformation, user experience, everything.” Miranda, disturbed to be sitting in on such a drab affair, mockingly affirms, “everything,” representing how the tech class is overly concerned with optimization at the expense of craft. He slashes Runway ’s budgets, leaving departments no room to do their jobs, and implements new company policies that prohibit unnecessary expenses, such as flying first class or ordering private cars. All employees, including Miranda, now have to ride Uber and fly Economy. The company can also no longer afford any employees who have been at Runway for longer than five years, jeopardizing Nigel’s longstanding devotion to Miranda and Runway , at the expense of his own ambitions. Andy is devastated when she learns of the planned cutbacks that will effectively decimate Runway . "I can't just accept that, we can't just keep sucking the soul of everything and gutting it and then repackaging it. To what end?” She decides to do something about it by cooking up a secret scheme with Emily, who is romantically involved with recently divorced tech mogul Benji Barnes. Every time Benji opens his mouth, he betrays what an out-of-touch member of the elite tech class he is. He’s constantly out of place, inappropriately giggling, lacking any knowledge about fashion, and generally embodying a sort of goofy, “Quirk Chungus” persona. He’s characterized as a dorky, socially awkward guy (who was once quite ugly but is now passably “mid” thanks to aesthetic enhancements) who never got any girls in high school but whose wallet is helping him make up for lost time. The plan is for Benji to offer to purchase Runway from Jay, but Andy doesn’t realize Emily has unfinished business with Miranda and, still feeling slighted from being pushed out of Runway all those years, secretly plans to acquire the magazine for herself and replace Miranda as Editor-in-Chief. This betrayal is foreshadowed by Miranda discussing a painting of The Last Supper with Andy, dropping hints that she knows someone is going to betray her, as she comments on the nature of humans, "at once glorious and fallible,” that we inevitably “deceive and betray one another, let each other down. It's what we're built to do." Andy is under the illusion that they’re saving Runway and preserving it for Miranda, but Emily is the secret Judas among them. Miranda charges her with being a vendor, not a visionary. The whole ordeal leaves Andy’s moral conscience so shaken that when she receives a phone call from her friend offering her $350k to write a juicy tell-all book about Miranda, she objects with righteous indignation. The third act takes place, fittingly, in Milan, Italy. As one of the fashion capitals of the world, it feels like an obvious choice. But deeper than that, Italy represents the birthplace of the Renaissance : a cultural, political, and artistic “rebirth” that came out of the rediscovery of classical antiquity and a philosophy of humanism, the unlimited potential of human beings as an end in themselves. The film is winking and nodding at what we're fighting for: not just magazines, but full artistic integrity, human creativity, art itself. The final runway show and pre-show dinner will be held in Italy’s Brera district. At this dinner, Miranda is prepared for Benji to make his announcement, but he informs her they’re still ironing out the details. As she sits down, hoping to find some common ground in the form of some Runway traditions being permitted to remain, he responds with disturbing fatalism. "Who knows? The world is changing so fast that sometimes I can't even comprehend it. So tradition? I think the day is coming, perhaps very soon, where Runway won't need models or locations or even designers. It'll all just, you know, be AI.” It feels like we’ve come full circle following the first film’s more trite girlboss brand of feminism. This is when Miranda, horrified, searches for some silver lining. "Well, surely some things will stay, she pushes. A commitment to beauty. Artistry. The best in human achievement, maybe." “Maybe,” Benji says, “But look around you. We’re in an ancient city that was one part of the greatest empires that the world has ever known, and now there’s just little traces of it left. The world is about change. That's what human beings don’t understand. The future just comes rushing at us like the lava of Pompeii. And our job is just to let it take what it wants to take. One day, it’s going to come and smother us all. And maybe that’s the way it has to be.” Miranda, with tears in her eyes, just says, “maybe,” and excuses herself to walk around Brera in the middle of the night, absorbing the sights of artistry—the shops and architecture—all around her, as it’s all built on a house of cards. Like their fate is so precarious, this might be her last chance to take it all in. This is by far the most moving segment of the movie. A cinematic villain humanized, made to seem like peanuts compared to what we’re up against. Tears filled my eyes, and I felt a sense of common struggle. In the end, Miranda and Andy manage to pool together their passion and resourcefulness to save Runway , if only temporarily, with the help of a benevolent billionaire, Sasha Barnes, who believes in their vision, making good on Miranda’s long-anticipated promotion. It’s ultimately Jay’s lack of sentimentality that causes him to let go of not just Runway but all of Elias-Clarke in one fell swoop, blindsiding Emily and Benji. It’s a happy ending, for now, but they’re really only biding their time, with Sasha promising to be hands off “for now.” In the car ride home from scoring the deal, Miranda lets slip that she knows about the speculative book deal Andy was mulling over and tells her she should write it. Only, she asks her to keep in all the juicy bits about how demanding, impatient, and imperious she is, how much of her children’s lives she’s missed. “Just put it all in there, because people should know there’s a cost,” she says, before adding that she loves working. It feels like we’ve come full circle following the first film’s more trite girlboss brand of feminism, in which Andy dismisses criticism of Miranda as sexism and Miranda laments that the tabloids will eviscerate her for yet another divorce, which will affect her children, rather than expressing any regret about her lack of presence in their lives. This time, the film doesn’t champion or moralize Miranda’s career choices. It just stops participating in the illusion that there are no trade-offs and consequently feels more mature. Andy is incredulous that Miranda believes she would dare write such a scintillating book now that they’re a team. Miranda tells her that, in reality, she just wanted to save herself, and Elias-Clarke happens to be her lifeboat right now. Any ideas to the contrary are just a nice story she tells herself. It’s tonally in keeping with the first film. Miranda bursts Andrea’s bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, rose-colored glasses to give her a reality check. Andy insists they can still do good work together. “We have to,” Miranda affirms. They’re in a battle larger than I could have possibly anticipated going into this. It’s an existential battle for human dignity and beauty. They might be destined to fail, but they will die trying. There’s a lot to nitpick about this movie, but what it lacks in narrative coherence and loose ends, it makes up for in its conviction in the indomitable human spirit, and in its quintessentially Evie ethos that humans ought to seek truth and find beauty.]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/the-devil-wears-prada-2-is-a-love-letter-to-print-and-a-warning-about-its-fall</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 06 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Culture</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[Childbirth Shouldn't Be Scary, It's Romantic]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/childbirth-shouldnt-be-scary-its-romantic</link>
      <dc:creator>Artemisia Leclair</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[Birth is romantic. Your biology and ancient mythology prove it.]]></description>
      //
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[There are some things so deeply etched into human biology that they cannot help but echo through the psyche until they are written down. Thoughts, beliefs, and observations that bubble to the surface in the form of stories and myths that must then be interpreted like dreams. Ancient, shared visions that span centuries, continents, and cultures, yet the same thread of truth weaves them all together. Birth is an event that occurs on the threshold between life and death. It’s a liminal space, a thin place. Birth is transformative. Birth is dangerous. And birth is romantic. The Biology of Birth Maybe you've heard the phrase before: what got the baby in gets the baby out , and maybe you haven’t, but either way, it’s true. Just as the baby will leave via the same path it took to get in, the same hormones, even the same actions, in some cases, will help birth the baby. Once the body is physiologically primed for labor (uterus has increased its oxytocin receptors, the cervix has ripened, and baby has descended into the pelvis), certain actions and even the environment itself can help influence when labor will occur. Mood Lighting There’s a reason most labors begin at night. Melatonin increases the uterus's sensitivity to oxytocin and therefore helps to strengthen and coordinate contractions. This is why many women find their contractions stop or slow under the bright lights of a hospital room. Dim lighting at home or in the hospital, such as candles or twinkle lights, can help sustain melatonin levels and therefore contractions. His Touch Your husband's touch is particularly powerful during labor. His hands, scent, voice, and presence all serve to help stimulate oxytocin release, support the production of endorphins (the body’s natural pain-relieving neuropeptides), and modulate the stress response by lowering circulating stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. His presence signals to your nervous system that you are safe, held, and loved. It's the exact messaging your body needs to initiate the hormonal cascade that aids in creating smooth, shorter labors with lower levels of perceived pain. The same principle extends even to the beginning of labor. Sex near term can support the body’s existing readiness for labor. Prostaglandins (compounds commonly used in medical induction and found naturally in semen) aid in further softening the cervix. And oxytocin released during arousal, nipple stimulation, and orgasm can cause mild contractions that transform into active labor. Love Bomb Yourself Listening to music during labor has been shown to reduce perceived pain, reduce anxiety and stress, and improve overall birth experience satisfaction. Love songs, specifically, help generate a calm, peaceful atmosphere and serve as a sweet reminder that you are about to meet the love you and your husband share, given physical form. Home is Where the Heart Is A familiar, low stimulation environment supports the parasympathetic state necessary for labor. When a woman feels observed, unsafe, or unstable, her body will release stress hormones which can stall labor. An extremely useful reaction to have on the occasion that running from a threat becomes necessary, but not usually needed in our developed world. However, the body doesn’t know this. It can’t tell the difference between a nurse you’ve never seen before and a possible threat. Noise, bright lights, and unfamiliar people can all be controlled for while at home and interestingly enough, low-risk women who give birth at home have lower rates of intervention than hospital births. There’s something highly romantic and protective about intimacy, and your body won’t let that fact be forgotten. The Anthropology of Birth But what actually happens during birth? Our world in the West places a heavy emphasis upon the physiology of it all, demanding that its other aspects, despite age-old wisdom, be declared unimportant or altogether false. And much to our detriment, westernized medicine has gotten its way. Yes, birth is no longer the deadly advent it once was. That’s something to be thankful for. But what if the lack of biological death has blinded us to reality? What if in killing death, we have lost sight of the very nature of woman? We will turn to the old stories to answer these questions, and we’ll begin in ancient Mesopotamia. Inanna was a goddess, the queen of heaven and earth. Champion of love, fertility, and kings. One day, she gathered her maidservant close and instructed her in how to make funeral arrangements, for she desired to journey into the underworld, and so she would go. But she did not know if she would return. Her maidservant begged and pleaded with her to stay above, to not risk her life, but Inanna could not be dissuaded. She dressed herself in her royal regalia. She layered herself in jewels. She arranged her hair. She made up her eyes. And she girded herself in armor. Seven things she took and prepared herself with. Her divinity and power shone forth. On her way to the underworld, she instructed her maidservant. When she arrived at its gates, she sent her servant away. Inanna knocked on the door and demanded entrance. She demanded to see her sister, the queen of the underworld. She was permitted to enter, the door was opened. But the seven gates of the underworld were lowered, and only a sliver of opening could be seen between the ground and the bottom of each gate. Inanna had to bow low to pass through each of the seven gates, and at each gate, she lost an item she had so carefully prepared herself with. Each time she questioned this, and each time, she was reminded that the ways of the underworld were perfect, to be quiet, to not question them. Finally, after all seven gates, Inanna stood before her sister in her throne room. She was bare and naked. As Inanna stood, judgment was passed. The sacred words were said. And the queen of the underworld stepped down from her throne and slew Inanna. Up above, three days and three nights passed, and Inanna's maidservant began the funeral arrangements. She cried out in the ruins. She beat the drums. She tore her skin. She dressed in rags. And she begged the assistance of the father Gods. Only one answered. The God of wisdom fashioned two creatures from the dirt under his nails, gave them the food of life and the water of life, and instructed them on how to bring Inanna back to the land of the living. What if in killing death, we have lost sight of the very nature of woman? The dutiful creatures entered the underworld like flies, just as instructed, and found the hell queen incapacitated with labor pains, just as they were told. Her breast was bare and her hair was in disarray. She cried out, “Ohh! Ohh! My inside!” The creatures cried, “Ohh! Ohh! Your inside!” She moaned, “Ohh! Ohh! My belly!” They moaned, “Ohh! Ohh! Your belly!” She groaned, “Ohh! Ohh! My back!” They groaned, “Ohh! Ohh! Your back!” The queen of the underworld stopped and examined the creatures, “Who are you, here commiserating with me? I will give you a gift. What is it you wish?” “We wish only for the corpse that hangs from the wall.” They replied. “The corpse belongs to Inanna, you may have it.” The queen waved in dismissal. Together, the creatures sprinkled the food and water of life onto Inanna and she arose. Inanna was about to ascend from the underworld when the judges of the dead stopped her. “Halt Inanna! No one rises from the underworld unmarked. If you wish to return, you must provide someone in your place.” Inanna ascended accompanied by a procession of demons. At each city, they encountered a servant or a son of Inanna’s. All were dressed in soiled garments. All were mourning. All threw themselves at Inanna's feet when they saw her. All were spared from taking her place. Then the horde came upon the husband of Inanna. He was dressed in splendor. He was sat upon his throne. He was playing his shepherd's pipe. And at the sight of Inanna, he did not move. The demons seized him. Inanna demanded they take him away. The demons destroyed his temple and beat him. Inanna's husband cried out to the God of justice. The God heard him and turned Inanna's husband into a snake and he escaped. Wherever you turn in mythology, culture, and time, you cannot escape women journeying (or being taken) into the underworld. You also can’t escape the themes of birth and wombs that usually accompany such tales. But what makes this romantic? How does one go from meeting the reaper itself, to “ oh my gosh that’s literally the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.” Without being accused of being completely delusional? I’ll give you a hint, it’s because a man is involved. The concept of man as a guide and savior from the underworld is not as foreign as some modern critics like to suggest. Woman may journey into the underworld, the bowels of the earth may be her domain, but man has always been positioned to retrieve her if she is so willing, and if he is worthy of her. There are two main categories these male figures fall into: failed guides, and successful ones. Orpheus (from Greek mythology), King Admetus (from the Greek play, Alcestis) and Inanna's husband are prime examples of failed guides. This is what we can learn from them. Orpheus went to retrieve his wife, Eurydice, from the underworld after she was bitten by a snake on their wedding day. He manages to get Hades and Persephone to agree to hand her over after he impresses them with a moving musical performance on one condition, while guiding her out, he cannot look back. Just as Orpheus is nearing the end of his journey out of the underworld however, he allows himself to become overwhelmed by doubt and anxiety and looks back. Due to this indiscretion caused by his lack of self-mastery, his wife is forever lost to him. Orpheus, gifted as he was, did not deserve Eurydice. Next we have Admetus, also a failed guide. King Admetus was fated to die unless someone volunteered to take his place. His wife, Alcestis, volunteered, and he allowed the trade. She spends her last day praying, purifying herself, and setting her affairs in order. Admetus spends her last day pitying himself. On the day of Alcestis’s funeral, Hercules arrives at the castle and asks for lodging. However, he notices Admetus has shorn his hair and is wearing mourning robes. Hercules states that he does not want to impose and will stay somewhere else. Admetus, determined to save face, suggests the person who has died is of little consequence to the household and that it would not be an imposition if Hercules stays. Hercules takes his friend at his word and stays, only to find out later that it was the Queen herself who had passed. Embarrassed, and without prompting, Hercules goes to retrieve Alcestis from the underworld and succeeds. What’s more romantic than being accompanied to the threshold between life and death? Admetus displays an angering type of impotence throughout the entire play in which he does absolutely nothing to change the fate of his wife and thinks only of himself. He does not support her. He does not own his fate. He falls into useless despair and fails to see how it’s his own fault. As the maid states in the opening of the play, Admetus does not deserve his wife either. However, we also see successful masculine guides who are worthy of their feminine counterparts. Hercules himself is one (though he is not partnered with Alcestis, he is still a successful guide). And we find more in folk tales such as “Skeleton Woman,” where an Inuit fisherman unwittingly catches a skeleton with his hook. He is terrified at first and tries to discard and outrun her. But she is tangled in his line and he only succeeds in dragging her along all the way into his igloo. Once he calms, he looks over and feels a sort of sympathy for the skeleton, so he begins to untangle her and set her bones right. Once she is all laid out, the man falls asleep and a single tear falls from his eye as he dreams. The skeleton woman crawls over and drinks it. Then she takes the man’s heart and beats it like a drum. She beats herself muscle, sinew, hair, and skin. She places the man’s heart back in his chest and crawls beside him once more, but this time as a fleshed woman. He wakes and they become one together. From that night on, neither is alone ever again. From these tales we learn that in order to successfully guide woman back to the land of the living, man must face his deepest, most existential fear. He must stare death in the face, unblinking, and bear witness as his beloved embraces it. As she cries more passionately in its throes than she ever did for him. He must become as brave as she is in these moments. He must hand her over, knowing full well that she may not come back. Knowing she may leave him on that threshold he is not permitted to cross. Leave him completely and utterly alone. Yet he must face it. Must become intimately aware of his lack of power in the face of something so terrible and primordial, and continue to serve her, to keep the pathway between the two worlds open with selfless love and devotion. He must face the fact that even if she does come back to him, his lover will never be the same. No one comes back the same after touching death's cloak. How could you? It would be wrong, a fallacy of nature, to remain unchanged. So he must face that too, and be prepared to embrace whatever new creature comes back to him. He must not fall into impotence. He cannot allow himself to succumb to doubt, fear, or despair. Nor can he allow himself the bluster of false bravado or hubris. He must simply accept, and support, and accompany his wife to the gates. To life’s great door, and bear witness. Only then, can he prove himself worthy. So, what’s more romantic than being accompanied to the threshold between life and death? Being loved unflinchingly as your soul is bared and forged anew? What is more romantic than facing death alongside a soul just as brave and steadfast as your own? Nothing. The Return Even those who admit postpartum depletion and emphasize the need for nutritional restoration, even those who crow that birth is just as metaphysical as it is physical, have forgotten that postpartum recovery is spiritual and energetic as well. They have remembered the death of the woman during birth, but have neglected to resurrect her. And in so doing, the West has abandoned the mother. Is it any small wonder we have epidemic rates of postpartum depression and anxiety? We’ve left the mother in liminality, a place between life and death, a state she was never meant to traverse on her own. In large part, this is due to the breakdown of tribal society and close-knit community. No one in particular is to blame, but the question must be asked, in this new world, who can solve this old problem? Who can become the old-new guide of the mother? What would this look like? China has Zuo Yuezi or “sitting the month,” a postpartum tradition with its roots in Chinese medicine, where a woman is said to be depleted of blood and qi. Post-birth, the balance of Yin and Yang in her body is thought to be skewed too heavily towards Yin, the feminine, cold, dark, wet, death aspect of Yin/Yang, and as such, balance must be restored through the opposite of this condition, or the Yang aspect: rest, warmth, and dense nutrition. If not, some practitioners believe a woman can be cursed to remain cold for the rest of her life. The mother-in-law or mother were the typical caregivers during this process of restoration, but today, many women go to postpartum centers to receive care, if they go at all. Birth is arguably the most intimate experience of a woman’s life. In parts of Latin America, some traditional communities still practice what is often called “Closing the Bones,” a postpartum ritual typically performed in the weeks following birth. During it, the mother’s body is wrapped in long strips of cloth called rebozo (the same type of cloths these women use during childbirth), applying firm, sustained pressure to different areas in sequence beginning with the head. In some traditions, this is preceded by a warm oil massage and accompanied by heat in the form of warmed blankets or stones in a well heated room. This ceremony is done to re-seal the mothers energy, to close her off and stabilize her once more. It takes her from the thin place of transition and places her solidly back within the physical realm. While mothers and other women in the community would typically oversee these postpartum traditions, most women today no longer have that option. The fact that many work traditional corporate jobs only complicates the issue further. However, this opens the door for men. And perhaps the door has always been open; an ancient solution for a modern problem, the room was just too crowded to see it. Birth is arguably the most intimate experience of a woman’s life, by inviting the husband, the good masculine, in, it can be transformed from shallow Hollywood Horror into something spiritually profound and binding between two souls. And perhaps when we removed the masculine guide and traditional protector of the sacred feminine, the collapse and profaning of birth and the postpartum period after was inevitable. But it’s this meeting and joining in the deep loamy place that has the potential to restore and dignify the culture surrounding birth once more and therefore elevate the children that come from it. Perhaps it’s time to romanticize birth.]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/childbirth-shouldnt-be-scary-its-romantic</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 06 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Health</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[The UN Is All About Equality, Except When It Comes To Men]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/the-un-is-all-about-equality-except-when-it-comes-to-men</link>
      <dc:creator>Lisa Britton</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[As we toast the United Nations for reaching its 80th anniversary, let’s raise a glass to its noble pursuit of global harmony, and then, perhaps, spill a little for the boys and men it seems to have quietly forgotten. ]]></description>
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      <content:encoded><![CDATA[The UN, the grand institution of peace and equality, has a blind spot when it comes to half the world’s population. And no, it’s not the half that gets 16 dedicated days of recognition , including International Women’s Day, Girl Child Day, and even Rural Women’s Day. Boys and men, it appears, get the short end of the stick, or rather, no stick at all. So we’ll start with the calendar. The UN proudly champions gender-specific days, with all spotlighting women and girls. That’s fantastic—empowering women is great. I’ve volunteered in areas of the world where girls and women are in dire need of support. But where’s the love for boys and men? International Men’s Day, observed globally since 1999 to address issues like male suicide, father’s rights, and boys’ education, gets zero official acknowledgment from the UN, and I believe it’s a missed opportunity. Instead, we get World Toilet Day. Yes, you read that right: November 19th, which happens to be International Men’s Day, is also the UN’s chosen date since 2013 to celebrate... toilets. I’d like to think this wasn’t a deliberate jab, but the irony stings. Nobody is arguing against improved sanitation which has saved millions of lives. I myself got sick on a volunteer trip to Africa and had to be treated in the U.S. But it feels like a snub. If the UN can find room for World Bee Day , surely they can squeeze in a moment for boys and men. International Boy Child Day, May 16th, the equivalent to Girl Child Day, is also not yet recognized by the UN. Reminder: these are children . But the oversight runs deeper than dismissed calendar entries. For years, the UN has championed gender equality through initiatives like UN Women, a dedicated agency for women’s empowerment. It’s a worthy cause, but where’s the equivalent? Boys and men face unique challenges globally: higher suicide rates, lower life expectancy, homelessness, overdose, educational disparities, child soldiers, war crimes, and workplace deaths that overwhelmingly affect them. Yet, the UN’s focus remains lopsided. There’s no UN Men, no task force for boys’ education, no global campaign addressing male-specific health crises. It’s as if their struggles are invisible, or worse, irrelevant and dismissed. It’s as if their struggles are invisible, or worse, irrelevant and dismissed. Again, I've traveled to regions like Africa, Central America, and the Middle East. I’ve volunteered in communities where girls and women (as well as boys and men) face significant challenges. I’ve seen it firsthand. As the UN continues to discuss critical global issues, gender equality remains a key focus. But the conversation is one-sided, overlooking the serious issues affecting boys and men. The seventieth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in March. Maybe it’s time to have a parallel session on the status of our boys? These are some of the most pressing issues of our time, and a balanced perspective is needed for meaningful progress. But dig a little deeper, and the picture gets even more concerning. I spoke with two senior UN officials in New York City, in town for the UN General Assembly in September, who revealed a troubling reality: the UN’s obsession with one-sided gender equality has morphed into systemic discrimination—against men. Within the organization, hiring and promotion decisions right up to the top are increasingly driven by identity rather than merit. If you're a young man today hoping to secure a job in the UN, there's no doubt that it will be difficult. Gender parity has already been reached and maintained since 2018 (50% women) in senior-level roles, and 60% of field staff are women today. Yet when there’s a selection process, those hiring must indicate that women have received due consideration and, in the case that a man is preferred, explain why. As a woman myself, I find this infantilizing. It suggests that women need a handicap to compete, undermining the very equality the UN claims to champion. Ignoring men’s issues while mandating justifications for hiring them isn’t equality. That's bias and sexism dressed up in progressive jargon. For their 80th anniversary, the UN declared it’s time for change, to listen to other views, and find new solutions. Secretary-General António Guterres wants the UN to review its role with the launch of the UN80 initiative , a system-wide push “to streamline operations, sharpen impact, and reaffirm the UN’s relevance for a rapidly changing world.” Here’s a great start: acknowledge International Boy Child Day on May 16th. It’s a small gesture that could signal a broader commitment to inclusivity and true gender equality, one that includes men and boys. It’s a simple way to show the boys and men of the world that we care. Then, hopefully, we can also acknowledge International Men’s Day on November 19th following that. The UN could lead by example, showing the world that equality means lifting everyone up, not pushing one group down to balance the scales. Create a task force and work with leading experts to address male-specific issues, like mental health and education disparities globally. And, please, stop justifying hiring men as if it’s a crime. The UN could lead by example, showing the world that equality means lifting everyone up, not pushing one group down to balance the scales. I’m honored that the phrase I coined in 2019, “The Future is Everyone,” has been chosen as the official theme for IMD 2026. This must be the year where we recognize that ‘inclusion’ means everyone, including boys and men. Men and women can work together to bridge the divide and build a more harmonious world where no one is left behind. I’m thrilled the UN is open to new perspectives on how to better address the issues of our time and create a more harmonious and inclusive world. Those frustrated with the UN’s approach to boys and men aren’t asking for pity; they’re asking for fairness. The UN has the chance to prove it's listening—not just to women, not just to toilets, but to everyone. I hope they take it. The boys, men, and fathers of this world matter, too.]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/the-un-is-all-about-equality-except-when-it-comes-to-men</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 06 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Culture</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[36 Feminine Ways To Romanticize Spring]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/36-feminine-ways-to-romanticize-spring</link>
      <dc:creator>Emilee Janitz</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[Spring is the season that makes you believe in beauty again. The world greens overnight, the air smells alive, and for the first time in months, you want to get dressed up just to feel the sun on your skin.]]></description>
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      <content:encoded><![CDATA[Although it’s become a bit of a buzzword, romanticizing is a very authentic, feminine, and effective way to achieve more joy and fulfillment in the everyday. To romanticize is to optimize your lived experience by adding novelty and occasion. It helps you make the most of what you have and appreciate the beauty of your day-to-day life. Whether you consider yourself a romanticizing pro or are new to the concept, here are some seasonally inspired ideas for adding excitement, romance, and glimmers of joy to your spring. This article may contain affiliate links or paid partnerships. We may earn a commission or compensation at no extra cost to you. All products are chosen independently by our editorial team and reflect our genuine recommendations. 36 Ways To Romanticize Spring Pick Wildflowers Put down your phone and go touch grass. Walk through the countryside and pick wildflowers along the way. Put them in a mason jar full of water for a nostalgic centerpiece. Make a Spring TBR List and Keep a Book Journal Warmer weather means “take your book outside” season has officially begun. Grab a journal and make a list of the books you’d like to read this spring . Take time to reflect as you go. Make notes on what you enjoyed, your favorite takeaway lessons, and which books you’d like to read again. Buy: Rifle Paper Co Embroidered Book Journal, $34 Visit the Library With a new TBR drafted for the season, grab your favorite tote bag and hit the library. Bonus points if you walk there (or if you sewed the tote yourself). Go For a Picnic Whether it’s with your kids, your husband, or your best girl friend, picnicking is a seasonal experience that can invite a lot of joy. Make it as simple or as elevated as you’d like. If the picnic consists of PB&J cut into fun shapes and sitting on a couch throw blanket in the backyard with your kids, that still counts. Wear Pastel Colors While we can’t control the weather, we can always control what we’re wearing. Leave the sad beige of winter behind and reach for color while getting dressed in the morning. If you're looking for inspiration, these colors are this season’s favorites . Buy: Madewell Smocked Boatneck Tank, $58 Buy: Altar'd State Oaklee Wide Leg Pants, $88 Clean Out Your Closet I recently took a day off of work to clean out my closet. I wrote the event in my planner and made it an experience to look forward to. As I tried on pieces between school drop off and pick up, sorting them into discard piles as I went, I listened to an audiobook and enjoyed the cleansing frenzy I had created for myself. Truthfully, it was hard work. And while that may not sound romantic, I’ve felt so much lighter and happier since. Don’t stop at a handful of sweaters and old tees. Really scrutinize every piece hanging in your closet and sitting atop your shoe rack. If it doesn’t bring you joy, it has to go. The more ruthless you are, the better you’ll feel after the fact. Take One Day Off From Social Media There’s nothing more freeing than untethering yourself from your phone. And you may find that by restricting social media for a day you’ll spend less time on your device in the days that follow. Time apart can provide perspective on how much social media tempts us to compare ourselves to others or draws our attention away from more important and interesting aspects of our life, including our children and our hobbies. Hack: Try treating your smartphone like a home phone . Cook With a Seasonal Ingredient Shake up the usual dinner rotation by using the season as your inspiration. Seasonal ingredients to reach for right now include asparagus, peas, spinach, berries, cherries, and parsley. Search for recipes that use these ingredients as the main characters. Learn How to Make a Latte You could buy a daily latte or you could learn a new skill and make one. Use your usual coffee pot to create a strong brew or invest in a home espresso machine which will not only elevate your daily routine but add some class to your countertop. Buy: Nespresso Vertuo Next Premium Creamy White Gold, $133 Buy: Ninja Luxe™ Café Premier Espresso Machine in Oat Milk, $600 Reserve One Weeknight for Fun Living for the weekend can feel bleak. Use the warmer weather and extra hours of sunlight to change up your weekly routine by designating one recurring evening to novelty. Try a new restaurant, grab a drink with a friend, host a game night, or finally watch that movie that’s been sitting in your queue for the last four months. Make a Homemade Mother’s Day Gift I love purchasing the perfect Mother’s Day gift . But making one is entirely more fun and is sure to be especially appreciated. Try illustrating a card, sewing a set of coasters, painting a flower pot, or collaging a bookmark. If there’s one good way to use social media, it’s for mining craft ideas. Watch some crafty reels and reset your algorithm for the better. Start Planning Your Garden Start planting or, if it’s still too cold where you live, start making garden plans for the months ahead. Decide what you’re going to grow, sketch your garden layout, and purchase seeds. Buy: Papier In Your Words Pine Leather Notebook, $34 Buy: Burgon & Ball Gingham Garden Gloves, $34 Adventure Out on a New Walking Trail Enjoy the influx of sunlight. Whether you map a new route around town or visit a new-to-you park, get your steps in while embracing a sense of adventure. Buy a New, Pretty Umbrella For most of us, spring brings its own fair share of rain. Stop dreading it and start owning it with feminine rainwear . Who knows—you may even start to wish for grey skies. Buy: Rifle Paper Co. Umbrella Dahlia, $40 Buy: LoveShackFancy Heirloom Print Marima Umbrella, $75 Embrace Whimsy Look for rainbows. Hunt for four-leaf clovers. Make a fairy house. Wear a fancy dress for no reason. Look for opportunities to take your day and yourself less seriously. Trust me, all the it-girls are doing it . Start Junk Journaling Low stress and low cost. As simple as it sounds, dedicate a notebook or sketchbook to housing sketches, collages, and little mementos that catch your eye. Keep ticket stubs, cut out magazine images that inspire you, write poems in the margin—there are no rules, only possibility. Write a Letter to a Loved One Take the time to slow down and draft a letter to someone you love. Whether it’s a relative you’ve been out of touch with, your spouse, or a close family member, you’ll never regret taking the time to share your love and tell someone how much they’re appreciated. Writing the letter by hand adds intention. If the contents are lighthearted, add stickers and drawings for whimsy. Try a New Lip Shade If you want to change your whole look on a budget with minimal effort, try a new lip shade. Bright colors are always on trend for spring. Look for hydrating products for a vibrant, just-kissed appearance. Buy: BISOU BALM Sheer Matte Lipstick, $30Buy Buy: Saie Glossybounce™ High-Shine Hydrating Lip Gloss Oil, $22 Plan Special Outings With Your Kids Unplug and create special moments with your kids. If you have more than one child, make sure they each get their own time . Take them to the park, out to eat, or to buy something they’ve been needing for school or sports. The one-on-one time will nurture your relationship and leave you both feeling refreshed and loved. Listen to Music While You’re Getting Ready in the Morning Make your morning routine more enjoyable by listening to music as you get dressed, brush your teeth, pack lunches, and do the one million and one other things that are required to get the day started on the right foot. Try a new album each day to keep the routine fresh. Paint Your Nails in an Unexpected Color Low effort, low cost, maximum mood boost. Buy: OPI Sunny Bunny, $12 Buy: Olive & June Shades of Seersucker, $10 Wash Your Hair and Makeup Brushes Freshen your routine by taking 20 minutes to clean your brushes. Your hair and complexion will thank you all season long. Unsubscribe From Marketing Emails Romanticize and simplify by freeing yourself from the barrage of e-commerce messages hitting your inbox every other minute. Put on your favorite podcast and be ruthless as you hit “unsubscribe.” Try a New Fitness Class or Video It’s easy to get stuck in a fitness rut, repeating the same types of workouts over and over again. Go outside your comfort zone and try something new, whether it’s an at-home barre workout, a kettlebell class at your local gym, or a run club. Plan a Summer Getaway Heighten your anticipation for summer by planning a trip. This can be a multi-week tropical vacation or a night away at a cute Airbnb. Give yourself something to look forward to. Go Back to Church Spring is a season of renewal. If you’ve been feeling the pull to go back to church , do it. If you’re already a regular attendant, look for new ways to deepen your spiritual connection and grow in your faith. Practice Gratitude Take time each morning and night to practice gratitude. Doing so can help you feel happier, reduce stress and depression, improve focus and immunity, and a whole slew of other incredible things . Buy: The Five Minute Journal, $25 Have Afternoon Tea This can be a new daily ritual or something fun you plan for the weekends. It can be an event you put on yourself or an experience you enjoy at a restaurant. Break out of the midday slump with hot tea, finger sandwiches, and scones. Pretty tea set optional but encouraged. Buy: LoveShackFancy Rose Porcelain Tea Set, $71 Plan a Craft Session Block out time to get crafty. Invite friends over for group crafting or plan the best solo date you can imagine. Have your favorite snacks at the ready and enjoy making an occasion out of getting creative. If the mental load of finding a craft idea and purchasing all of the necessary supplies has been holding you back, look for pre-assembled kits like these. Buy: BaubleBar The Ultimate Bead Kit, $48 Buy: Uncommon Goods Wooden Flower Bouquet Building Kit, $40 Seek Out One Good Deed, Every Day Hold the door. Pay for someone’s coffee. Donate items to those in need. Look for opportunities to do good deeds. Output goodness and it will come back around tenfold. Visit a Local Agrotourism Hotspot Fiber workshops, baby animal visits, a romp around a tulip farm—taking advantage of agrotourism is a great way to feel more connected to nature and enjoy the best the season has to offer. It’s also a great way to support small, local businesses. Spray Lavender on Your Pillow Before Hitting the Sheets Spritz your pillow with lavender spray to elevate your bedtime routine and grant yourself better sleep . Try the Hobby You Keep Putting on the Back Burner This time of year grants us a break from major holidays and events that tend to take up a significant amount of time and energy (i.e., back-to-school season, Christmas, etc.). Use the respite to say “no more excuses” and pick up a hobby you’ve always wanted to try. Whether it be horseback riding, knitting, Mahjong, pickleball, or writing that novel that’s been living rent-free in your head for the last eight years. Swap Pants for a Dress Embrace your femininity, and the warmer weather, by swapping leggings and jeans for skirts and dresses. Getting dressed will be more fun (it will feel like an occasion) and you may just be surprised at the effects it can have on your mindset ( or even your marriage ). Buy: A&F Emerson Puff Sleeve Midi Dress, $91 Buy: Quince 100% European Linen Corset Midi Dress, $92 Watercolor Paint Outside As a former studio art major, I can vouch for watercolor as an ideal outdoor art medium. And you don’t have to be Claude Monet incarnate to enjoy creating something beautiful en plein air. Grab paints, paper, brushes, and water and take inspiration from your surroundings. Buy: Paper Republic Watercolour Book, $45 Buy: Amazon 48 Colors Washable Watercolor Paint Set, $8 Have a “Staycation” Satisfying your adventurous spirit doesn’t have to mean spending thousands of dollars on theme park tickets or jetting off to another country. Try out a staycation, whether it be a day trip to a nearby town, a home spa day, or playing tourist in your own city. Interested? Explore more spring staycation ideas . Not every moment of every day can be romantic. There is work to be done, bills to pay, and errands to run. But when you put the time and energy into romanticizing whenever possible, you start to find these other, more monotonous components of life not quite so draining. You begin to approach each day with optimism, knowing that even the simplest of things—from music in the morning, to lavender on your pillow at night—can sprinkle your daily routine with joy.]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/36-feminine-ways-to-romanticize-spring</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 04 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Living</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[The King Commands A Crown. Harry And Meghan Sell One.]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/you-cant-fake-royal-authority</link>
      <dc:creator>Emily Osment Davis</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[You could hear a pin drop as the esteemed guest articulated each word and tapped his ‘R’s as he orated in the Queen’s English.]]></description>
      //
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[The Hall of Congress was packed with U.S. Congressmen and women, Supreme Court Justices and even the Vice President as all listened intently, then jumped to their feet in roaring applause. There was bipartisan respect, which is rarely seen in U.S. politics today. But who were they all cheering on? Rewind to thirty minutes earlier, when in a loud booming voice, the U.S. House Sergeant at Arms announced, “Mr. Speaker, Their Majesties King Charles the Third and Queen Camilla.” And just like that, the U.S. welcomed, for the second time ever in our country’s history, a British monarch to address Congress and the nation. California’s Rival Court Nearly 3,000 miles away, tucked in the mountains of Montecito, a different type of court was being held. The rival California court of King Charles’ estranged son and daughter-in-law, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle . Years ago, the couple opted to quit the working royal life and trade it in for the glitz and glam of American high society. Instead of Buckingham Palace, a palatial estate hours from Hollywood. A real Citizen Kane’s Xanadu situation. Opulent, sprawling, remote and irrelevant. Together, the former royals established a celebrity-ized version of royal life. One teeming with staffers who pen press releases, stage social posts, pitch reporters—all the essentials to run a high-impact Comms shop. The two molded their post-royal court in their image, trading in duty for dollars and mission for a multi-million-dollar memoir. The subtlety-free Sussexes found a way to commercialize almost everything in their lives, all branded with their U.K. royal connections. Netflix deals on their private lives and confessions, podcasts with celebrities , even hawking their wares from candles to jams. Meghan ‘Marketing’ Markle and Prince ‘Product Placement’ Harry have found a way to commercialize their connection to the Crown. And I’ll give it to them…in a way that is very American. But that’s exactly why we’re less enamored with every passing product launch. It’s because it's common. Harry and Meghan can monetize ‘royalness,’ but they cannot recreate royal authority. And nothing exposes an imitation quite like the original standing next to it. Contrast is the Mother of Clarity Recently, when Americans were asked who their favorite royals were, the answers were illuminating. As one article put it , “We can’t seem to resist the allure of royalty …that is why, even in a land that rejected monarchy, public sentiment favours hands down the Prince and Princess of Wales over the rogue runaways who swapped Buckingham for Beverly Hills.” And speaking of great contrast, look no further than this recent visit of the royals to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary. A remarkable feat, if you think about it. 250 years ago, our two countries were killing each other. Today we’re celebrating America’s independence alongside our former sovereign ruler. It’s a beautiful symbol of forgiveness and friendship. As the King said in his address to Congress, “The story of the United Kingdom and the United States is at its heart a story of reconciliation, renewal and remarkable partnership.” Spoken like a true unifier and leader. Compare that to what his son said on national television on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert . Harry took direct aim at President Trump referencing the ‘No Kings’ rallies by saying to Colbert, “I heard you elected a king.” Stately, dignified? I think not. The non-working royal should take some diplomacy cues from his father, especially since Harry is living as a guest in this country. If President Trump really wanted to act like a king, he could kick Harry out of the U.S., especially given the accusations that he lied about illegal drug use to get his current visa. To further highlight the contrast, during their recent travels, King Charles and Queen Camilla visited the White House, Congress, and Native American tribes. They visited the 9/11 Memorial to honor the memory of its victims. They even squeezed in a meeting with Anna Wintour and Martha Stewart. But guess who they didn’t meet? Harry and Meghan. One palace insider leaked that Harry's meeting with the King is a nonstarter: “Harry’s concern isn’t family. It’s branding.” No reunion on the horizon. But if it’s attention Harry is after, it’s attention he will get…or else. The Sussex Attention Playbook When it comes to PR and getting media attention, there are no rivals to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. We must give the masters their due. They appear to have developed a PR tit-for-tat strategy that operates a genius-level call-and-response whenever they see positive coverage of the British royals. When Prince William came to the U.S. for the Earthshot Prize, he was bumped from the front pages for the Sussexes’ Netflix trailer release. When Princess Catherine announced she had completed chemotherapy , the media’s focus went to another dropped Sussex Netflix trailer. And the list goes on. Sensing a trend? Take the King and Queen’s recent U.S. state visit, for example. Around the same time frame, the Sussexes: 1. Released new social posts about their kids, Archie and Lilibet 2. Announced the launch of a new candle product using their kids’ royal titles. 3. Announced an exclusive plan for a royal-style charity tour in Africa. 4. Harry showed up unannounced in Ukraine and gave his attempt at a geopolitical speech, taking aim at the President of the United States . The only thing we’re missing is another Netflix trailer. Suffice it to say, it appears they understand the mechanics of media cycles better than almost anyone. Heavy is the Head That Wears the Crown Being a working royal is not glamorous most of the time; it’s repetitive, disciplined, and your every move is pre-planned. It's mostly consistency over excitement, duty over personal branding, service even when there are no cameras. It was that model that constrained Harry and Meghan, and they chose to leave. Harry even declared that he never wanted the job of working royal because it “killed his mum.” He’s framed it as deeply damaging. But soon after, in what sounded like a statement of divine right, Harry declared that he is a working royal: “I will always be part of the Royal Family, and I am here working, doing the thing I was born to do.” But all-things-royals reporter Kinsey Schofield isn’t buying it . “He reminds me of Hunter Biden…he was literally there because of who his daddy was…Harry, being invited into rooms, not because of anything he personally contributes, but because of who his father is. But if he wanted this life, he should’ve stayed within the royal family, but he quit his job.” Harry rejects the institution while still claiming its authority. And sure, he may always be royal by blood, but working royalty is not an identity—it's a job. And it's one he chose to leave. In the End, One Has a Crown. The Other Has a Content Strategy. And that, ultimately, is the Sussex dilemma. For years, Harry and Meghan worked tirelessly to build an American court, complete with branding, carefully orchestrated headlines, and all the trappings of royalty, minus the inconvenient parts. But when the actual King and Queen step onto American soil, the contrast is unmistakable. One side offers duty, diplomacy and institutional weight. The other offers content, commerce and an endless quest for relevance. Harry and Meghan can sell the aesthetic of royalty, but they cannot replicate its substance. They can launch products, drop trailers and dominate a news cycle, but they cannot command bipartisan standing ovations in Congress simply by walking into the room. That kind of authority cannot be manufactured in Montecito, no matter how many staffers are drafting press releases. Deep down, they understand exactly like the rest of us, that there is a profound difference between being adjacent to the Crown and actually wearing it.]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/you-cant-fake-royal-authority</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 04 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Culture</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[The Devil Wears Prada 2 Fashion Moments We'll Be Copying All Year]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/the-devil-wears-prada-2-fashion-moments-well-be-copying-all-year</link>
      <dc:creator>Julie Drake</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[Our favorite characters have returned for another season of Runway, but now they’re in their prime. A sequel to Hollywood’s love letter to fashion.]]></description>
      //
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[Hollywood loves the fashion world. There are no shortage of movies and shows dedicated to the industry, like Coco Before Chanel , Project Runway , and Phantom Thread . But there’s one movie that stands out among the crowd, not to mention the test of time. It was the sleeper hit of 2006 starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, The Devil Wears Prada . The film follows a young journalism grad, Andrea “Andy” Sachs, looking to make it in the big city. She lands her first job as second assistant to the most formidable editor in the business: Miranda Priestly (played by Streep), of Runway magazine. Priestly’s character is loosely modeled off of real-world publishing titan Anna Wintour, former editor-in-chief of Vogue. Like Wintour, Priestly is no-nonsense, tough as nails, and has a supernatural ability to spot trends years before they become mainstream. Priestly is an uncompromising boss who demands excellence from everyone around her, especially her assistants: Hathaway’s character Andy, and Emily Charlton, played by Emily Blunt. The job, to put it mildly, is a challenge. Fast forward 20 years, and a more experienced Andy is returning to Runway as features editor after a hiatus “chasing stories” for the fictional New York Vanguard . She will work once more under Priestly, and occasionally with Charlton, who is now a senior executive at Dior. But this time, Andy is accomplished, professional and more self-assured than ever. With two more decades of experience under their belts, this may be the best era of Runway yet. The plot is delightful, but the real star of the franchise is the fashion. In both iterations of The Devil Wears Prada , the wardrobe department steals the show. Full of models and industry insiders wearing (impeccably styled) designer head-to-toe, the costumery is a feast for the eyes. Patricia Field, of Sex and the City and Emily in Paris fame, designed the unforgettable wardrobe for the original film. In it, Field showcased Y2K fashion: peep toe heels, wide belts and plenty of tweed. The fashion in the sequel, designed by Field’s mentee Molly Rogers, however, is elevated, upgraded and looking to the future. The Runway girls still love a pinstriped suit, but in 2026 the looks are more modern and relaxed. There’s less flash, more poise. Quiet luxury has arrived on the scene, and has completely taken over. With the dream team now fully in their prime, everyone has arrived, so to speak, and so has the fashion. Breaking down all the best looks from The Devil Wears Prada 2 for you here: Quiet Luxury Just when you thought quiet luxury was dead, The Devil Wears Prada 2 revives the opulent aesthetic, and serves it cool. Relaxed trousers and silk blouses abound, as do full monochrome outfits in muted tones. It really makes you want to go out and buy some cashmere, or a long wool camel coat. Costume designer Molly Rogers got the memo that the characters are all grown up now, and it kind of makes you want to grow up, too. Loud Prints When they’re not doused in quiet luxury, the Runway girls are not afraid of a loud print, and they sport spectacular varieties throughout the film. One of the most memorable is a gorgeous Gabriela Hearst patchwork maxi dress that Andy wears to a party in the Hamptons. Later, she arrives at a show in Milan in plaid Chanel couture, and steals the whole scene. Sheer Genius Sheer pieces also abound in the film, via everything from black tie evening gowns to chic office wear. One of the most memorable pieces is a checkered top from Acne Studios over a black bustier, paired with a pleated Fendi skirt worn by Andy after she writes her first defining feature upon returning to Runway . Feminine Menswear Did we mention the suits? Again, the high-powered magazine moguls love a luxe three-piece suit, but these hit different. They’re chic, relaxed, and distinctly feminine. Also a bit unconventional. One of the best iterations is a black and white pinstripe trouser/corset combo with a graphic Dior button up underneath worn by Emily. The Devil Wears Prada 2 office wear could take you from swanky brunch, to meetings, to happy hour, looking 10/10 the entire time. In soft tones, this is not your general boys club attire. Another showstopper is Andy’s vintage pinstripe Jean Paul Gaultier waistcoat and trousers. The chef’s kiss of business casual. Layered Jewelry The clothes aren’t the only thing that have grown up in The Devil Wears Prada 2, though. The jewelry has as well. Compared to the chunky, flashy accessories seen in the first movie, the sequel displays simpler, more elegant, industrial pieces that whisper instead of shout. A favorite jewelry styling moment is a gold T-bar necklace layered with a pearl choker, and worn by Andy in the vintage Jean Paul Gaultier. It feels like sifting through your mom’s jewelry drawer and realizing she has truly iconic taste. High Shine The wardrobe often sparkles as much as the movie itself, especially when the crew is in Milan. Visiting the stunning Italian city for Fashion Week, almost the entire cast is seen in a sequined, rhinestoned or otherwise bedazzled look at least once during the festivities. Sparkly jumpsuits are standard fair, as are rhinestone tops and sequin dresses. One particular standout is a blue sequin Rabanne dress worn by Andy to the birthday party for the owner of Runway , Irv Ravitz. And Scene The Devil Wears Prada 2 is a constant juxtaposition of old and new. It honors the nostalgia of the first movie, while centering today’s aesthetic, and showing us where fashion is headed in the future. But it also highlights the struggle of a dying empire (print media) attempting to adapt in order to keep pace with the industry. Fighting for relevance in a digital age is a major theme throughout the film, and you find yourself torn between a longing for the past, and a desire to move toward modernity. It’s conflicted, wistful, and also hopeful. The film reminds us that when it comes to fashion, the past is important, but what really matters is what’s happening now, and what is just around the corner. Fashion, like media, is inescapably forward-facing.]]></content:encoded>
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      <pubDate>Mon, 04 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Style</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[Lawsuit Accusing JPMorgan Executive Of Sexual Abuse May Have Been Fabricated ]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/jpmorgans-viral-harassment-lawsuit-may-have-been-fabricated</link>
      <dc:creator>Meredith Evans</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[A JPMorgan lawsuit accused executive Lorna Hajdini of sexual abuse and racial harassment. Now reports say the anonymous accuser may be Chirayu Rana, and sources believe the story was fabricated.]]></description>
      //
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[On Monday, April 27, 2026, a lawsuit filed in New York County Supreme Court under the name “John Doe” accused Lorna Hajdini (a 37-year-old executive director in JPMorgan Chase’s leveraged finance division) of sexual abuse, racial harassment, drugging, and threats tied to the accuser’s career. Hajdini was accused of turning the employee into her own "sex slave" that she called her "little Arab boy toy." Multiple sources told the New York Post that the anonymous “John Doe” is Chirayu Rana, a 35-year-old former JPMorgan employee who now works as a principal at Bregal Sagemount. Those same reports said Rana has been accused by sources of making fabricated sexual-harassment claims after JPMorgan’s internal investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing. The Lawsuit That Riled Up X The original allegations were severe and graphic. Doe claimed that the alleged abuse began after he joined JPMorgan’s leveraged finance team in March 2024, and Hajdini joined the team in a senior role the following month. In one early incident described in the lawsuit, he alleged that Hajdini dropped a pen near his desk, touched his leg while retrieving it, and made a sexual comment about basketball players. The complaint adds that Hajdini removed her shirt and began fondling her chest. The suit alleges Hajdini then  dissed his wife, allegedly telling the employee, "I bet your little Asian, fish head, wife doesn't have these cannons." Doe claims the executive propositioned him twice for oral sex in the office, where she allegedly told him, "Birthday BJ for the brown boy? My little brown boy." Another quote in the filing claimed Hajdini had asked, “Do you want a future at JPMorgan?” while allegedly pressuring Rana into sexual acts. The advances grew even more explicit from there, the suit claims, stating that Hadjini invited Doe out for drinks, which he declined. She allegedly responded with, “If you don’t f*** me soon I’m going to ruin you… never forget, I f***ing own you.” The complaint accused Hajdini of racial harassment, alleging she called Doe “some Brown boy Indian leading originations." The filing also reportedly alleged that Doe was drugged with Rohypnol and Viagra to enable an erection. Hajdini has denied the allegations through her lawyers. In a statement issued to the New York Post and repeated in later coverage, her lawyers said: “Lorna categorically denies the allegations. She never engaged in any inappropriate conduct with this individual of any kind and has never even been to the location where the alleged sexual assault supposedly took place.” JPMorgan also rejected the claims. A spokesperson quoted in reports said: “Following an investigation, we don’t believe there’s any merit to these claims,” adding, “While numerous employees cooperated with the investigation, the complainant refused to participate and has declined to provide facts that would be central to support his allegations.” The Post reports that Rana, who is believed to be Doe, filed an internal complaint in May 2025 alleging race- and gender-based harassment and abuse of power, then tried to negotiate a settlement worth “millions” to leave the company. According to NDTV’s summary of the Post report, Hajdini and the complainant worked on the same leveraged finance team but reported to different managing directors, which the sources said meant she did not control his annual bonus. Who is Chirayu Rana? Reports identifying Rana say he is currently a principal at Bregal Sagemount. The Economic Times, citing Bregal Sagemount’s website, reported that Rana works on originating and underwriting investments across sectors, including software, healthcare, financial technology, business services, and consumer services. His background, according to that report, includes prior roles at JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, The Carlyle Group, and Credit Suisse, and he earned a finance degree from Rutgers Business School. No trial date has been scheduled yet.]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/jpmorgans-viral-harassment-lawsuit-may-have-been-fabricated</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 01 May 2026 05:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>News</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[The Rise Of The Modern Cougar  ]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/the-rise-of-the-modern-cougar</link>
      <dc:creator>Lisa Britton</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[The cougar is making a comeback, except this time, the young men are doing the chasing.]]></description>
      //
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[The idea of the "cougar" has been in our culture for decades: an older, often wealthier woman paired with a significantly younger man. In the past, these relationships had a whiff of scandal. The women were viewed as predatory or desperate and the men dismissed as gold diggers chasing luxury and an easy life. It was a relationship that felt transactional, even a little pathetic. But something has shifted in the last few years. What we're seeing now isn't the same story. Young Gen Z men in their early twenties are actively pursuing women in their mid-to-late thirties and forties, women who are sometimes divorced, mothers, or established in their careers. And their pursuits aren't subtle. They're surprisingly confident and persistent. Ten years ago, I witnessed an earlier version of this phenomenon while working in fashion in Malibu. I noticed the women who walked through my store were mostly in their forties and fifties. Nearly all of them were divorced. Many had negotiated generous settlements that let them keep their ocean-view homes and their comfy lifestyles. On paper, they had "won" the divorce. But what struck me was who they were dating. These smart, stylish women, many of whom were professionally successful, were almost all involved with men in their thirties. Many of the men didn't have steady jobs. They were the artsy, brooding, "bad boy" type: musicians, aspiring screenwriters, or simply professional charmers hanging out in Malibu or LA. They'd date a divorced mom for a few months, then move on to her friend down the street. It was an open secret. The women seemed to enjoy the attention and the ego boost, but to me, it felt off-putting. There was something hollow about it—an imbalance that went beyond age. These weren't relationships built on mutual respect or shared goals. Instead, they felt like temporary distractions for women who had everything except the kind of partnership they once wanted. The New York Times recently published an op-ed titled "Older Women Are in Demand by Younger Men" that focused on the trend. Based on data from the dating app Feeld, it reported a 64 percent jump over the past two years in the number of men exclusively interested in dating older women, most pronounced among those aged 18 to 25. The data reported a 64 percent jump over the past two years in the number of men exclusively interested in dating older women, most pronounced among those aged 18 to 25. Pornhub searches for terms like "cougar" and "50 plus" spiked dramatically in 2025 as well, driven largely by younger male users. They spoke of being drawn to older women's emotional maturity, their openness to commitment, and a sense of peace they didn't find with women their own age. One put it bluntly: girls his age were "mean" and dismissive, while another highlighted that older women offered snacks, a listening ear, and real care. Psychoanalysts and cultural observers in the piece linked the trend to male anxiety in a competitive dating market, women's economic independence, and a desire for relationships that feel less like a battlefield and more like a safe harbor. I posted about the piece on X, and the response was overwhelming—thousands of comments flooded in. Many veered into outright misogyny, blaming women broadly. But I think something deeper is at play: it's a symptom of how fractured modern dating has become. It's worth noting that the reverse is also happening: Gen Z women are increasingly dating millennial men in their late twenties and thirties, often citing the same reasons young men cite for dating older women—emotional maturity, stability, and men who seem ready for actual partnership rather than games. The dating landscape has fractured in multiple directions, not just one. But there's also another pattern I've observed. Take my friend in her late thirties with a young child, for example. When her marriage ended, she braced herself for the usual warning: "No one will want a single mom." Yet, the reality has been the complete opposite. She's constantly approached by men in their twenties. They're confident, persistent, and enthusiastic about her role as a mother. They don't just tolerate the idea of her child; they say her motherhood is part of the appeal. Several have told her their dream is to step into the role of a supportive partner and even a stepdad someday. What strikes me most is that these young men seem drawn to the nurturing dynamic—they want a partner who will care for them the way mothers do, who will create a sense of home and stability. It's not casual hook-up talk. These men seem genuinely drawn to the stability and depth she represents. Another friend, now in her forties, has been in a steady relationship with a man in his early thirties for a while. They're committed and building something real. The problem? His family doesn't fully approve. They worry their son is closing off his own chances at starting a biological family, since my friend is past the point of having children. It's a valid concern rooted in biology and life stages, yet the relationship itself doesn't feel unserious or exploitative. It's tender and serious in ways that defy the old "cougar" stereotype. It's a symptom of how fractured modern dating has become. The Telegraph ran a piece recently that cut straight to a possible explanation: there's a mismatch in what each generation wants from dating. The article noted that some Gen Z women, shaped by social media, pop feminism, and legitimate concerns about male behavior, have adopted a more guarded, sometimes defensive stance in dating. Meanwhile, young men—also shaped by social media and insecurity—report feeling anxious and uncertain about their role. Both generations are responding to real cultural pressures. In contrast, millennial women in their thirties and forties, while shaped by some of the same cultural messages as Gen Z, often bring life experience that makes them more receptive to male attention. Their dating pools have narrowed after years of career focus, divorce, or raising kids, and many are ready for something "exciting" and "different." They appreciate the eagerness, admiration and emotional openness these younger men offer. Older men pairing with younger women has been normalized for centuries, and for good evolutionary reasons, to be honest. Women tend to mature emotionally and socially faster than men. A woman in her fertile prime (mid-twenties to early thirties) often pairs well with a man ten years older who has had time to build stability, resources, and the maturity to be a reliable husband and father. Society largely accepts this without too much hand-wringing. On the other hand, an older woman with a much younger man feels different. There's something instinctively off-kilter about it to many of us. Women are wired with a deep nurturing instinct. When that dynamic tips into romance with someone young enough to be a son, it can blur lines in pretty uncomfortable ways. It raises questions about power, dependency, and compatibility that go beyond biology. A 20-year-old man simply doesn't have the life experience to fully grasp what a 40-year-old woman has lived through, from her losses and her responsibilities to her shifting priorities. While some of these pairings may flourish, many have hidden emotional costs for both parties. Statistically, the average age gap in marriages remains small—around two years. Yet in times of cultural chaos like today, trends like this can signal bigger fractures. Divorce rates remain stubbornly high. Dating apps have turned romance into a marketplace that rewards superficial traits and empty hookups. Young men are navigating a world that tells them their masculinity is toxic while simultaneously expecting them to still provide, protect, and perform. Girls are encouraged to be ambitious, independent, and in direct competition with men. Is it any wonder some men seek validation and affection from women who remember a time when men were still allowed to be men? The women they're turning to seem to be simply offering the warmth and stability a wounded generation craves right now. Perhaps this trend is a symptom of a culture in sickness; a rebellion against a dating landscape that leaves both sexes lonely and resentful. Both generations are struggling, and they're often struggling in opposite directions. But finger pointing won't fix it. What we need is honest self-reflection on all sides. How have we neglected our boys and young men? In schools, in media, and in families—have we stripped away the encouragement, the purpose, and the respect that once helped them grow into confident adults? Have we created a vacuum that older women are now, however unintentionally, filling? I don't have the answers. I'm not cheering on the cougar revival nor am I condemning it outright. Relationships are deeply personal, and consenting adults will always find their way to one another. But as a woman who has watched these patterns unfold close-up, from the hollow Malibu version a decade ago to the more earnest, still complicated, version today, I can't help but see it as a mirror. It reflects back our collective failures: the erosion of trust between the sexes, the devaluing of traditional roles, and the desperation many feel for simple connection and mutual appreciation. If we want these trends to simmer down rather than accelerate, we need to start paying real attention to the young men in our communities. They aren't the problem. They're responding to one. And the women they're turning to, my friends and my peers, seem to be simply offering the warmth and stability a wounded generation craves right now. The question is whether we, as a society, are willing to do the harder work of healing the rift between the sexes before more of them decide the only safe place left is in the arms of someone old enough to be their mother.]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/the-rise-of-the-modern-cougar</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 01 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Relationships</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[The Consequences Of Progressive Parenting ]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/the-consequences-of-progressive-parenting</link>
      <dc:creator>Jennifer Galardi</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s recent comments about how she raises her children are a better recruitment tool for the “red pill” right than anything Andrew Tate has ever said. ]]></description>
      //
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[The “First Partner” of California and wife of Governor Gavin Newsom said she requires her sons to play with dolls (“even if they tear the head off of them”) and replaces male protagonists in their favorite stories with “she” and “her.” Ironically, there is no mention of forcing her girls to run outside and get physical, hit each other, or play with toy guns. The message she sends is clear: Girls, you are the superior sex. Boys, be more like girls. Her comments on gender and parenting expose an ideology that pathologizes masculinity, dismisses motherhood’s natural responsibilities, and treats biology as an obstacle to be engineered away. The problem is not that the governor’s wife made provocative statements, it’s that she said exactly what modern feminists believe. These young men (now ages 15 and 10) are being told every day that their very essence is less valuable than their sisters. Failing to recognize the healthy biological impulses of her own children, she drives their admiration to those who will acknowledge their worth. Women like Newsom insist on passing down this insidious strain of feminism to their own children. One that obliterates the natural bonds of affection that keep the threads of society intact. For the Newsoms, the sexes are interchangeable. Neither woman nor man is endowed with unique gifts and attributes that contribute to the healthy development of a child, or a civil society. Like most progressives who subscribe to androgynous egalitarianism, distinctions and biological truths don’t matter to them. The message she sends is clear: Girls, you are the superior sex. Boys, be more like girls. California’s governor seems to reinforce his wife’s questionable parenting tactics. In fact, he says that the “50/50” approach to caregiving is “the issue of our time” and “the answer to so many of our problems that exist in the world.” Both parents begrudge the fact that women, on average, spend 39 days more per year caring for children. The horror! Indeed, Gavin calls the statistic “ominous.” Traditional roles for fathers and mothers are not societal constructs. They are the natural order of life that begets thriving and well-adjusted children and in turn, a flourishing civilization. Fathers typically offer the provisions and protections necessary for survival and stability like an income, a home, and structure. They are the ones to pass on healthy risk taking to their children, sons and daughters. They are more likely to say “shake it off” and instill resilience. Mothers offer sustenance (literally for the first year or more of a child through breastfeeding) and nurturance. They are the soft place to land, the one that tends to soothe hurt feelings and bruised egos. Upsetting these natural functions can lead to dysregulated and dysfunctional family dynamics. According to Mrs. Newsom, disparities in the job market are the result of the proverbial “war on women,” not a natural byproduct of the inherent sociological differences between the sexes. She has proposed legislation that will hold “tech companies accountable and be a force for good in our kids and family’s lives,” so that they “don’t go down this rabbit hole of very, very dangerous and limiting narratives around ultimately what it means to be a girl and what it means to be a boy.” Biology and human nature must be corrected, according to Mrs. Newsom. Even in her own family. Biology and human nature must be corrected, according to Mrs. Newsom. Even in her own family. The First “Partner” of California demonstrates the worst of feminine instincts: performative virtue signaling, condescension, and disrespect for the men in her life. Gavin Newsom seems to have given his wife everything she could ever want. Status, ethically questionable funding for her political nonprofit, and most importantly—although she may not perceive them to be as such—four beautiful gifts in the form of her children. Yet she can’t even muster the decency to call herself “First Lady,” acknowledging the fact that she is, indeed, his wife. There is nothing less attractive than an ungrateful woman. Men created civil society for women and children, yet feminists insist on destroying the very thing that has protected and provided for them for eons. At a time when fertility rates have crashed to an all-time low , it is the musings of women like Siebel Newsom that will ensure the destruction of civilization as we know it. She has said she doesn’t know if our country is “ready for First Partner .” Let’s hope we don’t have to find out. Jennifer Galardi is a senior policy analyst in the Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Human Flourishing.]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/the-consequences-of-progressive-parenting</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 01 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Culture</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[I'm A Tradwife Influencer—Here Are My Thoughts On 'Yesteryear' ]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/im-a-tradwife-influencerhere-are-my-thoughts-on-yesteryear</link>
      <dc:creator>  Liana Graham</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[Caro Claire Burke’s 'Yesteryear' has been called the “buzziest” debut novel of 2026. It follows a “tradwife” influencer transported to the 19th century, forced to live the life she sells online. ]]></description>
      //
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[Written in the language of TikTok and Instagram Reels, Yesteryear rebukes the surge of tradwife content. Which is why I, a “tradwife” influencer, had to read it. Granted, I don’t post the kind of videos Burke’s book has in mind. My writing and videos try to persuade Gen Z audiences of the value of marriage and family. But the surface similarities are hard to miss: I'm a young Christian wife who defends putting family above career ambitions on social media. According to Vogue , Burke offers a “nuanced, 360-degree view of the hopes, fantasies, and often dark motivations lurking behind” a figure like me. How could I resist? As it turns out, Yesteryear is a scathing exposé, but not of tradwives. In fact, the thriller reveals more about our culture’s mockery of traditional women. Yesteryear opens by introducing its narrator, Natalie, a 32-year-old influencer who amasses millions of followers by posting about her pioneer-like lifestyle. Unbeknownst to her audience, staff keep the household running, her marriage is strained, and her children hate being filmed. One day, she wakes up in a place that looks like her home, except it’s the early 19th century. The plot follows her as she tries to make sense of what happened—a reality show, a test from God, or time travel—and find her way back. The story alternates between past and present to show how Natalie achieved internet stardom. She meets her husband, Caleb, at a church group. After they marry, she finds herself pregnant at 20 (and with a husband more of a buffoon than she expected). Natalie and her in-laws scramble to find Caleb a job, and she lands on the perfect answer: social media. After a “manosphere” streamer mentions her account, she is catapulted to fame, and she hopes, true happiness. Yesteryear is a scathing exposé, but not of tradwives. As the story develops, Natalie proves anything but content. When a scandal erupts at her ranch, she is swiftly canceled and her world unravels. Then comes the twist: she isn’t in the past at all, but in a future of her own making. After the scandal drives her into madness, she turns Yesteryear Ranch into a full pioneer fantasy, living as though it were the early 19th century. By the end, Natalie is deluded; her children are taken after the police find her, leaving her with what she sees as the worst fate—being alone with her husband. The novel closes with the two of them casually telling each other they hate each other. This fictional tradwife influencer is left humiliated, trapped in a hell of her own making. Yet according to The Cut , Natalie’s story isn’t a “takedown” of tradwives so much as a humanization of them. I’m not sure a lonely, selfish, clinically insane character is the most dignified depiction, but I digress. And while the mainstream press has showered Yesteryear with praise, it reads like the author prompted an AI with, "Write me a book about Ballerina Farm, but make it a thriller." The novel's second half is riddled with inconsistencies. Scroll through reader reviews on Goodreads, and you'll find plenty of comments on the book's poor writing. "The structure and story framework were a mess," a reviewer named Traci wrote. Another named Lauren added, "Is this a social experiment? This book is objectively REALLY bad." A good number of readers were unsatisfied with the ending and the confusing "twist." Yet, for all its flaws, Yesteryear already has a film deal with Amazon MGM Studios, and Anne Hathaway is attached to star and produce. When a studio has that much money riding on a property, people can't help but ask if the glowing press is really organic enthusiasm or a coordinated PR campaign. One of the marks of a good writer is the ability to write accurate characters. That includes understanding what motivates them, even characters you may not personally like. A novel exploring the internal thoughts of a traditional Christian woman, even if she is an influencer, is no exception. Yesteryear fails this test. I barely related to Natalie, who comes across as a peculiar Christian fundamentalist: theologically illiterate and seemingly unchurched. In addition to considering herself flawless, Natalie has a thin prayer life, much of it tacked onto repetitive profanity she later apologizes to God for. Yet later she casually considers an affair with her father-in-law without a flicker of conviction. Seriously? Yesteryear aims to immerse readers in the psychology of traditional Christian women, and it left me wondering whether Burke has ever spoken to one. This dissonance feels driven by a foregone conclusion, not honest research. When asked if there are real-life Natalies, Burke concedes she doesn’t know; after all, she can’t pry into tradwife influencers’ heads. In other words, Burke hasn’t met a Natalie figure—she made her up. In an interview, Burke said she drew inspiration from social media patterns. “The thing I really wanted to focus on was that image, because it’s propaganda,” she said. So she created a disconnect between Natalie’s curated bliss and the cacophony of her inner life: selfish, hypocritical, and confined by the lifestyle she peddles online. Vogue may insist Yesteryear isn’t a “moralistic fable about the dangers of tradwifery,” but it reads like one. The message is clear: women who embrace, encourage, and exalt motherhood are involved in deception. Admittedly, Yesteryear isn’t about traditional women per se: it’s about an influencer who sells domesticity online. The distinction between “tradwife” and “tradwife influencer” matters for Burke. But her assumption that tradwife influencers are always performing implies the domestic bliss of their feeds can never reflect reality. Tradwives do present an aesthetic vision of home life. Does that make them charlatans? Only if you assume what they sell—marriage and motherhood—is a faulty product. Yesteryear does. This is most clearly expressed when Natalie becomes a mother. Burke writes that Natalie realizes she had been lied to about the joy of childrearing, and that the task of women, to some extent, is to keep spreading that lie to their own children. The message is clear: women who embrace, encourage, and exalt motherhood are involved in deception. And part of that deception is achieved through alluring tradwife content, which constructs an “unrealistic” image of a traditional home. It is partly true that tradwife content is unrealistic. Motherhood isn’t reducible to sourdough bread and milkmaid dresses. But this critique applies to all social media. Yet it rarely does. I don’t hear people ask “boss babe” influencers to post themselves slogging through Excel, eating sad slop bowls because they don’t have time to cook, then leaving at 11:00 p.m. with bags under their eyes. Titles, salaries, and cubicles haven’t exactly proven to be all the rage for young women. Yesteryear tries to acknowledge this double standard by poking fun at the disappointing returns of girlboss feminism; Burke concedes as much. “Otherwise,” she says, “this other option would not be so appealing.” But instead of asking what career-driven feminism fails to offer, Burke uses fiction to dismantle the tradwife’s appeal. Yesteryear is satire, but Burke insists it isn’t flippant. “It was very important to me to show the very real constraints that she has,” she says. Burke criticizes influencers with an agenda, but she has one too: to portray traditional wives as dissatisfied and constrained. Who is the real propagandist here? Burke criticizes influencers with an agenda, but she has one too: to portray traditional wives as dissatisfied and constrained. I left Yesteryear feeling misunderstood. It didn’t offer an enlightening perspective on the life I lead and promote online. Instead, it revealed our culture’s contempt for traditional women, adding fodder for its obsessive degradation of housewives. One reviewer wrote that the book made her feel better about judging tradwives because it “proved” tradwives judge her right back. The anti-tradwife crowd is so desperate for evidence that wives and mothers are secretly unhappy and spiteful that it will take a work of fiction as proof. Unlike Natalie, I’m not fictional. Neither are the women in my church, many of whom are homemakers. Most married young and have a gaggle of children. They’re not self-seeking, and they don’t consider themselves flawless. They’ll pray for you in a heartbeat if you ask. If you visit their homes, they’ll make sure you leave fed with the good, hearty food only a mother can make. Unlike Natalie, they exude love. Those who want to “get inside the head” of traditional wives should start by getting to know one.]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/im-a-tradwife-influencerhere-are-my-thoughts-on-yesteryear</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Living</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[How To Live Like A 90s It-Girl In 2026]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/how-to-live-like-a-90s-it-girl-in-2026</link>
      <dc:creator>Julie Drake</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[We’ve studied them, we’ve idolized them, and now it’s time to execute. How to live like a Y2K socialite in 2026. ]]></description>
      //
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[Imagine being Kate Moss in 1995, walking for Calvin Klein and changing the world one edgy leather jacket at a time. Or Gwyneth Paltrow in 1999, sashaying down a NYC street in a perfect Oxford and jeans, dating a less emotionally-baggaged Ben Affleck. Or Paris Hilton in 2004 with her own hit show, already American royalty as the eponymous hotel heiress, and as tall, thin and blonde as any bourgeois West Coaster of her time. That must have really been something. The it-girls of the 90’s and 2000’s invented the assignment. Nostalgia for the 90’s/early 2000’s is resurfacing in a big way. But what is it about the era that's so intriguing? For one, it was a simpler time. Cell phones were just that, portable ways to get a hold of people, to catch up, or make plans. Not tiny little computers connecting us to everyone and everything in the entire universe. Media was more straightforward. Culture was more shared. And people still did things IRL, like meeting up for lunch or spending an afternoon in the park. Life was entirely less virtual, and comfortingly more analog. The 90’s were marked by an effortless nonchalance when it came to the style. The makeup was minimal, the fashion simple, the vibe immaculate. Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, featured in the FX show, Love Story , was the perfect example. Her aesthetic could be described as neutral, tailored and precisely curated. If we didn’t know better, we’d say she was the singular inspiration for The Row . Gwyneth Paltrow was another poster child of impeccable 90’s style. She was the epitome of quiet luxury: silk slip dresses, column skirts and designer suits. Paltrow oozed elegance and sophistication at every appearance, including the 1999 Oscars where she wore iconic pink Ralph Lauren. The 90’s as a whole were sleek, chic and unforgettable. The 2000’s were louder. Think peak clubbing era. The aura was bold, intentionally performative, and, arguably, more fun. Take Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie In The Simple Life , for example. The vibe was vain, obnoxious and completely watchable. They owned the screen, and they knew it. They weren’t always ideal citizens in the popular reality show, but there was a harmless naiveté about their antics, and they helped usher in a new era. One where you weren’t afraid to go full glam for a brunch, and where everyone was blonde. The 2000’s looked like low-rise jeans, baby tees, glossy lips, and going-out tops. It seemed to be a celebration of both femininity and masculinity at the same time. The men were manly, the women were girly, and no one was apologizing for anything. ( Jersey Shore is an interesting case study.) If 2026 feels like a different world, that’s because it is. With the implosion of the internet and social media, there are as many microcultures today as there are TikTok accounts, and the ethos is fragmented accordingly. And while we love many things about our modern era, sometimes it seems like it'd be nice to go back to a simpler time. Which is why many are waxing nostalgic for the 90’s and 2000’s, and resurrecting their favorite trends. If you want to join the Y2K revival, here’s what’s in for 2026: Platform Wedges Starting with the best, first. One of our favorite pieces of early 2000’s fashion was the platform wedge. Seen recently on the front row at Chloé, platforms are everything the 2000’s represented: playfulness, girlhood and fun. One of the least practical shoes (second only to the stiletto), platforms are an ankle sprain waiting to happen, but are totally worth the risk. Nothing will make you feel sexier than adding a few inches to your height with a chunky, girly shoe. Here are some faves: FP Collection Zoe Platforms, $148 Zara Wedge Heeled Sandals, $60 Steve Madden Palm Natural Raffia, $130 Soft, Shimmery Glam The world has been embracing femininity for a while now, but Y2K did it a little differently. Unlike the soft, clean girl and cottagecore trends, the 2000’s weren’t afraid to lean into glam . The eyeshadow was shimmery, the highlighter ubiquitous, and the gloss reflected light from a mile away. The makeup was to be seen, and heard. But not in an obnoxious way; in a way that said, “I’m all girl, and proud of it.” Pass the shimmer stick, boo. Anastasia Beverly Hills Mini Eyeshadow Palette Fenty Beauty by Rihanna Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Gloss Luminizer Side Parts And Swoopy Bangs Yes, I know. The most blasphemous words ever to be uttered, according to Gen Z. But it’s time to face reality: side parts, and swoopy bangs, are back, and girls are ecstatic. The tyranny of the homogenous middle part is over, as is the demonization of the (very cute) swoopy side bang. Vogue , Who What Wear , and even the New York Times have all confirmed it: the side part is in, and Gen Z is about to learn the beauty of a little hairstyle versatility. But don’t worry, the middle part isn’t out, per se; it’s just that now you have options. You can part your hair on the left for work, the right for date night, and straight down the middle for church on Sunday. Maanesten Nabi Claw Clip Lele Sadoughi Charlotte Silk Headband Emi Jay Popstar Clip Set Halter Tops Another pure delight that Gen Z is about to experience for the very first time is the inimitable halter top. Supremely feminine and flattering, the halter top instantly transforms. I’m pretty sure Katy Perry’s California Girls starts playing every time a girl puts one on. Nothing says summer, and the good kind of feminism, like a halter top and cutoffs. H&M Peplum Halterneck Top ASTR The Label Meana Halter Plunge Drop-Waist Midi Dress Zara Polka Dot Midi Dress Minimalism (90’s) If you lean toward the 90’s end of the Y2K aesthetic, you’re drawn to the basics: button ups, neutrals, simple silhouettes and soft, natural makeup. And there’s definitely a place for that. If Love Story has reminded us of anything, it’s that a sleek, curated look is hard to beat. To recreate the polished aesthetic for today, look to the modern champions of clean girl like Hailey Bieber and Nitsan Raiter. Sometimes less really is more. Madewell The Signature Y-Neck Shirt in Poplin Zara ZW Collection Satin Lace Dress Levi's 501 Straight Jeans Aritizia Wilfred Henrietta Satin Skirt And Also, Maximalism (2000’s) And other times, more is actually more. If the 2000’s end of the Y2K spectrum calls to you, then your eyes light up with a splash of color and a very loud Pucci print. Again, the 2000’s were not meek. They were a maximalist’s heyday. Bright velvet tracksuits and bedazzled bottoms were legion, as were ombré sunnies and sequined tops. Club gear, as it were. If you, like the viral reel, “hate minimalism,” here are some ways to recreate the maximalist trend: H&M Dress with Tie Shoulder Straps AFRM Rivka Dress Seven Wonders Amoree Long Sleeve Maxi Dress AIRE Venatici Low-tech Time They probably didn’t call it such then, because it was just normal life, but the 90’s/00’s were gloriously low-tech. With the absence of a device of perpetual distraction at your fingertips, boredom was a feature, not a bug. But the thing about being bored is that not only does it allow for actual presence, it can also lead to things we don’t otherwise make time for, like reading, journaling, or even wandering. Wandering aimlessly through your neighborhood or local downtown allows you to see things in real life (instead of through a screen), and happen upon magical finds, like a new cafe, a charming bookstore, or a secret park. Low-tech time allows you to interact with the world in analog ways, something in which our modern world is severely deficient. It leaves time for thinking, dreaming and being. And the world could use more of that. Conclusion Y2K had it all. Femininity, freedom and fun. The real kind; the kind that involved having experiences for experience's sake, not for likes or views. And with a culture like that, it’s easy to be nostalgic for the past. But the good news is, nothing’s ever truly gone, and 2026 is resurrecting the best parts of the 90’s/2000’s, and bringing them into the modern era. With a few simple tweaks, you can be living your best Y2K socialite life in 2026, and paving the way for a new era of it-girls, one where we know what we want, and it doesn’t involve any algorithms.]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/how-to-live-like-a-90s-it-girl-in-2026</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 29 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Living</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[Katy Perry, Justin Trudeau And The Collapse Of Performative Politics]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/katy-perry-justin-trudeau-and-the-collapse-of-performative-politics</link>
      <dc:creator>Emily Osment Davis</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[Justin Bieber’s voice drifts through the air. A wall of concert-goers forms around the stage. The scene is rich with celebrities, influencers, and a veritable who’s who that has descended upon the desert in California.]]></description>
      //
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[Against this backdrop, enter our Coachella hero and heroine. A couple so demure, so unassuming, calmly poised amid the chaos. The man in a backwards cap and light-wash jeans scarfs down his ramen noodles. The woman, jacket wrapped round her waist, shovels an unidentifiable finger food down her gullet. Precious moments captured in their oh-so-candid TMZ photo. Unified, the couple model their red plastic cups in frame, as if to say, ‘How do you do, fellow kids?’ And just like that, the façade quickly lifts, and we realize this isn’t a spontaneous moment between a fraternity brother and his sorority sweetie. This is a highly choreographed tableau involving formerly popular pop princess, now turned amateur astronaut, Katy Perry and her new ( still married yet legally separated ) beau, Justin Trudeau. Yes, the former leader of the second-largest country and G7 nation, Canada. You may be asking, “What’s the big deal?” Let this middle-aged couple cosplay away. But sadly, this is not just about two people dressing up and going out, but rather a pattern of performative politics that has metastasized for decades now. Take the red solo cups. People were quick to call Trudeau a performative hypocrite for posing with a plastic cup. Under his leadership, Trudeau introduced and instituted a nationwide ban on single-use plastics , forcing Canadians, coast-to-coast, to adhere to these edicts or face up to thousands of dollars in fines. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this couple’s penchant for performative politics. They may not have invented it, but they are damn close to perfecting it. What is Performative Politics? There was a time when performative politics was so ubiquitous that it was like the air that we breathed. It was here, there, and everywhere, every time a high-brow politician donned a cowboy hat and kissed a baby or gladhanded at a fair while holding a corndog. Every time a celebrity spouted off at the Oscars about ‘environmental consciousness’ in between their flights operated by a private jetliner. You saw it there. And believe me, it still exists, but we’re starting to see the cracks. Once upon a time, Americans would’ve just looked the other way if powerhouse Oprah Winfrey tried to sell us her weight loss plan while simultaneously taking a GLP-1 jab . Not today. We’re sick of symbolism over substance, slogans over sincerity. Unfortunately, Justin Trudeau and Katy Perry have not gotten the memo. Trudeau and the Truckers Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau built an entire career capitalizing on political branding. A self-described male feminist , Trudeau put a premium on visual effects in the public square, often landing him in hot water. Whether it was failing to declare over $200,000 in government funds for his lavish vacation, calling out racism while failing to disclose his own past of wearing blackface, or declaring that Canada welcomed all immigrants before quickly reversing that law to say, ‘Canada needed to slow the population growth.’ But no action of Trudeau’s epitomized performative politics more than his treatment of Canadian truckers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Trudeau touted himself as a paragon of personal liberties, but that all came crashing down. His government implemented vaccine mandates and travel restrictions that ignited fierce opposition and fueled the Freedom Convoy protests, a series of protests and blockades in Canada during the pandemic aimed at opposing vaccine mandates for truck drivers crossing the U.S.-Canada border. Rather than seeking meaningful dialogue to address the concerns of the protesters, Trudeau tarred them as ‘racists and misogynists.’ He seized their money, froze their private and business bank accounts, and invoked emergency powers, a move later rebuked by a federal court . For all his bluster about advancing civil liberties, Trudeau brought the force of the federal government down on his own citizens, quelling dissent through might. But he’s not the only guilty party in this couple… Katy Perry: Activism as Aesthetic Katy Perry knows a thing or two about cozying up to power. Today, she’s the girlfriend of former PM Trudeau. But she has always fancied herself a political actor and a ‘ champion for women .’ She endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2015, saying she was like a ‘phoenix rising’ and that Clinton ‘embodied unconditional love.’ She publicly backed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris . All in the name of bettering the world for women, but there’s just one glaring problem with that. Perry’s performance. She notoriously says one thing, while her actions point to something else entirely. Currently, Katy Perry is facing a public backlash and police investigation after comments from actress Ruby Rose, who alleged that Perry sexually assaulted her at a club in Australia. Perry denies the allegations, but, nonetheless, these are very damning accusations. Critics are quick to point out Perry’s history. Previously, a former TV host claimed Perry had publicly touched her inappropriately and attempted to kiss her at an industry event. Perry, on national TV, shamed an American Idol contestant when she found out she had multiple kids by saying she "laid on the table too much." Critics also point out disappointment with her work with music producer Dr. Luke, amidst his drugging and rape allegations by fellow pop star Kesha. Finally, her bizarre behavior was put on blast as she rode Jeff Bezos’ multi-million-dollar rocket up to space to take selfies. An act that resembled more Zoolander’s ‘Blue Steel’ than Sally Ride. The Formula is Wearing Thin For years, politicians and celebrities, just like Justin Trudeau and Katy Perry, hid behind performative politics. They kept doing it because it worked. But overexposure has a way of ruining even the best cons. However, I believe that we may be witnessing the final curtain call on this con. And we could have Trudeau and Perry to thank. The merging of politics and pop culture culminated in the relationship of two of its most performative proponents, which could be just what’s needed to collapse the entire system. Audiences are more skeptical than ever. With greater access to politicians' and celebrities’ actions through social media, we see through the sham more clearly. And with corporate media no longer serving as the ultimate gatekeepers of all news, we can see with our own eyes whether a public figure’s actions line up with their words. So now we find ourselves in this pivotal moment. A Rare Bipartisan Agreement Trudeau and Perry may single-handedly be able to accomplish something together that few politicians and celebrities have ever been able to manage. They could align all sides of the political aisle in agreement on one key issue. A Pew Research poll asked Americans to list words that describe U.S. politics today, and majorities pointed to words like “Chaos,” “Messy,” “Hypocrisy,” and “Circus.” I believe the question is no longer whether performative politics works, but rather when it will come crumbling down. And with their powers combined, I believe Trudeau and Perry can collectively tire us of show-activism once and for all. Sure, this couple didn’t invent performative politics, but they have come to embody it. He from the podium, she from the stage. When even the most polished practitioners can no longer make the act feel convincing, we all start to see the cracks of light peek through. The red Solo cups, the carefully curated activism, the choreographed relatability. At a certain point, the performance doesn't persuade; it wears thin. And if performative politics is finally reaching its breaking point, we all owe a great deal of gratitude to Justin Trudeau and Katy Perry for not just being its willing participants, but the key agents of its final demise.]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/katy-perry-justin-trudeau-and-the-collapse-of-performative-politics</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 29 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Culture</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[Gina Carano: The Comeback Queen]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/gina-carano-the-comeback-queen</link>
      <dc:creator>Carmen Schober</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[Gina Carano built a career as a pioneering fighter and beloved actress until Hollywood tried to recast her as the villain at the height of cancel culture. Now, after an epic battle against one of the most powerful companies in the world, she's the undisputed comeback queen. And she's ready for another round.]]></description>
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      <content:encoded><![CDATA[This is a comeback story, but it could've just as easily been a cautionary tale. When I sit down with Carano, she's less than three weeks out from one of the most anticipated fights in women's combat sports history, leaner than she's been in years, sharper in every sense, and positively glowing. The End Or The Beginning? In early 2021, at the peak of the cancel culture era, Disney fired Carano from her acclaimed role as Cara Dune on The Mandalorian after she criticized tyrannical COVID lockdown restrictions on social media. The outrage machine descended immediately and Lucasfilm released a statement calling her posts "abhorrent" and confirming she would not be returning to the franchise. For a woman who had spent her life building something extraordinary, first as a trailblazing MMA fighter who helped open the door for an entire generation of female athletes and then as an actress carving out a rare niche in Hollywood action, it was meant to be a finishing blow. It almost was. She told me what followed were some of the darkest years of her life. She sold her home in Hermosa Beach, got an RV, and drove. The work dried up. The people she thought would call mostly didn't. The stress piled onto her body in ways she could eventually see in her bloodwork: pre-diabetic levels, cortisol through the roof, a body quietly staging a revolt. "2024 was not looking so good," she tells me. "The depression, and kind of just completely lost. Like, what am I supposed to do? I'm trying my hardest, but nothing's working. I'm in the desert. The questions I was asking were questions other people were wanting to ask. We got to the point where we couldn't ask, and that was a really scary time." The surprising turning point came through a naturopath in Montana who did something simple: she took Carano's blood work and actually showed her what was happening inside her body. The results were a map of the last few years. "It was pre-diabetic. The cortisol and it was all these horrific things," she says. "She showed me what was going on in my body." After years of her body bearing the full weight of the stress and the loss and the uncertainty, someone finally looking underneath the surface was exactly what it took to start healing. Another surprise followed. In October 2024, Elon Musk's legal team came calling. In February 2025, she filed suit against Disney. By August 2025, the case had settled, and what happened next is the part that still seems to delight and baffle her in equal measure. Disney released a statement unlike anything she said the company had ever put out before, one that acknowledged her work, her professionalism, and the respect of her directors and co-stars. "Nobody covers this," she says, bemused. "I told this to The Hollywood Reporter journalist and they were like, yeah, nobody's covering this. But if you put the two statements Disney made next to each other, what they said when they fired me and what they said at the settlement, the contrast is just mind-blowing." Batting A Hundred When Carano talks about the years that cost her so much, there's no bitterness. She has done the interior work of processing it, and the result is a woman who can speak about one of the most painful chapters of her life without being consumed by it. She is also, it has to be said, someone who feels vindicated. "Back then it was called conspiracy theories," she says with a laugh. "And I'm like, with my conspiracies, I'm batting a hundred right now." What she was asking, she insists, was never as radical as the reaction made it seem. "The questions I was asking were questions other people were wanting to ask. We got to the point where we couldn't even ask, you know, or counter the narrative, or even make a joke. Comedians suffered for it. People just stated facts that people didn't like." She shakes her head. "That was a wild time. It was not that long ago." The cultural reckoning with that era, she thinks, is still playing out in ways people don't want to acknowledge. "I think a lot of people now are taking on big causes because they have shame about how they acted during that time," she says. "They don't want to talk about who they became during those years. So they're like, no, no, we're really good people, look at us sticking up for this and this." She lets that sit for a moment. "People want to act like it didn't happen. But it did. And I feel pretty clean-hearted, because I feel good about what I did." She also points out a pattern she found herself unable to ignore. "Sex discrimination in Hollywood is sadly a real thing, because I've seen a lot of women lose their jobs. Even women I didn't agree with." "The internet always wants you to be involved in its problem whether it has anything to do with you or not." As for the people she worked with most closely on The Mandalorian , the ones the internet seemed determined to cast as her adversaries, she is clear. "I never had a problem with Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau. I thought they were always wonderful. There's a lot of stuff I can't even share. But those are two good human beings that I respect, and they respect me." She gives a small shrug at the outrage this tends to generate online. "The internet always wants you to be involved in its problem whether it has anything to do with you or not." It's a posture, she admits, that not everyone understands. But it's consistent with how she's carried the whole chapter. "I do have pain in my heart for people I lost during that time, people I still think deserve justice and I pray for that. But as far as how people were toward me, I'm not good at holding grudges." The Harder Thing Her legal victory is a satisfying ending to one chapter, but Carano has never been someone who sits still for very long. She's already working towards another win. But before we get into her much-anticipated fight with Ronda Rousey on May 16th (which will be streamed live on Netflix, the platform’s first-ever MMA event), we have to talk about the physical transformation Carano has undergone, first, because it's incredible and, second, because it's inseparable from everything else. "I was hiding from the world for a long time." Since September 2024, she has lost a significant amount of weight that she won't share just yet, saving it for what will clearly be a dramatic reveal. "People are going to be like, I didn't know she was that heavy," she says with a laugh. "It's going to be a little embarrassing. But life is embarrassing; might as well just lean in." For years she had been showing up to fan expos in strategic layers, furry ponchos and boots and a hat, wearing it all so the cameras couldn't quite catch her. "I was hiding from the world for a long time." She has her own thoughts on the body positivity conversation. "I do believe there should be all sorts of different sizes that are beautiful," she says. "But here's the thing: what is ultimately beautiful is what is healthy." Then, after a beat: "Food is one of the most abused drugs. People use it to hide from the world. And I think a lot of the people who use food, like I did, they're actually taking it out on themselves because they don't want to take it out on others. They're usually very sensitive people." She's also honest about the seduction of shortcuts. "I thought about just going and getting that procedure that suctions the fat and forms your body," she admits with a laugh. "But I knew it wasn't going to teach me what I needed to be taught. If you don't learn how to take care of yourself, you're just going to end up back in a bad place." So instead, she did the harder thing, in the form of a full professional fight camp. "Every morning I wake up at three in the morning, and I'm thinking about this fight," she says. "You have to get up every morning. You have to train, you have to do the things that are hard. You have to diet. You have zero life." She even turned down acting work to be here. Everything else is by the wayside. "But I would have never gotten where I'm at now without this." The result is a woman in film shape, in fight shape, and by her own account in better shape mentally and physically than she has been in years. "This fight is pure passion," she says. "It made me dig really deep, deeper than I would have ever." A stepping stone, she calls it, back to the thing she really isn't finished with yet. "The ultimate goal is to get back to storytelling, which I think has a longer lifespan. It's also so powerful and it's something that I feel like I've got unfinished business and I haven't even tapped into my potential there." Before Hollywood Knew Her Name Most people know Carano from The Mandalorian , or from the lawsuit, or from the wave of renewed attention that comes with a comeback this dramatic. Fewer know the origin story, and they should, because it's a good one. She grew up as the athletic middle child in a family where her sisters were the prom queens. "I was more like, really good at sports and activities," she says with a self-deprecating smile. "I didn't bloom." At nineteen she was in Las Vegas, partying hard, aimless, grieving friends lost to overdoses and violence. "One of my friends got taken out and shot in the head in the desert. Another got stabbed thirty-one times by somebody else I knew. We were in a really tough environment." One person who helped pull her out of that environment was a young man named Kevin. He decided to honor a friend who had died of heart failure by signing up for Muay Thai, and three months later Gina walked into the same gym. Six months after that, they were both fighting in small, scrappy venues. She was a natural from the start. "It's hard to explain, but as soon as I started really excelling, people just started putting a camera on me," she says. "I was just doing something that was keeping me away from drugs and alcohol. But my career took off into acting, and he kept going into fighting." She and Kevin went their separate ways for a time, each chasing something different. At the time Carano entered the sport, there was essentially no women's MMA scene to speak of. No female roster in the UFC, no big paydays, no roadmap to success. "It was literally just me doing something I was passionate about that kept me on the straight and narrow," she says. "It garnered a lot of inspiration and attention. And then I caught the eye of Ronda Rousey, and she became who she became." Rousey has credited Carano for opening the door for female fighters to be seen as entertainers and not just athletes, just in time for Rousey to walk through it. What set Carano apart during that era wasn't only her ability to win fights, but also that she refused to adopt the aesthetic common to women in combat sports, the toughened-up, masculine presentation she'd watched female athletes default to throughout her life. She made a conscious choice from day one to stay fully herself: feminine, glamorous, and absolutely dangerous. "You can still be a female and love all the things and be feminine," she says. "It's actually adorable. Women are powerful. They don't have to be like men to be powerful." She changed the visual language of the sport by simply being herself. "Women are powerful. They don't have to be like men to be powerful." As for acting, she never planned it. People dropped comments here and there, but she didn't have an agent angling for Hollywood. "If that's going to happen, somebody is going to come find me and give me a job. That's how it's going to happen." The person who came was filmmaker Steven Soderbergh, one week after her fight with Cyborg, while she was still licking her wounds. He reached out to her seemingly out of the blue. "My mom was so cute, she was like, honey, do you want me to drive you? You know how directors can be. And I was like, Mom, come on, I'm fine." She laughs. "I'm a fighter. I can take care of myself." That fateful meeting was the beginning of one kind of life, and the end of another. Days in the gym, small venues, and the version of herself that had walked in at nineteen with nothing to lose was receding in the rearview mirror. Kevin stayed in the world she was leaving. And for a time, that distance was just something they both lived with until fate had other plans. A Decade In The Making Now, on the other side of careers that neither Carano nor Rousey could have fully predicted, they finally meet. Most people expected the signature Rousey they knew: the trash talk, the scowl, the psychological warfare, but instead we've seen a much sweeter version of Rousey, asking for Carano's autograph and singing her praises. "She created her controversy with other people but with me, she's just been excited," Carano explains. "I think she's enjoyed the training process more, sharing the ring with someone she genuinely wanted to fight." She pauses. "And so have I." "It's got a pleasant energy to it," Carano says, "because it's something that neither one of us needed to do, but want to. That's a totally different animal." No bills to pay, no rankings to chase. Just two legends who want this, on their own terms, for their own reasons. "It's something that neither one of us needed to do, but want to." For Carano specifically, the fight is one final, definitive statement. She had, she says, given up on fighting five years ago. She thought she'd closed that door for good. "Fighting just gets in you, and unless you get it all out of your system, it'll stick in there," she says. "It did stick in there until five years ago. And then I thought I hard-closed the door and was enjoying The Mandalorian and I was like, okay, this is awesome." And then life had other plans. "You just never know what's going to happen." The Man Who Didn't Blink If time found a way to finally bring us the fight that never was, it also found a way to bring Gina and Kevin back to each other for good. When I ask about him, her whole face changes. "I've known him since I was 19. He's my first love. And I'm just as in love with him now, if not a hundred times more." He was by her side when the Disney blowup happened in 2021, and Carano says he didn't hesitate. "He didn't blink. He already understood the world," she says. "I was naive when all this stuff was going down. But Kevin was locked in." The paparazzi and stalkers were outside their Hermosa Beach home, so they sold the house, got the RV, and drove. Over the course of their relationship, he proposed four times, but Carano kept redirecting. "Wait, I don't like how you did it. Try again. Surprise me next time." She shakes her head telling the story. "I was all over the place." They had set January 1, 2022 as a kind of deadline, a date to make a decision. When the morning came, he said he already knew his answer. "And I was like, okay. Let's do this." There was no ceremony, just the courthouse and a bright pink dress, black army boots, and their own invented last name, chosen together. "He wasn't attached to his name for reasons," she says. "And I didn't want him taking mine. So we made up a name." She pauses. "I didn't realize he needed that commitment. And I didn't realize I needed it either. It was the best decision I've ever made." Kevin is also an artist, a caricaturist with a particular gift for capturing not just the unique character of every face but also what’s under the surface. And she’ll tell you that it was learning to truly see each other fully, including the hard years and the wrong turns, that finally made it work. "The trick was, I think, we had to forgive each other for the years in between," she says. "We're not throwing anything in each other's faces moving onward. We're going to forgive each other for what we've done and start a new life. And it really has been like a clean slate." Unfinished Business You could talk to Carano for hours, and I honestly wanted to, but she has a fight to prepare for, press conferences, and projects in the works that aren't ready for the spotlight just yet, so we start to wind down. She told me after the weigh-in comes the cheeseburger she's been dreaming about since fight camp started, and after that another story begins. She already knows what it looks like. "I want to act again, then direct. I feel like I've been a part of the biggest and the smallest productions and I see where people go wrong and where they go right," she says. "The hardest part is finding a story you're going to be able to live with for years. Like this fight, I'm creating a painting. At some point the fight is going to come and I'm going to have to leave the canvas, and it's going to have to sit there. I'm going to have to write it myself. More than likely." Our conversation eventually finds its way to the iconic Rocky movie, and of course she's a fan. She says she plans to watch it before her fight. The symmetry is almost too good. The fighter who became an actress who wants to become a director, drawing inspiration from the man who wrote and directed the defining film about getting back up after you’ve been knocked down. When I ask her what has kept her grounded through all of it—the fight, the lawsuit, the comeback—the answer comes easily. "I check in with God all the time," she says. "I don't necessarily pray for victory. I just pray that His will be done through this process. I feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be, which gives me freedom and confidence going into this very hard thing. He has got my back no matter what." "This is the best I've ever felt." There is a particular kind of freedom in that kind of faith, the freedom to walk into hard things without needing to control how they turn out. She has fought for that freedom in every sense of the word. And when I ask her simply how she feels, standing on this side of all of it, she doesn't miss a beat. "I feel like I'm blooming now. I love this age. I have a husband. I have goals. This is the best I've ever felt."]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/gina-carano-the-comeback-queen</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 29 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Culture</category>
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