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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.
        </description>
        <language>en-us</language>
        <copyright>© 2021 Evie Magazine</copyright>
        <pubDate>Mon, 08 Jun 2026 23:11:40 GMT</pubDate>
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          <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com</link>
          <title>Evie Magazine</title>
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      <title><![CDATA[A Couple Terminated A Down Syndrome Pregnancy. Now Some People Think The Story Is Fake]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/couple-terminated-a-down-syndrome-pregnancy-story-fake</link>
      <dc:creator>Meredith Evans</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[Jesse Ridgway and his wife, Ashley, shared that they aborted their baby after it had been diagnosed with Down syndrome. After facing intense backlash for their decision, some viewers began questioning whether the story was even real.
]]></description>
      //
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[In a viral vlog, the couple recently revealed that they chose to terminate a pregnancy after receiving a diagnosis of Trisomy 21, commonly known as Down syndrome. Their decision quickly became national news. Who Are Jesse And Ashley Ridgway? Jesse Ridgway, known online as McJuggerNuggets , has spent more than a decade building one of YouTube's most recognizable channels. He first became famous through the "Psycho Series," a collection of videos that appeared to document explosive confrontations between Jesse and his father. The videos attracted millions of viewers and generated years of debate about whether they were real. In 2016, Ridgway ultimately revealed that much of the series had been scripted, though many fans had believed it was authentic while it was unfolding. Since then, his content has expanded to include vlogs, family updates, personal milestones, and lifestyle videos. Ashley has become a regular presence throughout that content. The controversy began after Jesse and Ashley documented their pregnancy journey online. According to reporting from The New York Times, the couple first learned something might be wrong during what was supposed to be a gender reveal. Jesse's brother had access to the test results and informed him about concerning findings before the reveal continued. The couple later shared another video documenting the results of an amniocentesis, a diagnostic test used to confirm genetic conditions. Ashley became emotional while reading the results. "I bought boy clothes," she said through tears. "I had the nursery picked out. I was ready." Days later, Jesse announced that Ashley had undergone an abortion after doctors confirmed the diagnosis. "This choice was not made lightly," Ridgway wrote on X. "We made a difficult decision that we believe in the long-run will be beneficial for our family." The Backlash Was Immediate Many people opposed the abortion because they believe terminating a pregnancy due to a Down syndrome diagnosis devalues the lives of people living with disabilities. Others accused the couple of promoting harmful stereotypes about Down syndrome after Jesse shared statistics about common medical complications associated with the condition.  Some disability advocates pushed back against the way the condition was being discussed publicly. Stephanie Smith Lee, co-director of policy and advocacy for the National Down Syndrome Congress, told The New York Times that the information being shared could create the impression "that having Down syndrome makes your life not worth living." "That is just absolutely wrong and it's hurtful," she said. According to Jesse, the couple began receiving death threats and abusive messages. "I've never seen such hate and vitriol for two people grieving the loss of their unborn child and making an impossible decision," he wrote on Instagram. "Being called 'murderous pieces of s--t, evil, compared to Hitler' and receiving NON-STOP DEATH THREATS." He later added, "If you can't contribute anything meaningful to the conversation aside from insults then just don't post." Why Some People Think The Story Is Fake While many online arguments centered on abortion, another group of viewers focused on Ridgway's history as a creator. Conservative commentator Brian Eastwood was among those openly questioning the story's authenticity. "This Jesse and Ashley Ridgway Down syndrome abortion story isn't adding up to me," he wrote on X. "I think they faked the whole thing." Eastwood argued that Ridgway's YouTube channel has featured years of dramatic storylines involving breakups, family conflicts, health scares, and emotional personal moments. "His channel is riddled with controversial and weird, depressing videos," Eastwood wrote. "How do we know any of this is real?" The skepticism spread to Reddit, where some users referenced Ridgway's earlier content. One commenter wrote, "this guy is an ass [sic], wouldn't be surprised if it's all a lie." Another referenced the creator's famous Psycho Series, writing, "This is the same guy who claimed his channel was all real with psycho dad." Ridgway spent years building a career around content that intentionally encouraged audiences to question what was real and what was scripted. It makes sense why some viewers now find themselves questioning even the most serious moments he shares. However, he did share a photo of their sonogram on Instagram over two months ago. Jesse and Ashley have maintained that they made the right decision for their family and do not regret speaking publicly about it. In an interview with The New York Times, Ashley said, "We are open and honest with our audience because we have a close and personal relationship with a lot of them." "I just hope people can empathize with the fact that it's a hard situation to be in," Jesse said. "We are just trying to do what is right for our family."]]></content:encoded>
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      <pubDate>Mon, 08 Jun 2026 05:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Culture</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[Vogue's Latest Instagram Post Is Facing Backlash From Fans]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/vogues-latest-instagram-post-is-facing-backlash-fans</link>
      <dc:creator>Meredith Evans</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[Vogue is facing backlash because of its latest feature. ]]></description>
      //
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[In June, Vogue magazine published a glossy feature on Owen Peters , a 19-year-old communications student from Shakopoe, Minnesota who dresses in a blend of preppy and glamorous styles inspired by everyone from Jackie O to fraternity brothers. The article, written by Biz Sherbert and photographed by Ashley Markle, was part of Vogue's American Style initiative and positioned Peters as an emerging voice in fashion. It chronicled his journey from a kid who wore graphic tees to someone who thrifts vintage pieces and wears oversized basketball shorts as skirts. The piece was earnest, intimate, and thoroughly documented his creative process. Within hours of publication, social media users began asking a simple question: why is Vogue writing about someone with roughly 500 Instagram followers as if he were a notable figure in fashion? More specifically, users questioned whether a magazine once synonymous with aspirational glamour had lost its way entirely. "Isn't Vogue supposed to be the highest peaks of glamour and fame, the pinnacle of fashion?" wrote @lizukuchuii on Instagram. "This is a regular photoshoot of a regular content creator?" Another commenter, @braecarnes, struck a more sympathetic tone while still puzzled. "Love him he seems amazing. But genuine question—he doesn't seem to have any accolades or even a following really. How did he make it into Vogue? People work their entire lives in fashion and never make it into Vogue." The skepticism only intensified from there. On X, @raqisright posted that "relatability was the worst thing that ever happened to Vogue. The point of a high fashion magazine is to be aspirational, not realistic. It's supposed to be a magazine filled with the most beautiful people you've ever seen." Another user, @gnarshread, was more blunt: "Vogue is supposed to be the height of fashion. Not some school kid." Who Is Owen Peters? Owen Peters grew up in suburban Minnesota and had a pretty standard coming-of-age experience. He was into anime and musical theater as a kid, wore graphic tees, eventually got self-conscious about standing out, and found solace in fashion during the pandemic when everyone was on Zoom. He discovered TikTok and alt fashion aesthetics, developed his own style over time, and is now a college student majoring in communications who works at a movie theater and thrifts most of his clothes. According to the article, his current look draws from an eclectic mix of influences . On the day Vogue visited, he wore oversized basketball shorts with diamond earrings and a Polo shirt paired with a rhinestone necklace. His hair was cherry cola red, inspired by Addison Rae . He's had styling disagreements with his university's student-run fashion magazine. He has a shopping anxiety that he manages by thrifting. He considers his friends a style-conscious crew united by self-expression. What made the backlash resonate beyond just one article was what it represented about Vogue's shift in positioning. For decades, Vogue positioned itself as a magazine about access to unattainable glamour. You didn't read it to see people like yourself; you read it to see people you wanted to be, wearing things you'd never afford, photographed in ways that made ordinary life seem impossible and distant. However , the feature was part of Biz Sherbert's "American Style x Vogue" series, which aims to showcase emerging fashion voices and everyday style from across the country. It's a beautiful concept, but the backlash appears to have erupted because the photography itself doesn't meet Vogue's traditional editorial standards. The images, shot by Ashley Markle, have been described as "iPhone snapshots" rather than the meticulously lit, high-gloss photography Vogue readers have come to expect. The criticism wasn't really about Owen Peters himself, who, by all accounts, seems like a thoughtful, creative young man, but about the execution of the imagery.]]></content:encoded>
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      <pubDate>Mon, 08 Jun 2026 05:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Culture</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[How To Have A Dua Lipa Summer]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/how-to-have-a-dua-lipa-summer</link>
      <dc:creator>Anna Hartman</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[Every it-girl wants a Dua Lipa summer. And how could you not?]]></description>
      //
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[She made the case for us this spring by getting married three times, more or less. A London courthouse in custom Schiaparelli, then a reported two-million-dollar, three-day blowout in Palermo in a backless Bottega Veneta gown with a jeweled Bulgari watch on each wrist. By July those looks will have trickled down to every feed, every group chat, and every girl packing for a weekend that is not, in fact, in Sicily. What we're really after this summer isn't the price tags or the paparazzi stalking our every move though, it's the vibe that Dua Lipa carries. She can stand in front of a 16th-century palazzo dripping in citrine and rubellite and still read as a girl who threw something on and wandered toward the sea. The look is mostly silhouette and attitude, both of which are entirely attainable, which is exactly why we think it's about to be everywhere. What the season is going to look like White will run it. Clean girls everywhere are cheering; I can hear it now. The hero piece is the white lace slip dress, already crowned the dress of 2026 by Who What Wear and worn on repeat by every it-girl from Dakota Fanning to Zoë Kravitz. Dua's version of it is the one that's going to set the tone. Around it, expect crochet, the open-knit kind that looks handmade by somebody's Italian grandmother, anything backless, and a sheer beach dress thrown over a swimsuit. The accessories will carry most of the look: gold hoops big enough to be spotted across the street, a silk scarf knotted at the neck or the wrist or the handle of a bag, leather sandals that look like they've walked on real cobblestones, and sunglasses the size of small dinner plates. The palette stays tight on white, cream, brown, and one shot of tomato red. Dua's Bluemarine number helped kick off the tomato-girl thing a few years back, and a single saturated red against a tan reads effortless in a way a busy print never will. In the end though, it all comes down to one word, which is Sicily. Now, you don't need to literally be there, but you do need to exude the feeling of being somewhere warm with no agenda and looking expensive without looking like you tried. Easy enough, right? Her love life is part of the brand You can't sell a Dua Lipa summer without the romance, which happens to be the most on-brand thing about her. She and actor Callum Turner fell for each other over a book, specifically Trust by Hernán Díaz. They'd been introduced once at the River Café in London and nothing came of it. A year later their paths crossed at a dinner in L.A., he asked what she was reading, and it was the exact novel he was halfway through. She's called it a " Sliding Doors moment," and it couldn't be cuter. Their Sicilian wedding featured a library display of colorful books as a nod to how they met. A literary meet-cute that ends in a Bottega gown in Palermo is almost insultingly cinematic. The rest of us may not be getting the romance-movie version this summer, but the romance part is still on the table, man or not. Single? Maybe this is the season to engineer your own meet-cute, or at minimum get back on Raya. Dating? Retire the dinner-and-a-movie rotation that's gone stale and plan something that scares you a little. Married and feeling more like roommates than soulmates? Put the kind of effort into your husband that you've been pouring into that needlepoint canvas. And if none of that is where you are right now, romanticizing the mundane is still very much the move, which is the whole Dua principle anyway: she makes the ordinary look like it's worth photographing. That only works if you're actually looking, though, which brings us to the part nobody's going to put in the shopping guides. She's barely on her phone. The woman runs Service95, an entire editorial platform, plus a book club she launched in 2023 that's now a podcast and got her named guest curator of the 2026 London Literature Festival. She's famously, almost aggressively analog . As in, she reads on tour buses and fell in love over a paperback. None of that has anything to do with clothes, but it might be the part that actually sticks: fewer hours hunched over a screen, more long lunches that drift into the afternoon, an actual book in the actual bag (a must if you're committing to the bit), hair left to dry in salt water instead of fought with, the impractical dress worn to the very normal dinner. The aesthetic falls apart the second you're doomscrolling at the table, so put the phone in the bag and leave it there. The essentials, and where to actually get them Now the honest math. Dua's real closet is Chloé white lace, crochet from Jacquemus, Pucci, and The Attico, Bulgari gold, oversized Chanel sunglasses, and a woven basket bag or quilted Chanel on her shoulder. It's gorgeous. But it's also a down payment on a really expensive house. The good news is that the look lives in the silhouette far more than the logo, which is why it's going to work so well for us everyday girls this summer. The foundation. Start with one good white knit or slip and let it carry the rest. Reformation makes the body-skimming white-knit top she actually wears off-duty; the Vanessa knit is $78 and a very similar version has been ID'd on her own Instagram. For something with more nightlife in it, Kim Shui ($320 to $395) and Fancì Club (around $460) do the sexy, body-conscious dresses she gravitates toward, and Dua was early to the Fancì Club aesthetic before it went viral. For the tomato-red moment without the Bluemarine price, the Susmies Isabela red top ($83) is a cool, low-key European pick. Show Me Your Mumu Celine Dress, $248 Peixoto Farrah Lace Trim Mini Dress, $178 Selfie Leslie Must Be Love Lace Maxi Dress White, $90 Superdown Dovie Drape Mini Dress, $96 Doen Henri Top, $278 Reformation Vanessa Knit Top, $58 Susmies Isabela Red Top, $83 Frankies Bikinis Julie Crochet Coverup, $225 The hoops. Skip the Bulgari fantasy. Dua's affordable gold of choice is Tom Wood, the Norwegian label behind her sculptural Ice Hoops and Nova Hoops, with Missoma for delicate everyday pieces. When she wants something playful and a little '00s, she reaches for Bea Bongiasca 's enamel. For attainable stacking rings and bangles, Jenny Bird ($128 to $298), Martha Calvo earrings (around $105 to $140), and Australian brand Dinosaur Designs ($75 to $105) all sit in her orbit. Jennifer Fisher 1" Samira Hinged Mini Hoops, $350 Tom Wood Ice Hoops Medium Gold, $489 Ross Simons 3.50 Carat Bezel-Set CZ Ring in 18kt Gold Over Sterling, $110 Missoma Box Link Double Chain Necklace, $189 Jenny Bird Dane Anklet Stack, $212 Ettika Smooth Cuff Bracelet, $70 Wolf & Badger Articulated Gold Fish Dangle Drop Long Earrings, $310 Ettika Rising Tide Pearl Studs, $55 The sandals. This is where you can spend almost nothing. The genuinely cheap, genuinely Dua option is Havaianas, specifically the Brazil Logo or the slimmer Slim style, both in the $25 to $35 range. A step up, she's worn Coperni platform flip-flops for the beach and The Attico 's Selene leather thong sandals with a tank dress on holiday. For something more elevated, Andrea Wazen does the strappy flats and sandals she's worn abroad, and she arrived in Palermo for the wedding weekend in Gucci kitten-heeled flip-flops that read more travel sandal than stiletto. Havaianas Women's Slim Flip Flops, $34 MIA Niccola Platform Wedge Thong Sandal, $60 Schutz Carolyn Sandal, $138 Sam Edelman Ellina Strappy Flat Sandal, $100 Everything else. A woven or crochet bag by day, a "funmaxxing" statement bag by night. Sunglasses are black, always. Sometimes Celine, sometimes Saint Laurent. Makeup kept to almost nothing and a sun-flushed cheek from the Italian sun. Keep your hair loose and a little undone, because the moment it looks done, the whole "effortless chic" effect is gone. Celine Triomphe 15 Sunglasses in Acetate, $550 Meller Sisi Sunglasses, $65 Saint Laurent SL 276 MICA, $277 Anthropologie Crochet Top Handle Bag, $98 Anthropologie Elene Bag, $178 Ready to have a Dua Lipa summer? Here's the forecast in one line: one white dress, gold hoops, cheap good flip-flops, a tan, and a book you actually intend to finish. We'll see you out there. Buy the dress now, before everyone else does.]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/how-to-have-a-dua-lipa-summer</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 08 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Style</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[Alex Clark Spills The Tea On Her Engagement, Love Story, And Wedding Plans]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/alex-clark-engagement-love-story-wedding-plans</link>
      <dc:creator>Carmen Schober</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[When Vance Voetberg got down on one knee, Alex Clark was standing on a beach in Seattle with a swollen eye, uneven eyeliner, and absolutely no idea what was coming. That morning, she texted him, "I look like a monster." By the end of the day, she was engaged.  ]]></description>
      //
      <content:encoded><![CDATA["It genuinely feels like a story I couldn't have written myself," Alex says. "Looking backward, you can see God weaving together details long before either of us realized it." How It Started "This is actually a crazy story," Alex says. "For years, multiple people in my life whom I deeply respect, people like Katy Faust and Samuel Sey and his wife, kept telling me they had the perfect guy for me. The funny part is that none of them really knew each other, yet they were all independently trying to set me up with the same person. But every time they brought it up, I was either dating someone else, busy, or just not interested in being set up. Sorry, Sam and Katy." Then last fall, Vance mentioned her in his Substack, Running on Butter , writing that Alex was a health and wellness podcaster he really admired, "and would love to take out on a date." Yet again, the article was forwarded to Alex by multiple people. She thought it was cute and funny, but she was not (she is very clear about this) looking to date anyone at the time. She had just gotten out of the worst relationship of her life, and her friend and mentor Charlie Kirk had been murdered. It had been a very dark season. But she still jokingly posted his Substack line to her Instagram Story with a caption: "If anyone knows this butter guy, tell him this was cute." "That was genuinely all I meant by it. I didn't know who he was. I didn't know where he lived. I didn't know anything about him." Her phone exploded. "Katy texted me. Sam's wife texted me. Both basically said, 'YOU IDIOT. THIS IS THE GUY WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO SET YOU UP WITH FOR TWO YEARS,'" Alex laughs. Then came the DMs, roughly 75 of them, all some version of: I know him and his family, they're the greatest people ever, he would be your dream guy. And apparently, one of his sisters used to watch POPlitics and would tell him all the time that they would either be best friends or a perfect match. Eventually, Vance got her number. His opening line? "You heard me calling from my megaphone. It's about time. I've been waiting for this date for two years." Falling, Carefully Alex will tell you she was cautious, and she had good reasons to be. She was still carrying a heavy heartbreak when they met, and she wasn't about to let the excitement of something new cloud her judgment. Unsurprisingly, their first date was a smashing success, covering homebirth and theology, music theory and politics. She told him at the end of the night: "You're the most interesting person I've ever met. I love how smart you are." He saw those parts of me as gifts. What struck her from the beginning was how little she had to explain herself. "From the very beginning, I never felt like I had to shrink myself. I could tell immediately that he was curious, thoughtful, and genuinely interested in ideas." The things that had caused friction in previous relationships, her personality, her convictions, her passion for health and wellness, her intensity, were the very things Vance appreciated most. "He never tried to tone me down or make me more palatable. He saw those parts of me as gifts." Still, though, she was hesitant. Her feelings were growing, but she wanted to make sure she was genuinely falling in love and not just reaching for comfort during a hard season. What finally settled it was Christmas. She went home with him for the holidays, spent time with his family, and watched him with the people closest to him. It was a story his grandmother told her that sealed it: one day, when all the boys were running around outside too excited to notice their grandmother had arrived, a young Vance came right up to her, glasses slipping halfway down his face, and said, "Grandma, tell me what all you did today." "That story tells you everything you need to know about him," Alex says. He is also, for the record, a champion violinist and fiddle player, classically trained on piano, a green thumb, one of the best cooks she knows, and an incredible writer who can hold a conversation about theology, health, history, and literature for hours before casually winning his heat at a Hyrox competition and making it look easy. "He's completely unassuming about all of it. He never leads with his accomplishments. He's always more interested in other people." And then there was the moment she saw him with kids. "The first time he met my best friends and their kids, the house was loud and chaotic, and he was completely unfazed. He was helping kids wash their hands, tying shoes, fixing plates, and jumping right into the madness. Having 39 nieces and nephews will teach you a thing or two." What Alex Clark Was Looking For Alex says what she was really looking for, more than any checklist item, was a man who embodied the fruits of the Spirit. She wanted a man who was actively being discipled and discipling others and who understood what spiritual leadership actually looked like. "I've always hoped, God willing, to have a big family. And when you're talking about raising children, you're talking about being entrusted with little souls. That's an enormous responsibility." That meant finding someone who felt genuinely called to fatherhood . "I prayed for a husband who wouldn't simply tolerate fatherhood, but who felt genuinely called to it. Someone who was excited about being a husband and a dad." "What impressed me even more was that he had spent his season of singleness preparing for marriage and fatherhood the same way I had. He wasn't waiting until someday. He was intentionally learning and growing before those responsibilities ever arrived." There was also something she didn't fully realize she was looking for until she found it. "One quality I didn't fully realize I was looking for until I found it was emotional protection. Of course, I wanted someone who could protect me physically, and at over 6'0" and jacked, he definitely has that covered, but Vance is equally concerned with what is affecting my mind and spirit. He's often the person reminding me to step away from my phone, get outside, read Scripture, listen to beautiful music, and refocus on what actually matters. Sometimes he'll just play me something on the piano himself and I can just close my eyes and be present. He pays attention to the condition of my heart. That's one of the greatest gifts he's given me." People are always surprised to learn that, despite her very public career, Alex can be a total homebody left to her own devices. "Vance is the opposite. He pulls me into adventure and reminds me there's a big world outside my routine." "I've never met anyone with such a deep commitment to his faith, such strong relationships with his family, or with such a healthy community around him," she says. "From the beginning, I was welcomed into a world of people who genuinely love God, love each other, and take discipleship seriously. For the first time, I felt completely free to be myself without fear of being misunderstood or judged." "The best way I can describe it is this: he loves me in a way that consistently points me back to how Christ loves His people. And once you've experienced that kind of love, it's very hard to settle for anything less. What a blessing I never have to." When she got on the plane home after Christmas, she finally leaned over and whispered, "I love you" in his ear. She says he was so excited she thought he was going to accidentally open the emergency exit door. The Proposal They were in Seattle for his brother's wedding. The morning after the celebration, Vance told her they were going to "mouse around" the city, her term for wandering with no real agenda, and visit some of his favorite spots since he's from Washington. The plan sounded great, but that morning Alex texted him: "I look like a monster." She is apparently allergic to something in Washington state, and as she puts it, "every single time I visit, if I'm not hyper-vigilant about antihistamines, I have some kind of allergic reaction." Her eye was completely swollen. She was running late, trying to get eyeliner onto one swollen eyelid and one normal one, on a cool, drizzly Seattle morning. Nevertheless, she made it work. "It was a cool, cloudy Seattle day with a little drizzle. Eventually we ended up walking along Alki Beach. At one point he said, 'This is a cute spot. Why don't you look out at the water and I'll take a picture from behind?' So I turned around. And when I turned back, he was on one knee." "I immediately started jumping backward and up and down at the same time and just kept yelling, 'No way! No way! No way!' We were both smiling and laughing. It was the greatest surprise of my life." The first call went to her mom, who had known it was happening that day and had apparently been crying all morning before the phone even rang. Then friends met them out, and they headed back to his parents' house, where his siblings, their families, and mutual friend Katy Faust were waiting with a toast. They sang "For They're a Jolly Good Couple." Alex's reaction upon walking in? "I jumped up and down and said, 'I'm gonna be a Voetberg!!!!'" The Wedding Alex can be very decisive, which is a good quality to have right now because she and Vance want to get married soon. Her aesthetic inspiration is Gianfranco Ferré's Dior era, 1989 to 1996. "Think European aristocrats getting married at a château in 1991. That's what I'm going for. I am so tired of seeing the same wedding look over and over again. The half-up, half-down hairstyle. The fit-and-flare dress. So many brides look copy-and-pasted. It's beautiful, but it doesn't feel like me." Her goal is a wedding dress that, thirty years from now, someone could look at in a photograph and immediately know it was hers. "I don't want to look trendy. I want to look like I stepped out of a forgotten society wedding from another era." As for the actual dress, the story is almost too good. "I had a TikTok of a random vintage wedding dress that someone thrifted that I was obsessed with. It was the inspo I was using and I was trying to find any dress I could that came remotely close and nothing being made in stores now seems to come close. Then I came across that dress via reverse image search on a buy sell trade site in some random state. I was SCREAMING and couldn't believe the price. I bought it immediately. It's about 3 sizes too big but nothing some alterations can't fix." Not every part of wedding planning has felt like a steal, though. "Do you know how much wedding veils cost? Like what do you MEAN this is $4,000!!!!" On trends, she's not against the burgundy-and-chartreuse color moment everyone is doing this year. She is firmly, non-negotiably against dancing receptions. "There will be no dancing at my wedding. Please, let's eat and talk and catch up. Then I want to go to bed on time." And we had to ask: what does she think Taylor Swift would wear to her own wedding? "If I had to guess, I'd say Vivienne Westwood or Oscar de la Renta. Vivienne Westwood feels like the strongest contender because Taylor has clearly gravitated toward corsetry and that romantic, feminine silhouette over the last several years. There's something about Westwood that feels both classic and theatrical, which fits her perfectly." The honeymoon is still in motion. Current top contenders: Greece and the Cotswolds. What Comes After Beyond the dress and the flowers, Alex says what she's most excited about has little to do with the wedding day itself. "The way marriage becomes a tool God uses to sanctify you . I've heard John Piper say that marriage is designed to make us holy more than it is designed to make us happy, and that idea has always stuck with me. Not because marriage isn't joyful, but because living in covenant with another person exposes your selfishness, teaches you how to serve, and continually calls you to love in ways that reflect Christ. The ordinary faithfulness of sharing a life with someone seems far more meaningful to me than a single wedding day." She wants to build what she calls a "Sally Clarkson home," filled with art, music, books, candlelight, shared meals, color, and a lot of laughter. A place where beauty is woven into everyday life and conversations linger around the dinner table long after dinner is over. "One of the things that amazed me when I met Vance is that he actually grew up in a home like that. The first time I heard him describe his childhood, I looked at him and said, 'You had a Sally Clarkson childhood.'" "Neither of us wants our home to feel rushed, disconnected, or centered around screens," Alex explains. "We want it to be a place where people gather, where children are known and loved, where beauty and truth are celebrated, there's only real food to eat and where faith is lived out in ordinary daily rhythms." Vance’s family of ten children produced not one sibling who has deconstructed their faith. All of them have large families, are homeschooling and homebirthing, and are living what Alex affectionately calls "the ideal MAHA life." At one point, Oprah and TLC both wanted to do a show on his family, and they said no every time. “Maybe one day his mom will grant me the interview Oprah couldn't get!” Worth the Wait Alex spent years wondering why the story wasn't happening for her. She prayed about it, wrestled with it, and watched other people's timelines and tried not to compare. Then, while she was in one of the darkest seasons of her life, a man she had never met put her name in a butter-themed newsletter and said he wanted to take her on a date. "Looking back now, it's one of my favorite reminders that God's timing is rarely our timing. For years I kept wondering why the story wasn't happening. Meanwhile, apparently my future husband had been trying to get a date with me for two years." Think Travis Kelce publicly shooting his shot with Taylor Swift and somehow making it work. Vance did the same thing, and the parallel is not lost on Alex. “The funny thing is that he actually appreciates Taylor Swift almost as much as I do." And after the wedding, what comes next? "Hopefully a baby bump!" Her answer perfectly captures what excites her most about this season, which is not just the wedding day itself, but the whole life that follows: a husband, a home, children, shared purpose, and the chance to spend decades becoming more like Christ together.]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/alex-clark-engagement-love-story-wedding-plans</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2026 05:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Culture</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[The Internet Can't Stop Talking About The Bras In "Off Campus." Here Are The Best Ones To Buy.]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/bras-in-off-campus-here-are-the-best-one</link>
      <dc:creator>Meredith Evans</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[Women have been trying to identify the lingerie and bras worn by Hannah Wells and Allie Hayes, flooding comment sections with the same question: Where are those bras from?   ]]></description>
      //
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[The show's costume designer, Charlene Akuamoah, recently revealed some of the exact pieces used throughout the series, explaining that each character's lingerie was chosen to match her personality while still offering the support and fit needed for filming. For Hannah (whose style leans toward the classic and romantic), several scenes featured lace bras from the French lingerie label Simone Pérèle . Her fantasy sequence with Justin showcased the brand's Intrigue Sheer Demi Bra, while another memorable look featured the equally feminine Karma Demi Bra . Meanwhile, Allie's lingerie choices reflected her more confident and fashion-forward personality. One standout moment featured a sheer burgundy style from French brand Livy , while another fan-favorite scene paired her with Bluebella's Gabriella Floral Bra. For her theatrical "Drunk Shakespeare" performance, she stepped away from traditional lingerie and wore Good American's Mesh Bustier Bodysuit, proving that supportive undergarments can double as statement pieces. The attention these pieces have received isn't surprising. A great bra can completely change how clothing fits, how comfortable you feel throughout the day, and even your confidence. So, whether you're looking for everyday support, something pretty enough to wear under a low-cut top, here are some bras you can proudly wear. 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/bras-in-off-campus-here-are-the-best-one</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2026 05:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Style</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[The Americana Summer Capsule Wardrobe We're Wearing On Repeat]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/the-americana-summer-capsule-wardrobe-were-wearing-on-repeat</link>
      <dc:creator>Anna Hartman</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[Between America's 250th birthday on the Fourth of July and the World Cup this year, patriotism has never been hotter. The weather hasn't either, if I'm being honest. That's why we need to build a capsule wardrobe for the summer that takes care of both, in the most feminine way possible, of course.]]></description>
      //
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[Adorning ourselves with berets and canvas totes overflowing with baguettes has been "out" for a while, even for someone who once considered herself a "Francophile." French girls are cute. They'll always be cute. But you know what's even better than cosplaying a Parisian woman who smokes cigarettes and goes braless to the farmers market? Actually embracing our real life, barbecues, lake days, country music, and all. And we've been over it before, but that doesn't mean throwing classy, polished style to the wind and painting yourself red, white, and blue via the $5 section at Walmart. Americana fashion deserves so much more than that. Not sure where to start? We're building our perfect Americana summer capsule wardrobe today, from the bottom up. Start at the Feet Red cowgirl boots. This is the non-negotiable that makes the whole thing make sense. A pair of red cowgirl boots does all the patriotic heavy lifting without a single flag in sight, and they look just as good kicked up at a country concert as they do peeking out from under a sundress. Wear them with the denim cutoffs and a tank when you want to look like you belong at the rodeo, even if the closest you're getting is a backyard and a cooler full of Topo Chico. Espadrilles. For the days when boots feel like a whole commitment, espadrilles are your polished-but-barely-trying answer. The braided jute and easy slip-on shape read effortlessly summer, and they keep a white-jeans-and-striped-top moment from veering too casual. Think lake house dinners, your cousin's engagement party, or margaritas after shopping downtown. The Bottoms Denim cutoffs. If this capsule has a backbone, here it is. A well-loved pair of cutoffs (Levi's, a little frayed, hitting at exactly the right spot) goes with every top and layer in the lineup, and they were practically invented for a Fourth of July cookout. Pair them with the tank and boots, or the eyelet top and espadrilles, and you've handled roughly ninety percent of your summer. White jeans. Consider these the grown-up sister to your cutoffs, and the piece doing the most to make everything else look expensive. White denim elevates anything you tuck into it, and against all that red and blue, it keeps the palette crisp instead of costume-y. Wear them with the striped top and espadrilles for fireworks, or loop the bandana through the belt loops for a little fun. A flowy prairie skirt. A breezy cotton midi with a bit of volume (a soft chambray or a ditsy floral) brings movement and that wholesome heartland charm the French girls simply cannot replicate. It was practically made for drifting through a Sunday market with the tank tucked in and the boots underneath. The Tops A white ribbed tank. Not glamorous, but completely essential. A good white tank is the piece you'll reach for on autopilot, and it lets every louder item in the capsule have its moment. Tuck it into the prairie skirt, layer it under the denim jacket, or throw it on with cutoffs and gold hoops when it's too hot to think about anything more. A white eyelet top. Meet the tank's prettier cousin, and the piece carrying the team on the feminine front. Eyelet feels romantic and a little vintage without trying too hard, and the crisp white keeps it right at home in the red-white-blue family. This is your brunch top and your "I look adorable and I barely tried" top, especially with the cutoffs and espadrilles. The Dresses A red gingham sundress. The picnic-chic showstopper we've all been waiting for, because gingham is having a genuine moment (again) and it's not going anywhere this summer. A red-and-white gingham dress is the single easiest way to look intentional with zero effort, and it photographs like a dream against a sky full of fireworks. Style it with the cowgirl boots in daylight, then switch to espadrilles and gold hoops once the sun goes down. A striped midi dress. Every capsule needs a throw-on-and-go, and a breezy striped midi (red and white, or classic navy and white) is yours. It nails the Americana thing without shouting about it, and it works as hard at a clambake as it does at a rooftop dinner. Add the straw tote and your sunglasses and consider yourself dressed. A white maxi dress. If you only own one white dress this summer, make it a maxi. It's the easiest option for when it's a thousand degrees and you've run out of patience, and white always looks expensive against a tan. Boots and the raffia hat make it day-appropriate, then swap to espadrilles and gold hoops when there are candles involved. The Layer A cropped denim jacket. Because American summer nights have a way of turning on you the second the fireworks start. A cropped denim jacket pulls double duty over every dress in this capsule, and the slightly shrunken cut keeps it feminine instead of borrowed-from-your-dad. Sling it over the gingham dress, or wear it with the prairie skirt for when the restaurant AC is set to arctic. An American flag knit sweater. No Americana capsule is complete without one, and it earns its keep the moment the sun drops and the lake breeze picks up. Tie it over your shoulders for that off-duty country club look, or layer it over the tank with cutoffs or white jeans when the night turns cool. Wear it once and you'll start hearing "God Bless America" cued up behind you everywhere you go. The Finishing Touches A red bandana. The cheeky little exclamation point on the whole look. Tie it at your neck, knot it into your hair, or loop it around the handle of your tote, and suddenly the outfit looks like you planned it all along. It's the cheapest piece in the capsule and arguably the one that ties everything together (make it a Ralph Lauren paisley if you want to feel rich about it). A straw tote. The warm-weather carryall that holds your sunscreen, your rosé, and whatever is left of your dignity. A roomy straw or raffia tote leans all the way into the lake-day heritage feeling and saves you from clutching a structured bag at a barbecue like you wandered in from a board meeting. It goes with absolutely everything here, which is sort of the entire point. A raffia cowboy hat. Okay, this one's just fun. Raffia keeps it light and summery instead of full rodeo, so you get the cowboy moment without sweating through a felt hat in July. I'd wear it with a cute bathing suit and an oversized white linen button-up for a pool day or the prairie skirt and boots to a festival. A western belt. A leather western belt with a little hardware is the detail that tells everyone you meant to dress this way. Thread it through the white jeans or cinch it over the prairie skirt. Small piece, big payoff. Gold hoops. Warm-toned gold is the jewelry move that flatters a sun-kissed summer and keeps everything from feeling too matchy. A pair of medium hoops takes the casual tank-and-cutoffs combo and turns it into something you'd happily run into your ex wearing. Keep them on from the market straight through to the bonfire. Sunglasses. The finisher that makes any outfit look genuinely finished. A tortoiseshell cat-eye or a clean oval frame adds a little old-money polish to all that denim and gingham, and frankly does wonders for a face that's three margaritas into a lake day. Buy one good pair that goes with everything and never think about it again. That's the Whole Closet And there she is. A whole summer of barbecues and lake days and fireworks-on-the-lawn nights, handled by one tight little lineup that mixes, matches, and never once sends you digging through the $5 bin. America is turning 250 and the World Cup is about to be on, so take this as your sign to dress like you care. Happy building! 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/the-americana-summer-capsule-wardrobe-were-wearing-on-repeat</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Style</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[How Millennial Feminism Lost Gen Z]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/how-millennial-feminism-lost-gen-z</link>
      <dc:creator>Lauren Chen</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[For years, millennial feminism told women a very specific story about what success and happiness looked like. ]]></description>
      //
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[It wasn’t enough to simply be “empowered” as a woman—you had to transcend womanhood entirely. Be a “boss babe” in the boardroom. Reject traditional femininity as oppressive. View men with suspicion (or outright contempt). Delay or dismiss marriage and motherhood . This brand of feminism felt revolutionary in the 2010s. It dominated media, corporate diversity initiatives, celebrity culture, and college campuses. But something is shifting. The loudest voices of that era are growing quieter, and a new generation of young women appears to be rejecting many of its core tenets. Millennial feminism isn’t entirely gone, but its cultural dominance is fading, and we may be witnessing its slow death. The Corporate Boss Babe Myth Crumbles Millennial feminism defined female success almost exclusively through male metrics: climbing corporate ladders, out-earning men, and treating your career as the ultimate source of identity and fulfillment. “You can have it all,” the slogan went. Just like a man, but better. The reality of that lifestyle, however, has been far less glamorous. Scroll through social media and you’ll find a wave of videos showcasing women in tears over their corporate lives. One 21-year-old recent graduate went viral crying about the shock of her first 9-to-5: the endless meetings, the commute, the soul-crushing lack of time for anything meaningful. Similar clips flood TikTok under hashtags like #CorporateBurnout and #9to5struggle—women lamenting burnout, the impossibility of “work-life balance,” and the hollow feeling that comes from making spreadsheets for someone else’s profit. These videos resonate because they expose what countless women have come to realize: fulfillment cannot be found in an office cubicle, no matter how many feminist essays promised otherwise. The “girlboss” era sold women the idea that leaning in at work would bring empowerment and joy, but instead, it delivered stress, exhaustion, and regret. Conversely, however, a completely different kind of content is also exploding in popularity: “day in the life” videos of stay-at-home girlfriends and stay-at-home wives. These clips show women waking up without an alarm, making coffee for their partner, tending to the home, preparing nourishing meals, doing Pilates, journaling, or simply creating a peaceful domestic rhythm. Creators sharing these soft, feminine routines are pulling in massive audiences, and after years of being told that domesticity was boring or oppressive, many are discovering that focusing on the home can actually feel far more fulfilling than fighting for a corner office. The contrast is striking. While corporate girlies post tearful burnout confessions, stay-at-home content offers a vision of calm, purpose, and beauty in everyday femininity. It’s no surprise that women are increasingly rejecting the corporate rat race, or at least questioning why they were told domestic life and relationships were beneath them. The War on Femininity One of the strangest aspects of millennial feminism was its hostility to femininity itself. Traditional markers of womanhood, like softness, nurturing, beauty, and homemaking, were reframed as symptoms of patriarchal brainwashing. Women were encouraged to adopt more androgynous styles and reject “frilly” interests. But look at the cultural shift that’s happening now. Influencers like Nara Smith and Ballerina Farm (Hannah Neeleman) have amassed millions of followers by embracing exactly what millennial feminism scorned. Smith films herself in elegant dresses making meals from scratch. Ballerina Farm showcases life on a homestead with her large family, baking bread and tending to her children. Their content celebrates homemaking, beauty, and traditional feminine aesthetics, and women can’t get enough of it. The celebrity landscape tells a similar story. The androgynous icons of the 2010s (think Pink’s rebellious style or Ruby Rose’s gender-fluid presentation) have been eclipsed by hyper-feminine stars like Sydney Sweeney and Sabrina Carpenter . Curves, dresses, sweetness, and unapologetic girlishness are back in style. What was once dismissed as regressive is now aspirational for many. Traditional markers of womanhood, like softness, nurturing, beauty, and homemaking, were reframed as symptoms of patriarchal brainwashing. Another perfect example of this pendulum swing is the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show . For decades, it stood as the pinnacle of glamorous, unapologetic femininity: a celebration of everything girly, sexy, and beautiful, complete with angel wings, bombshell models, and high-fashion fantasy. Millennial feminism and woke outrage culture, unfortunately, then declared it problematic, sexist, and outdated. Under pressure from activist outrage, body positivity campaigns, and #MeToo-era criticism, the show was canceled in 2019 . Actual audiences, though, were heartbroken by the move, and the push for the VS Fashion Show to return refused to go away. But when the show did finally return in 2024, after years of popular demand, it flopped . The attempt to make it more “inclusive” and less traditionally feminine was poorly received. The new show felt diluted, apologetic, and lacking the glamour that once made it iconic. Organizers had tried to satisfy the activist class, who had never really understood the appeal of the show in the first place. Thankfully, executives eventually listened to the audience and delivered a more proper, beautiful Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in 2025. The message was clear: femininity and classic beauty are officially back in style . What feminists tried to shame out of existence is what many women actually want to see and celebrate. Millennial feminism claimed to advocate for women while waging war on what it actually means to be one. A growing number of women (and companies) are now opting out of that fight. Marriage and Motherhood Make a Comeback? Perhaps the most radical element of millennial feminism was its open disdain for marriage and motherhood. These were painted as traps that limited women’s potential. “A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle,” the old feminist saying went, updated for the 2010s with endless think pieces about how marriage was outdated and children were optional (or even environmentally irresponsible ). For decades, the data reflected this cultural push. Marriage and fertility rates fell sharply . But recent years show signs that the freefall may be leveling off. After hitting a more than 50-year low in 2021, the U.S. adjusted marriage rate rebounded in 2022 to 31.2 marriages per 1,000 unmarried women, returning to 2018 levels. While overall marriage rates remain historically low (around 6.1 per 1,000 population in recent provisional data), the sharpest drops appear to have slowed. Also telling is that for every age group, those who identify as politically conservative are more likely to be married. Fertility rates tell a more mixed story. The U.S. total fertility rate hit record lows around 1.6 births per woman in 2024–2025, continuing a long downward trend. However, some analysts note that the steepest declines have moderated post-pandemic, and certain cohorts (particularly those prioritizing family) are showing different patterns. Specifically, women who identify as conservative and are between the ages of 25-35 are more likely to have children today than at any point up until 1980, with 71% being parents compared to 65%. Just as telling as raw numbers, however, are the shifting cultural signals that we know women especially are influenced by. When millennial feminism was in its heyday, celebrity divorces and progressive stars eschewing marriage and parenthood entirely helped shape the way my generation viewed family life. After watching older millennials struggle with loneliness, delayed family formation, and regret, there is hope that Gen Z will be less eager to repeat the same pattern. But today’s young celebrities are increasingly embracing marriage and motherhood more publicly. Hailey Bieber has spoken warmly about family life. Millie Bobby Brown married young and has opened up about the joys of motherhood. Sofia Richie Grainge also welcomed children and appears to be thriving in her role as a wife and mother. And that’s not to mention how Taylor Swift , arguably the most famous woman on the planet, will soon be walking down the aisle in what will likely be the media’s most pro-marriage coverage in generations. After watching older millennials struggle with loneliness, delayed family formation, and regret, there is hope that Gen Z will be less eager to repeat the same pattern. A Turning Point Millennial feminism sold women a narrow, often miserable vision of life: work like a man, reject what makes you distinctly female, and find meaning in power and independence above all else. Many tried it. Some succeeded on paper but felt empty inside . Others burned out entirely. Women and society as a whole still have a long way to go in fully detoxing from this radicalism. Corporate cultures, media narratives, and educational institutions remain steeped in these ideas. But this moment in history feels like a turning point. Women are reclaiming femininity, rediscovering the value of relationships and family, and questioning the lies they were told about happiness. The death of millennial feminism doesn’t mean women are going backward. It means they’re finally being allowed to move forward—as actual women, not as imitation men. And if the rising popularity of homemakers, young mothers, and feminine expression is any indication, many are happier for it.]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/how-millennial-feminism-lost-gen-z</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Culture</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[Men’s Health: The Crisis No One Wants To Name]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/mens-health-the-crisis-no-one-wants-to-name</link>
      <dc:creator>Lisa Britton</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[June is Men’s Health Month, yet the timing feels almost cruel. Our fathers, husbands, sons, and brothers continue to die earlier, suffer more, and receive far less institutional concern about their health than women. ]]></description>
      //
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[The data paints a dark and lopsided picture: men’s health isn’t merely overlooked; it’s actively dismissed . Men die younger than women, and that gap has only widened in recent years. They are four times more likely to die by suicide. Even as our culture has sought to destigmatize conversations about mental health, men are still more likely to take their own lives. Likewise, men are more likely to die from the leading causes of mortality—heart disease, cancer, accidents, stroke, diabetes, and the rest. Drug overdoses claim men in overwhelming numbers. These data points represent husbands who never made it home, fathers whose children grew up without them, and young men who felt alienated from the modern world. The physical toll is only the beginning. An epidemic of loneliness is hitting men, especially those under 35. According to Gallup , young American men are uniquely lonely compared to other U.S. adults and young men in similar Western countries. Social media may connect us superficially, but it’s left an entire generation of males purposeless and disconnected. Unsurprisingly, romantic health is stumbling as social bonds continue to fray. A survey from the Institute for Family Studies found that nearly six in 10 young men hesitate to ask someone out because they fear getting rejected. About half of men in the same survey indicated it was hard to find someone who would go out with them. At the same time, the economy has shifted beneath their feet. Male-dominated sectors like manufacturing, construction, and trades have shrunk, while healthcare, education, and service industries that favor feminine skill sets have boomed. Boys are falling behind in school at every level; young men are opting out of college and, increasingly, out of the workforce itself. Our society casts men’s struggles as personal failings or the inevitable consequence of “toxic masculinity.” Making matters worse, Big Tech has targeted young men’s vulnerabilities with porn and sports betting. The result is men adrift, stripped of the traditional roles that once gave their lives structure and meaning. Consider the federal infrastructure alone. The United States has eight federal offices dedicated to women’s health across the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration. There’s not a single one for men. Not one. In a nation that prides itself on equity, this imbalance is policy. Our society casts men’s struggles as personal failings or the inevitable consequence of “ toxic masculinity. ” When a boy falls behind in a classroom engineered for female learning styles, he’s the one pathologized. When a man loses his job in a changing economy, he’s given lectures about privilege instead of new employment opportunities. When a man contemplates suicide, the same culture that says it cares about mental health mocks him or frames support for men as “ mankeeping .” We’re telling men to “open up” and “shut up” at the same time. We’re telling them to “step up” and “step aside” at the same time. The same voices demanding equality somehow forget that equality goes both ways. The overwhelming response to male mental health struggles is shrugs , victim-blaming, or outright denial. Workplace fatalities, homelessness, incarceration, and suicide all skew heavily male, yet these truths are treated as unfortunate realities rather than urgent public-health crises. Fortunately, a modest but meaningful crack has appeared in the wall of indifference . In February, Representatives Troy A. Carter, Sr. (D-LA) and Greg Murphy, M.D. (R-NC) introduced H.R. 7602, the State of Men’s Health Act. The bill remains in committee, but its mere existence signals that bipartisanship on this issue is possible. The legislation directs the Department of Health and Human Services to create a dedicated Office of Men’s Health. It calls for coordinated research into prostate cancer, diabetes, mental-health services, and the stubborn life-expectancy gap. The bill insists that any new efforts be funded within existing budgets and include explicit protections against diverting resources from women’s programs. Major medical and advocacy organizations like the American Urological Association and Men’s Health Network have already voiced support. “There is a massive Lifespan Gender Gap in the United States, but there is nothing inevitable or inexorable about it. It rises and falls in conjunction with medical advances and public policy,” Ron Henry, president of the Men’s Health Network, tells me. “The State of Men's Health Act is proposed as a way to bring federal attention to the crisis in men's health.” Healthy men don’t weaken women. In fact, they strengthen everyone. They coach Little League teams, build the bridges we drive across, serve in the military , and provide the steady masculine presence so many children are lacking today. When men thrive, communities thrive. Our nation thrives. When they falter, the ripple effects touch every wife, mother, sister, and daughter who loves them. The same voices demanding equality somehow forget that equality goes both ways. But policy alone isn’t enough. We must also change the cultural narratives. We need to stop equating male vulnerability with weakness, and we must end the stigmatization of masculinity. Boys should be allowed to be energetic in school without being medicated. Men should be encouraged to seek help without shame if they experience mental health problems. Families, schools, and workplaces must celebrate the distinct masculine strengths men bring, like resilience, ambition, and their protective instinct. This Men’s Health Month, let’s speak bluntly: men are not inherently privileged. They aren’t disposable. Addressing their health is not a zero-sum loss for women. It’s time to listen to the data and fund men’s health programs. Anything less is pure neglect.]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/mens-health-the-crisis-no-one-wants-to-name</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Health</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[Why We’re All Obsessed With The Sofia Coppola Aesthetic]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/why-were-all-obsessed-with-the-sofia-coppola-aesthetic</link>
      <dc:creator>Julie Drake</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[Whether you know it or not, if you like ribbons, pink, and overall lusciousness, you’re a Sofia Coppola girl. ]]></description>
      //
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[There are plenty of movies made for men, by men. The John Wick quadrilogy comes to mind. And we love that for them. What we have to look a little harder for, at times, are movies made for women, by women. Because while we love a Michael Bay action flick as much as the next testosterone-fueled consumer, sometimes we want something different. Sometimes we want a movie that is visually beautiful, with a soft and ethereal score, that captures the feminine essence. And that’s where Sofia Coppola comes in. Astral Rise Despite being raised in the filmmaking world as the daughter of famous writer and director Francis Ford Coppola (of The Godfather and Apocalypse Now ), Coppola didn’t always envision a career in film. She came to it in a roundabout way, dabbling first in photography, music, and fashion (she interned at Chanel as a teenager). There was a time when Coppola wondered if she would ever find her place. Of her wandering path, Coppola asked her father , “Dad, am I going to be a dilettante forever?” An epiphany came, however, when she wrote a short film called “Lick the Star" in her late twenties. According to The New Yorker , it was about “a clique of teenage girls who revere, and then violently ostracize, their queen bee.” Speaking later of the experience, she told The New Yorker, “I knew a little bit about photography, a little bit about clothing design, and a little bit about music. I was annoyed that I could never pick one thing. And then, when I made my short film, I realized it was a way to work with all of it.” And thus began the career of a woman who would soon make girls everywhere feel seen, and whose aesthetic would stand the test of time. Let Them Eat Haze What is the Sofia Coppola aesthetic? For one, Coppola fully leans into beauty. She told Vogue , "Looking at beautiful things calms me down." She fills her films (like Marie Antoinette , The Virgin Suicides, and Lost in Translation ) with as many beautiful things as possible. When asked if she completely fleshes out the aesthetic before filming, she said, “The visual world is always my starting point. I focus on the color palette first. Then, who the characters are. Thinking about their clothing style helps me with this. When I consider what the characters would wear, I learn more about their personalities. Ultimately, though, it's many small details that make up my characters' world.” Details like lace, ballet flats, puff sleeves, floral wallpaper, dainty jewelry, and slips and nightgowns in soft, pastel colors. Ultrafeminine details are everywhere in her films, as is a hazy, dreamy quality that further softens the scene. In a phrase: atmosphere is queen. In a culture highly focused on aesthetic, her films feel like living inside a mood board. The Virgin Suicides and Marie Antoinette are full of girlhood and coquettecore, before those were even a thing. The New Yorker described Marie Antoinette’s set design as “almost obscenely beautiful; every shot has the composed lusciousness of a box of petits fours. The bracing opening sequence—Coppola has never missed on an opening shot—was inspired by a Guy Bourdin photograph of a model in repose: lounging in a petticoat, with an attendant massaging her feet, (Kirsten) Dunst’s Marie swipes her finger through the frosting of a layer cake and then delivers the camera an insolent stare.” In the Mood Substackers and TikTokers alike can’t get enough of Coppola’s decadence. But it’s not just e-girls that have caught feelings; artists are taking note as well. According to Yahoo Entertainment , “Sabrina Carpenter’s latest video for “House Tour ,” is inspired by Coppola’s 2013 film, The Bling Ring ; singer-songwriter Laufey’s self-described “ lover girl ” persona has a distinct Coppola-esque flair; and the director herself shot Gracie Abrams for Chanel last year .” The internet is also clocking Olivia Rodrigo’s new album, “You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love,” as being highly inspired by Coppola’s films. Calling Coppola “the patron saint of teenage girls,” Yahoo described Rodrigo’s Coppola-inspired affect as “hyperfeminine… the ethereal pastel pink and white of the visuals, the dreamy nature they evoked, the melancholy beneath the surface of a seemingly perfect life.” Rodrigo is, apparently, obsessed (just like the rest of us). Rodrigo's embrace of a youthful hyperfemininity has spilled into her wardrobe, as well. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the internet lost its mind when Rodrigo performed in a babydoll dress and knee-high boots for Spotify’s Billions Club. She looked amazing, and people could not handle it. They screamed infantilization and a glorifying of the “ Lolita ” persona. And maybe that’s what was happening. Or maybe clothes that are youthful and pretty and fun are just what she likes. And why wouldn’t she? Girl’s Girl But it’s not only Sofia Coppola’s visual rendering of the female experience that audiences are relating to at the moment. Coppola’s films also feel like a journey into the female ethos via the heart and soul, and not just the pretty parts. Coppola isn’t afraid to explore “the alienation and isolation that many women feel,” as The New Yorker puts it. “Teenage girls in suburban isolation, queens trapped in Versailles, women alone in hotels, women overshadowed by famous and powerful men.” Coppola joked in an interview, “I can’t resist a trapped woman.” The bored melancholy of adolescence in The Virgin Suicides is something many girls can relate to in particular. It’s a period of discovery, and of waiting. Waiting for independence, for womanhood, for a life that’s been mapped out but not yet realized. Trying to develop autonomy within the confines of a strict authoritarian household, like the one in Suicides, is not an easy task. Coppola’s comfortability with uncomfortable emotions is refreshing. Everyone has moments of melancholy and Coppola isn’t afraid to portray them. Sofia Coppola gets women because she is one, in every sense of the word. Of her coming up, Coppola told The Guardian , “Maybe growing up with so many strong men around me meant I felt, I don’t know, closely connected to being feminine. I mean in my first movie I felt like making something for teenage girls. I looked at the movies they made for teenage girls and thought: why can’t they have beautiful photography? Why shouldn’t we treat that audience with respect? That was something I missed when I was that age: I wished the movies weren’t so condescending. So I guess I’ve always just made the films that I’d have wanted to see.” A lot has been made of the adoption of the Sofia Coppola aesthetic, especially in regard to its wardrobe. And societal critiques are allowed. But maybe, in this case, no one is making a statement about anything. Maybe we’re drawn to feminine, girly things simply because it’s what we are at our core. Maybe Coppola just makes the films she wants to watch, and Rodrigo just wears the clothes she wants to wear. And maybe that’s perfectly fine. As Liz Plank of the Boy Problems podcast said , “you’re allowed to do things just because it’s cute.” We couldn’t agree more.]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/why-were-all-obsessed-with-the-sofia-coppola-aesthetic</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 04 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Style</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[The Fitness Routines Of History’s Most Beautiful Ancient Princesses]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/the-fitness-routines-of-historys-most-beautiful-ancient-princesses</link>
      <dc:creator>Andrea Mew</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[Once upon a time, exercise was simply part of living a beautiful life.]]></description>
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      <content:encoded><![CDATA[We’ve all seen the viral videos where women rhythmically jump on treadmills or leap across a studio on bungee cords. Does staying in shape really require such kitsch, or are we overcomplicating exercise for the sake of novelty? Well, our female ancestors got quite creative with how they maintained a slim figure. Exercise as we know it today would be a really strange concept for women and men in ancient civilizations, because physical activity wasn’t separated from the rest of life; it was deeply integrated into daily routines. Whether through labor, status, ritual, sport, self-defense training, or, frankly, domestic survival, people burned way more calories than we do now in our air-conditioned gyms during an hour-long sweat sesh. That’s not to say people didn’t intentionally train their bodies or partake in leisure, but generally speaking, humans didn’t “work out” until at least the last couple of hundred years. That said, some of humanity’s most famous beauties had favorite ways to exercise, and when you look through letters, biographies, art, and other historical accounts, there’s a clear pattern that emerges. The women who enchanted those within their societies were often quite active… but their exercise wasn’t a slot on their calendar in between meetings. Instead, it happened in rose gardens, forests, riding fields, ballrooms, palace grounds, and more. Empress Joséphine’s Flower Walks We all know the “hot girl walk” by now, and many of us swear by our step counters to keep us on track. But long before that was trendy, Napoleon Bonaparte’s first wife, Empress Joséphine , was known to spend much of her time roaming the gardens of Malmaison. She developed such an intense obsession with botany that she was able to assemble one of Europe’s most impressive collections of roses, as well as other, more exotic plants. Historians estimate that hundreds of species were cultivated at Malmaison, and you bet that Joséphine regularly inspected new arrivals to the collection and worked closely with the on-site gardeners. As it is a French château, Malmaison’s grounds are vast. Easily, touring it on foot could involve several miles of walking. Unlike modern garden enthusiasts who might browse a nursery on a Saturday afternoon, Joséphine’s hobby meant she was constantly moving across the historic estate. Today, wellness influencers prescribe long leisurely walks for stress reduction, but Joséphine reaped those same benefits centuries earlier. How you can reap the benefits: Research your local botanical gardens or arboretums and take an hour out of your Saturday or Sunday to stroll the grounds. Make sure to snap some photos of the flora that catches your eye! Marie Antoinette’s Château Strolls In the same vein as Empress Joséphine’s pre-hot-girl-walks, Marie Antoinette similarly enjoyed her time outdoors ambling about. Though her image is often depicted as a pampered queen who lounged indoors, she likely spent a lot of time outside the formal court of Versailles. After Marie Antoinette received the Petit Trianon , a château (also called a hamlet) located on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles, she was often described as retreating into its gardens and grounds . Accounts say she would walk the property to oversee landscaping projects and tend to flowers. Knowing how rigid court life can be, it’s no wonder she would want to spend hours away from the formalities. 18th-century aristocrats considered walking one of the best forms of recreation. Doctors from that time frequently recommended it, and in hindsight, those perfectly landscaped gardens make perfect sense when you consider how they were designed with strolling in mind. So, Marie Antoinette’s preferred pastime happens to align with exactly what modern researchers now recognize as a must-have in your daily wellness arsenal: getting up from wherever you’re sitting and taking a hearty stroll . How you can reap the benefits: Research your local outdoor museums, sculptural gardens, and sprawling parks, get some good walking shoes on, and leave the headphones at home. Let your mind soak in the sights rather than the latest episode of your favorite podcast. Empress Elisabeth of Austria’s Cardio Circuit If there’s one historical beauty who would understand today’s fitness culture, it would probably be Empress Elisabeth of Austria , or Sisi, as some lovingly call her. Sisi became famous for her beauty, of course, but also for her relentless physical drive. Historians have documented her passions for horseback riding, hiking, fencing, gymnastics, and long-distance walking. She actually had exercise equipment installed in her private chambers, like gymnastic rings and balance apparatuses. During this time period, many upper-class women were discouraged from vigorous activity. Tight corseting was still practiced, and the restrictions it puts on your body are no joke. But Sisi rode her horses for hours at a stretch and even participated in fox hunts. Her riding career became so iconic that she earned a reputation as one of Europe’s finest female equestrians. And when she developed health concerns that forced her to scale back riding? Sisi didn’t stop moving, taking on marathon-length walks that reportedly stretched for miles and miles each day. How you can reap the benefits: Research the best hiking locations near you (beach trail, wooded walk, you name it) and devote a half-day on the weekend to a long walk with your loved ones. The Tang Dynasty’s Horseback-Riding Baddies When viewing historic Chinese art, it’s easy to assume that ancient Chinese women were restricted entirely to a life of delicacy and restraint. In many cases, this was true, but during the Tang Dynasty, women weren’t totally sedentary. The Tang period was highly influenced by Central Asian cultures, where horseback riding was part and parcel of elite lifestyles. Archaeologists have uncovered many figurines from this period that depicted aristocratic women mounting horses to ride and swinging polo mallets, and murals and paintings show noblewomen participating in riding excursions and even polo matches. One historian, Bret Hinsch, noted that horse culture became quite fashionable within upper-class Tang women’s circles . Elite women rode for transportation, of course, but also recreation and sport. Polo —one of the most physically demanding games in the premodern world—grew particularly popular in aristocratic life. Some historical records even note that female polo teams competed at court. How you can reap the benefits: Take a stab at horseback riding lessons by seeking out introductory courses. And if you don’t love it, no sweat—at least snap a pic or two on horseback to document the day! The European Women Dancing The Night Away Before boutique fitness studios, there were royal balls, and they weren’t just something you could drop in to on a trial run to see if it fits your vibe. Court dancing in the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe required training that started when you were a child. Noblewomen perfected their posture, balance, and footwork under the guidance of professional dance instructors to master complex dance sequences. Historians have noted that major balls could go on for hours and hours into the night, and when you consider how heavy formal clothing was, the women (and men) dancing the night away likely burned a ton of calories . That said, the calorie burn was just icing on the cake for participants. Dance was more of a vehicle for social networking, entertainment, and art. The physical demands weren’t an afterthought, of course, but dance was used to mix and mingle within your community. And the women who excelled at it were admired by onlookers for those same qualities we love in modern ballerinas: poise, stamina, and artistic control. How you can reap the benefits: It may not be in the cards for you to travel to Europe for the modern Vienna balls, but most places in America offer some form of social dancing—whether that’s line dancing, swing dancing, club dancing, or Latin dancing. Gather the girls for a GNO, doll up, and get ready for a marathon of movement. Cleopatra’s Aquatic Escapades While many stories surrounding Cleopatra are admittedly difficult to verify, ancient writers documented aquatic throughlines in elite Egyptian life—bathing, boating, and other recreation on or around the water. Cleopatra spent much of her life near the Mediterranean and the Nile, and some have linked her to swimming and aquatic leisure. It may just be a tall tale, but some have written that Mark Antony took note of his wife’s love for swimming and gifted her a geothermal spa in Turkey, the Ancient Pool of Hierapolis, which people can still visit to this day. Whether every famous anecdote is true matters less than the fact that water recreation was way more common in elite Mediterranean life than one may realize. Long before lap swimming became a fitness activity, affluent women sought out time in the water not only for pleasure, but for health. How you can reap the benefits: Research your local rec center or gym equipped with indoor or outdoor pools. Whether it’s a recreational pool, a lap pool, or a water park, don your favorite swimsuit and get your heart rate pumping in the water. The Hawaiian Royalty Who Swam and Surfed While European aristocrats wandered rose gardens on foot, the noblewomen of Hawaii grew up in an environment many now consider to be paradise, but which is actually quite physically demanding. Historical accounts describe elite Polynesian and Hawaiian women swimming regularly in the ocean, traveling by canoe, and even navigating the rugged terrain around volcanoes. Surfing wasn’t just for men, either, as female members of Hawaiian nobility often caught a wave. So naturally, balance and confidence in the water were admirable qualities. Some accounts describe female chiefs and noblewomen riding waves alongside men, and what makes surfing such an interesting historical example is how it develops many of the same qualities that modern fitness programs promise. Paddling builds some serious upper body strength and endurance, while balancing on a surfboard perfects your core and coordination. The hours that they spent swimming through currents and waves challenge the cardiovascular system in ways that would leave many 12-3-30 girlies exhausted. Yet, Hawaiian women weren’t in it to sculpt their physiques; they participated out of a love for cultural tradition. How you can reap the benefits: Swimming in the ocean may not be realistic if you’re landlocked or can’t slip away on vacation, but many rec centers or gyms near you likely offer pool access for laps or you can take a stab at water aerobics classes. The Viking Women’s Endurance Pop culture tends to imagine Viking women in a couple of ways… either as shield maidens charging into battle (which is historically dicey, anyway) or as passive wives waiting at home for their husbands to return from sea. The reality was far more demanding, as women in Viking age Scandinavia managed farms and households, processed textiles, cared for livestock, preserved food for harsh climates, often in long stretches of time while men traveled. Basically, daily life in the Norse world required top-notch physical competence, but Viking women were up for the challenge. The Scandinavian landscape is unforgiving. Steep terrain, harsh winters, and dispersed communities meant walking long distances was routine, often by foot, horseback, or boat. Historical evidence contains numerous references to women going on these long journeys to visit neighboring farms or traveling for marriages, religious festivals, and family obligations. Winter brought its own forms of movement that many now adopt for leisure. Skiing has deep roots in Scandinavia, and though most surviving accounts focus on men, women living in the north would have likely been dependent on skis for practical mobility in the wintertime. The ideal Norse woman likely wasn’t so delicate or fragile. She would have had to be capable, resilient, and able to thrive in extreme conditions. How you can reap the benefits: Get your breathable socks and sturdy hiking shoes ready, research a hearty, hilly trail, and see if you’re up for a bit of a challenge! If you’re new to hiking, don’t push yourself too hard the first time, though, and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. The Court Dancers Dazzling India Long before barre and ballet-inspired workouts, some of India’s highest-ranking women were developing extraordinary body control through their form of classical dance . For centuries, royal courts and temples trained female dancers who didn’t just do this art form as a casual hobby or a method to burn calories. Classical Indian dance was a respected profession that women trained rigorously to perfect from a young age. And the physical demands are pretty substantial—traditions like Bharatanatyam require dancers to stay in deep bent-knee positions while performing quick footwork to intricate rhythms, sharp and expressive hand gestures, and keep the upper body controlled and stable. You’d need a lot of muscular endurance to maintain a graceful posture and facial expressions while busting out those moves, to be honest. And to modern eyes, some positions look surprisingly similar to ones you might find in yoga studios, barre classes, and things of that sort. Ancient texts suggest these skills were taken very seriously, such as the Natyashastra (a Sanskrit treatise on theater and dance that some believe is nearly two thousand years old), which outlines posture, foot placement, hand gestures, eye movements, neck positions, and general bodily expression. A woman had to carry herself with grace, rhythm, and control. Many modern fitness routines promise to perfect your posture, flexibility, and coordination, but for generations of Indian dancers, those qualities emerged naturally through this unique pursuit of artistic beauty. Rather than exercising to become graceful, these court dancers became graceful through the discipline of their movement. How you can reap the benefits: Indian dance classes may not be available where you live, but one of the best parts of the internet is how readily available online courses are on YouTube and other platforms. Clear some space in your living room, pop a class on your TV, laptop, tablet, or phone, and follow along with the instructor! While none of these women were counting macros, tracking their heart rate zones , or trying to close Apple Watch rings (guilty!) before the day's end, there’s no shame in the modern pursuit of physical fitness. Our culture looks very different from the one that came before us, and many people need to intentionally incorporate exercise to counteract otherwise sedentary lifestyles. But when you look back through history, what stands out is not that women had some secret fitness hack to slim down and tone up like a Victoria’s Secret runway model . Instead, movement was part of things they genuinely enjoyed; things that breathed life into cultural tradition. Somewhere along the way, exercise became something many feel they have to suffer through. But for much of history, staying active was a natural consequence of art, community, adventure, and survival. We can gain inspiration from the generations that came before us to add more beauty to our daily lives, whether that’s wandering among roses because we love flowers, wading through ocean waters because of how healing the sea can be, or dancing because beauty itself is a skill worth mastering.]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/the-fitness-routines-of-historys-most-beautiful-ancient-princesses</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 04 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Health</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[Is The Obsession With Optimization Ruining Our Lives?]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/is-the-obsession-with-optimization-ruining-our-lives</link>
      <dc:creator>Gina Florio</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[Yet another heated debate broke out online recently when Steven Bartlett, the host of the popular podcast Diary of a CEO, shared his experience of drinking a few glasses of wine after quitting alcohol for a year. ]]></description>
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      <content:encoded><![CDATA[He said he just wanted to test it out since he had taken some time off from it. He enjoyed a few glasses of wine, likely in the company of friends, but didn’t get drunk. This happened two years ago when he was 31 years old, and he said, “It ruined three days of my life.” He didn’t sleep well, he didn’t make it to the gym the next day, and he felt like his “cortisol system was all messed up.” He even claimed he “podcasted worse.” He tracked all of it on his Whoop tracker. Some people agreed that alcohol is a poison and should never be consumed. Others were annoyed at how dramatic Steven sounded, wondering how a bit of wine could do this much damage to a man. Like many other podcast hosts and wellness influencers of his kind, Steven is all about optimization. No drinking, go to bed early, eat a meticulously clean diet, manage cortisol levels, and track everything on your watch so you know how many minutes of deep sleep you got and what your resting heart rate is. It’s certainly a trend, and in many ways it’s a worthy one considering how unhealthy our society has become and the bad habits that most Americans find themselves stuck in. But there comes a point where I really do wonder whether this obsession with optimization is getting in the way of people living their lives fully. Alcohol Consumption Is on the Decline For decades, alcohol was considered a nearly universal part of adulthood. Happy hours, college parties, sporting events, and social gatherings often revolved around drinking. But a significant cultural shift is taking place. Data from the United States and around the world shows that Gen Z and younger Millennials are drinking substantially less alcohol than previous generations did at the same age. According to research from Gallup , young adults ages 18–34 have become progressively less likely to consume alcohol over the past two decades. In the early 2000s, approximately 72% of young adults reported drinking alcohol. By 2021–2023, that number had fallen to 62%, representing a significant decline in participation. More recent Gallup data suggests the trend has continued, with only about half of young adults reporting that they drink alcohol at all. Young adults are now the age group most likely to believe that even moderate alcohol consumption is harmful to health. This decline appears to be driven by several factors, with health consciousness leading the list. Younger generations are growing up in an era where information about nutrition, fitness, sleep, mental health, and disease prevention is readily available. Many young adults are increasingly aware that alcohol consumption is linked to a higher risk of cancer, liver disease, poor sleep quality, anxiety, depression, and metabolic dysfunction. Gallup found that young adults are now the age group most likely to believe that even moderate alcohol consumption is harmful to health. Financial considerations also play a role. Rising costs of living, student loan debt, and expensive nightlife have made alcohol less appealing to many young consumers. A night out involving multiple drinks can easily cost hundreds of dollars, leading many to seek alternative forms of entertainment. The no-alcohol trend is particularly popular among the wellness-minded podcasters and influencers. They interview experts about all the ways that alcohol ruins your cognitive function and metabolic function, especially if you're trying to lose weight. This aligns well with the increasing availability (and affordability) of wellness tracking devices, such as the Oura Ring, the Apple Watch, Fitbit, Whoop, and many more. We’re listening to the experts talk about the data of wellness and health—your resting heart rate, your sleep score, your breathing variability, etc.—and we’re watching these numbers meticulously, hoping that our life (and perhaps happiness) will improve along with the data. Do the Healthiest, Happiest People Abstain From Alcohol? If people are quitting alcohol for health reasons, it begs the question: what are the healthiest, happiest people in the world doing when it comes to booze? Have they sworn it off? Around the world, researchers have identified several regions where people consistently live longer, healthier lives than average. These areas, often referred to as “ Blue Zones ,” include places such as Okinawa, Sardinia, Ikaria, Nicoya Peninsula, and the community of Loma Linda. While these populations come from different cultures and backgrounds, they share several common lifestyle habits that appear to contribute to exceptional health and longevity. One of the most consistent factors is a diet centered around whole, minimally processed foods. Long-lived populations tend to eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, legumes, potatoes, whole grains, and healthy fats while consuming relatively small amounts of ultra-processed foods. Their diets are naturally rich in fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that support metabolic health and reduce chronic inflammation. Another common denominator is regular physical activity. Unlike modern exercise programs, movement is woven into daily life. Strong social connections also play a major role. Long-lived populations typically have close-knit families, strong friendships, and a deep sense of community. Studies consistently show that social isolation is associated with higher rates of disease and earlier mortality, while meaningful relationships improve both physical and mental health. And here is where the piece of alcohol consumption becomes particularly interesting. The people who are living the happiest, healthiest, and longest lives are doing the very thing that Steven Bartlett said ruined three days of his life. Contrary to popular belief, most of the world’s healthiest populations do not abstain from alcohol. In places such as Sardinia and Ikaria, moderate alcohol consumption—particularly red wine—is often part of social gatherings and meals. However, alcohol is typically consumed in small to moderate amounts, alongside food, and within a strong social context. They stay up late, share wine, and enjoy time together. This kind of behavior is a huge element of the stress management that contributes to their long, healthy, and happy life. No trackers or fitness watches. Zero concerns with optimization. None of these cultures drink copious amounts of alcohol, but they certainly drink a lot more than Steven Bartlett did on that one fateful night. One of the longest-running studies ever conducted over more than 80 years, called Harvard Study of Adult Development , hypothesizes that the number one most important factor that contributes to health and longevity is not physical activity or diet, and it’s certainly not alcohol consumption. It’s the presence of warm relationships. The researchers theorize that having a strong network of family and friends with whom you spend a lot of quality time with helps to reduce and ward off stress, which is a huge source of inflammation, which we know is heavily correlated to sickness and premature death. So the people who are living the happiest, healthiest, and longest lives are doing the very thing that Steven Bartlett said ruined three days of his life: hanging out with friends and drinking a couple glasses of wine. What Good Is Optimization Doing Us? I do not believe it’s coincidental at all that the rates of loneliness and isolation , depression and anxiety , and psychiatric drug use are rising rapidly while the rates of alcohol consumption are declining. By no means do I think that people should be drinking alcohol profusely and bingeing on the weekends, but there is no denying that a primary element of enjoying a glass of wine is being social and conversing with others. Ever since the Covid lockdown days, the normal rates of socialization never quite caught up to what they once were. People are not going out and grabbing drinks together like they used to. They’re sending Snapchats to one another, watching Netflix marathons at home, and “ bed rotting .” Part of the no-alcohol trend is related to health, but there is no denying that another part of it is just that people are not as social as they used to be. People are meeting on dating apps rather than at parties or local bars. They’re texting and sending TikToks to each other instead of throwing parties and potluck dinners with wine. Besides, is our health actually improving as our optimization numbers increase? And perhaps just as importantly, is our happiness also increasing alongside the optimization of our health data? These questions are significant because what’s the point of staring at our trackers every day if they’re not helping to make our lives better? Then you look at the rising popularity of people like Bryan Johnson, a tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist who spearheads the extreme anti-aging and longevity project called Project Blueprint . He sold his company Braintree to PayPal and now dedicates his life (and millions of dollars a year) to scientifically reversing his biological age and optimizing his body’s health markers. It’s gotten to the point where he doesn’t even go outside without using an umbrella in order to protect his skin from the sun. Each meal and supplement is precisely measured and tracked. He even tests his girlfriend’s vaginal microbiome before engaging in certain sexual activities together. Granted, Bryan is at the extreme end of optimization, but the fact that he has gained this much popularity and has been featured on so many podcasts leaves me wondering, when did our lives become so sterile? So data-driven? So AI-like? And even if this optimization grants you an extra 3-5 years of life, do you expect that you’ll be living those years as joyfully and fully as the Italian grandmothers on the coast of Sardinia, wrinkly from smile lines and surrounded by doting family members and a bottle of cabernet? I don’t expect that these individuals have any idea what their sleep score is. When did our lives become so sterile? I was never much of a drinker, but I pretty much gave up drinking alcohol a decade ago, far before the anti-alcohol trend began (mostly because I get the Asian glow when I drink and it’s very uncomfortable). Since then, I've enjoyed a few glasses of wine here and there, but each one of those times I remember being fondly surrounded by loved ones, at a wedding or over Christmas Eve dinner. I really do wonder whether the obsession with optimization and the concern with ruining your Whoop score is stopping people from living their lives to the fullest. We're not robots. There will always be off days when we don't feel our most optimized. Wait until you're blessed with parenthood. You'll learn quickly that those early years are full of sleepless nights and failed Whoop scores, and that you'll feel exhausted and sub-optimal along the way. But there's no greater joy than raising the children who will become the next generation of our society, and no metric on earth that can capture it. We experience what we focus on the most. And if our minds are preoccupied with fitness trackers and wellness data most of the time, we will miss the beauty and joy around us. The fullness of life is to be found in the messiness and blurred edges, the late nights and belly laughs, the rich meals and abandonment of a rigid schedule. Friendship and love can never be defined by numbers, and I do believe that many of the people who are struggling with loneliness and isolation would benefit from getting dressed up for a dinner party or cocktail soiree, where they can enjoy some wine and conversation that lasts late into the night, long after their Whoop’s recommended bedtime.]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/is-the-obsession-with-optimization-ruining-our-lives</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 03 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Health</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[I'm A Birth Doula. Here's What I Wish Women Did Before They Started Trying.]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/im-a-birth-doula-heres-what-i-wish-women-did-before-they-started-trying</link>
      <dc:creator>Anna Hugoboom</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[We tend to treat pregnancy like something that begins the moment you see two pink lines. That’s when the advice starts rolling in: take your prenatals, stock up on the raspberry leaf tea, start stretching. But to be real, so much of what shapes pregnancy begins long before that moment.]]></description>
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      <content:encoded><![CDATA[Maybe you’ve heard a little about pregnancy brain and food cravings , but most people leave pregnancy prep until they’re married or trying to conceive, or even until they’re weeks or months into their pregnancy. Most women aren’t taught how to prepare ahead of time. For many of us, learning about hormones, fertility, and our cycles has been a patchwork experience: bits of information gathered from our moms, podcasts, IG reels, friends, or late-night Google searches. We’re often told what not to do, but rarely given a clear, proactive vision for how to actually support our bodies in preparation for motherhood. My mother is a health professional and a very knowledgeable person, but even she just didn’t have the same, updated research we now have. Cycle syncing with heightened fertility awareness only became a trend within the last 5 years or so, so the only thing most women my age knew about their cycles when growing up was that our period happened monthly (at least it was supposed to), and PMS at some point would probably make us cranky and crave chocolate. So this is for the woman who knows she wants children someday, even if that day feels far off. Whether you’re single, dating, engaged, newly married, or actively trying to conceive, this matters. You don’t have to wait until you’re pregnant to start preparing your body for pregnancy. Honestly, I’d argue that the earlier you begin, the better positioned you are. My Perspective as a Birth Doula To be transparent: no, I haven’t had a baby of my own yet. I realize my perception hasn’t been fully educated by personal experience, and ideals often pan out differently in real life. But I do think ideals help provide direction and guidance. And as a birth doula, I’ve had a front-row seat to pregnancy, labor, and postpartum in a way most women don’t before experiencing it themselves. I’ve walked alongside women through long labors, unexpected complications, smooth deliveries, and difficult recoveries. And over time, you start to notice patterns. You see what supports the body, and what makes things harder. You hear the stories women tell about how they prepared (or didn’t), and how that showed up later. This article isn’t coming from a place of having it all figured out. It’s coming from a place of learning and paying attention, and choosing to prepare intentionally based on what I’ve learned and witnessed. So, let’s dive in. Here’s what I’m personally doing to get my body ready for a future pregnancy (and what I wish other women would do, too). Pelvic Floor Health: The Conversation We’re Not Having This is one of the most overlooked areas of women’s health, and it shouldn’t be. Pelvic floor therapy is often treated as something you only think about after you’ve had a baby, or after something goes wrong. But your pelvic floor plays a major role in pregnancy, labor, delivery, and recovery. For women who are waiting for marriage, this matters even sooner… if you don’t want sex to hurt on the wedding night. A strong, functional pelvic floor can help prevent pain, tension, and dysfunction, not just during childbirth, but even in early intimacy. Because for many, though not everyone, the first time is often uncomfortable, and even recurrent sex can be painful if you have a tight pelvic floor or have conditions like endometriosis . It’s not about bracing or clenching; it’s about coordination, strength, and the ability to both engage and relax those muscles. If you’re a Pilates princess, you’re ahead of the game, because Pilates involves a lot of pelvic floor-strengthening movements that are similar to actual pelvic floor therapy. I’m a big fan of Pilates myself because it not only is a low-impact workout style that benefits the female physique and hormones, but it literally helps to strengthen your core, pelvis, and legs in a way that will only benefit you and your future pregnancy. If you aren’t a Pilates girl yet, either become one (even if you just start with free YouTube workouts at home) or find a pelvic floor specialist to work with you. Especially if you also have a condition like endometriosis (join the club, sis), hop on it. You’ll thank me later. Walking , probably the best exercise known to humanity, is also part of my exercise and pelvic floor regimen. Most days I’ll walk outside in nature or do incline walking on the gym treadmill, usually around 2.5-3 mph at a 10-12 incline level for 40-60 minutes. Normalizing pelvic floor care before pregnancy shifts it from being a reactive fix to proactive stewardship that will be worth the time and cost. Think of it like an investment (because it is). Rethinking Fitness Somewhere along the way, fitness got reduced to appearance. Before-and-after photos. Numbers on a scale. Aesthetic goals. Yes, we want to look hot, of course. And I think it’s fun and rewarding to be able to wear the results of your discipline and consistency. But the overly materialistic, sometimes obsessive approach to fitness can turn people off, or push them toward the wrong goals entirely, ones that have little to do with functional, overall health. But preparing your body for pregnancy forces you to rethink that association entirely. Suddenly you're training for something real. The strength and endurance you build actually matter, and the perks (looking and feeling better, rising to a genuine challenge) come along for the ride. Doctors and medical organizations alike recommend that women exercise and make appropriate lifestyle changes before pregnancy to build a strong body that can support a healthy one. Strength matters when you’re carrying extra weight for months. Endurance matters during labor. Mobility matters for positioning, comfort, and recovery after birth during postpartum. So many people, mothers and fathers both, have told me about the shoulder, arm, neck, or back pain (or all of the above) they developed after having babies. Holding a 7+ lb. infant for hours, rocking or bouncing the baby when it’s fussy, leaning over for nursing, pumping with the same hand, plus being low on sleep , it all takes a toll on your body. Even beyond practical strength, the habits you build now become the environment your future children grow up in. I know that my decisions and habits now will affect my future children and my ability to carry and take care of them well, so my health isn’t just for me but also for them. So, for me, that’s meant building a routine that supports function over appearance: Pilates for deep core strength and alignment (as well as for pelvic floor as I mentioned above), and I rotate between the 28 Wellness app (my main source), Hotworx for heated Pilates, and occasional group classes. Strength training to build muscle and overall stability. I bought myself some small 3lb. and 7lb. hand weights from Amazon to pair with body weight for when I don’t get to the actual gym. Incline walking for steady, low-impact endurance, as well as for pelvic floor mentioned above (I’ve noticed it’s really helped tone my legs and boost my circulation). Dancing weekly (I love country swing), sometimes twice a week, because it’s a cardio that actually lowers cortisol , helps boost serotonin , and obviously builds endurance. Stretching and (seasonal) swimming for flexibility and low-impact circulation movement. Time on a birthing ball every week to improve hip mobility and flexibility as well as pelvic floor muscles. I’ve seen firsthand how women who maintained strength and mobility felt more in control of their bodies during labor. That doesn't mean everything goes perfectly, or that women who work out never tear in childbirth or always have better birth experiences than those who don't. But it makes a difference, and it's never wasted effort. Your eating and movement habits will significantly affect not just you and your health but also your baby’s health and development. Healthy habits equal healthy genes which create a healthy baby. Nourishing for Hormones and Fertility Hippocrates once said , “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” And he ate with that. Nutrition plays a much bigger role in hormonal health than most of us realize or want to acknowledge because it can be uncomfortable to have self-discipline when we crave sugar or comfort foods. Personally, I’ve had to really work on having a healthy relationship with food and portion control and develop mindful eating habits. Instead of thinking what I’m not able to, or “should not,” eat, I now stay oriented towards what I can eat and what helps me truly feel good and nourished. For me, that’s looked like prioritizing: Healthy fats (like fish oils ) to support hormone production Protein-rich superfoods like pasture-raised eggs, wild-caught salmon, and organic poultry Eating whole, nutrient-dense meals (sweet potatoes are my favorite carb) and an anti-inflammatory diet Vitamins like vitamin C , magnesium and other micronutrients that support natural progesterone levels and overall hormone balance I’ve also had to practice the art of leisurely eating, mindfully chewing, and having my meals sitting down rather than rushed and on the go. This isn’t about eating perfectly. It’s about creating a foundation where the body has what it needs to regulate itself well. When my hormones are supported, I can tell that everything from my cycle to my energy levels tends to reflect that. Your Husband’s Preconception Health Preconception health is both the woman’s and the man’s responsibility. The father not only contributes to your baby’s genetic makeup but his health at the time of fertilization also influences how you’ll feel during pregnancy and labor and determines things such as preeclampsia, possible birth defects , and even morning sickness, so it only stands to reason that he should be mindful of his health during this time, too. Studies show that a father's chronic illness can put newborns at greater risk for preterm delivery, low birth weight, and other conditions that require NICU care. Smoking is one of the clearest examples of why his habits matter as much as yours. Nicotine damages sperm quality and DNA integrity, raising the risk of birth defects, and it can linger in the system for months. That goes for vaping and every other nicotine product, not just cigarettes. If he smokes, preconception is the time to stop, ideally well before you start trying. It's one of the simplest, highest-impact changes he can make for the baby, and one of the few entirely in his control. The Underrated Power of Recovery We talk a lot about doing more: working out, eating better, optimizing everything. But recovery is often where real progress happens. The nervous system plays a huge role in our overall health, and especially in pregnancy. Chronic stress, tension, and burnout don’t just stay in the mind; they manifest in the body. After learning the hard way, I’ve made recovery part of my routine rather than an afterthought: Getting a full-body lymphatic drainage massage every two weeks Stretching at least four days a week Having intentional (active) rest days instead of working out every day Making space for rest in my daily life instead of constantly pushing to the next thing Prioritizing better sleep. I often struggle with insomnia, but this magnesium glycinate has helped so much. These practices help with circulation, muscle recovery, and stress reduction, all of which matter when you’re preparing your body for something as demanding as pregnancy. When Things Aren’t “Simple” It’s also important to acknowledge that not every fertility journey is straightforward. Paying attention to your cycle, understanding your body, and seeking guidance when something feels off can make a meaningful difference. Conditions like PCOS or endometriosis can affect hormone balance, ovulation, and overall reproductive health. And many women don’t discover these challenges until they’re already trying to conceive. The Mental & Emotional Side of Preparing for Motherhood Not all preparation is physical. We’re both mind and body, so we need to take care of both. There are questions many women carry quietly: “Will my body be able to do this? What if something goes wrong? Am I ready for what pregnancy and birth will demand?” Even women who deeply desire children can feel a sense of hesitation or fear. That’s not something to ignore or suppress. It’s something to acknowledge and reassure. Seeking guidance, asking questions to married friends and family, and even counseling can be extremely comforting. Preparing mentally doesn’t mean eliminating fear entirely. It means building familiarity, understanding, and a sense of trust in your body over time. The more you learn, the more you support your body, and the more intentionally you approach this season, the more grounded you tend to feel in it. I don’t believe in controlling every outcome. Pregnancy and birth don’t work that way, and it’s actually counterproductive since that mindset doesn’t exactly lower your cortisol. But I do believe in preparation. Not in a frantic, pressure-filled sense, but in a steady, intentional way. Our lives are a summary of our choices. I’m taking care of my body now because it matters now, and because it will matter later. You’re not behind if you’re just starting to think about this. You’re early. And that’s a good place to be.]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/im-a-birth-doula-heres-what-i-wish-women-did-before-they-started-trying</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 03 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Health</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[TikTok Influencer MJ Gray Spent Years Telling Women To Decenter Men And Avoid Marriage. Now She's Engaged.]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/tiktok-influencer-mj-grey-women-to-decenter-men-marriage</link>
      <dc:creator>Meredith Evans</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[If you've spent years telling your followers not to do something, should they be criticized for questioning you when you eventually do it yourself?   ]]></description>
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      <content:encoded><![CDATA[For years, TikTok creator MJ Gray (also known as “texasgardenfairy” on social media) built an audience by encouraging women to decenter men, explaining why she'd never get married and why other women shouldn't feel pressured to do so, and criticizing what she viewed as status-driven consumer culture. Much of her videos centered on women's independence. Many of her videos criticize men's behavior and encourage women to stop prioritizing relationships. So imagine everyone’s shock when she announced that she had been engaged to a man she’d known for 9 months. The backlash she gained isn't because she's getting married to a man; it's really because she went from anti-marriage to hypergamy. Many of the heated women on TikTok are angry because the recent engagement now appears to contradict years of content in which she said she never planned to marry. Worse, she would often advise her followers against doing so. Some of them pointed to past videos where she expressed frustration with marriage culture, including one video captioned, "I wish women would stop getting married." In a now-deleted response addressing the criticism, Gray acknowledged the apparent contradiction. "Yes, I am engaged," she said. "Yes, I am the same person who made several videos saying that I never had any plans to get married. I did not want to get married and I did not agree with the institution of marriage." Gray went on to argue that her position had always included exceptions. According to her, marriage can make practical sense in situations involving children, shared property, or cohabitation. She maintained that she still does not view marriage as an accomplishment or something women should feel obligated to pursue. "I still don't agree with the institution of marriage," she said. "But in those videos, I made caveats." That explanation hasn't convinced everyone. Across TikTok, commenters accused Gray of promoting one lifestyle while privately pursuing another. Some argued that followers had made major life decisions based on her content, only to watch her embrace the very things she often criticized. The engagement announcement also reignited discussions about other moments critics cite as evidence of inconsistency. Gray previously criticized luxury brands and "wealth signaling," describing designer purchases as tacky. Yet followers later pointed to videos showing her own shopping hauls and designer purchases. Again, her public messaging doesn't match her personal behavior. As clips spread across social media, some users began labeling Gray a “grifter.” As you're probably aware, the term is used to describe influencers accused of promoting beliefs they don't genuinely hold in order to build an audience or make money. Others have defended her, arguing that changing your mind isn't hypocrisy. It’s true that people evolve and relationships change perspectives, and no creator should be expected to remain frozen in the same worldview forever. To be clear, none of this means Gray doesn't deserve happiness. Getting engaged is a major life milestone, and she has received some support from women who are genuinely happy that she's found someone she wants to build a future with. Finding a healthy relationship is a good thing, regardless of someone's previous views on dating or marriage. Now that Gray has announced her engagement, some are questioning whether her persona was even real. Like Alex Cooper, it seems that the women who built careers challenging these ideas are now benefiting from the very things they spent years telling other women to reject. It’s the “rules for thee, not for me” aspect of the situation that frustrates so many women. A lot of them were her followers who spent years being told marriage, relationships, designer purchases, and traditional milestones were things women should avoid. Now, as Gray prepares to get married herself, many are left with the same question: if these choices made sense for you all along, why spend years telling other women not to make them?]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/tiktok-influencer-mj-grey-women-to-decenter-men-marriage</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 02 Jun 2026 05:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Culture</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[Disney's Tomorrowland Is Erasing Real History To Sell You Fake Nostalgia]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/disneys-tomorrowland-is-erasing-real-history-to-sell-you-fake-nostalgia</link>
      <dc:creator>Brooke Brandtjen</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[Walt Disney's theme parks are built on nostalgia. Main Street, USA is a romanticized small town from the 1800s. Liberty Square is colonial America. Frontierland is the old west. Even the castles in Fantasyland are reaching back into a European past that mostly never existed. There's only one exception: Tomorrowland.]]></description>
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      <content:encoded><![CDATA[The whole point of Tomorrowland was to look forward instead of back, to imagine a future filled with technology that hadn't been invented yet. And the Carousel of Progress, the land's centerpiece since 1964, was supposed to take guests on a journey through the history of how we got there. Disney is about to gut it. Everyone who visits Disney World will tell you that it's absolutely magical. Since its opening in 1971, it has been the place where dreams come true. Walt Disney’s vision in creating his theme parks was to build a space where both children and their parents could have fun together. He intended to create a place where people could find joy, regardless of their age. Disney World is now the biggest theme park resort in the world, visited by millions of people each year. For many, their first memories are of seeing the fireworks over the castle or meeting Mickey Mouse. Regardless of whether your last visit was when you were a kid or if you take your family every other Saturday, everyone cherishes its magic. Part of this magic comes from nostalgia. When you walk into the Magic Kingdom, you enter Main Street, USA. Disney chose this as the entrance to his theme parks because it was reminiscent of the small town he grew up in, in Missouri. Main Street pays tribute to the past, just like many of the other lands inside the park do. Respect for the past is part of the fabric of Disney World. The outlier to the theme park’s nostalgia can be found in the futuristic Tomorrowland. Although it has a retro-futuristic aesthetic that looks more like the Jetsons’ midcentury America, it was created to “predict” the future. Walt Disney hoped that the land would be “a vista into a world of wondrous ideas, signifying man's achievements … a step into the future, with predictions of constructive things to come.” Disney hoped it might be a place filled with inventions, where the technology of the future could be showcased to inspire park guests. That goal proved difficult, as many of the original attractions closed after quickly becoming outdated. Disney’s ‘Carousel of Progress,’ a rotating stage show filled with animatronics, was designed to fix Tomorrowland's problem of the technology of the future catching up to the current day. The show took guests through four scenes that highlighted the history of electronic development. It started at the turn of the century, showing some of the earliest electronic inventions such as electric lights and cast iron stoves. The next scene, the 1920s, showcased the radio, while the third scene championed the television. The fourth and final scene showcased the current day, giving guests the chance to appreciate how far technology had progressed. Despite being one of the oldest attractions in Walt Disney World, and being designed by Walt himself for the 1964 World’s Fair, the attraction is now slated for a major overhaul. Despite being one of the oldest attractions in Walt Disney World, and being designed by Walt himself for the 1964 World’s Fair, the attraction is now slated for a major overhaul. The four scenes will now take place in 1969, the 1980s, the 2000s, and the “very, very” distant future, set on a different planet. The Carousel of Progress has seen many minor changes over the years, refurbishing old animatronics, changing small bits of refreshed dialogue, and introducing technology to the final "modern day" scene as new technology was rolled out over the decades. Fans of Disney have long pointed out that Walt famously believed his theme parks would never be finished, lending to the idea that changing the park attractions is good. Similarly, the ride has always been willing to add or adjust its show scenes to make them more relevant to the time. So what’s the problem? In its original design, the Carousel of Progress showed the history of electronic development from its inception. The updated version will erase that complete historical narrative. Shifting the first scene of the ride from the 1900s to 1969 dilutes the educational impact of the story. Instead of seeing a complete account of how technology has progressed since its introduction, visitors will now only see a fragment of its evolution. Some of the most important technological developments are being cut out, such as the introduction of the car or the important shift from radios to televisions. The ride is meant to walk guests through the technological revolution, but it now only begins in 1969. This mitigates the tremendous progress of the late 1800s through the 1960s. Disney has long prided itself on being educational, with Walt himself believing that education and entertainment should go hand in hand. Whether creating movies, television shows, or theme parks he always “hoped that people learned something.” By cutting out major sections of the ride, modern Disney is cutting out the opportunity to actually inspire people through history. The new version of the Carousel is going to prey on visitors’ nostalgia rather than teach them about history. Disney has stated that their Imagineers are “scouring eBay for decade-appropriate memorabilia, and both pop culture nods and Disney references are woven throughout.” This means that we can presumably expect to see things like VHS tapes, old McDonald's Happy Meal toys, and WWE wrestling matches on the HD television. The attraction won’t teach people about technological progression, but will encourage them to get excited over recognizing random, trivial toys from their childhood. There is a big difference between showing people the impact of the radio and showing people the Rock smelling what’s cooking. The cynical answer is that this is a cash grab marketed as a refresh. Disney has watched Y2K nostalgia turn into one of the most lucrative content categories of the decade. Devil Wears Prada 2 has crossed $600 million globally since its release, making it one of the biggest hits of 2026. Malcolm in the Middle is back on Disney+. Hollister has filled its stores with low-rise jeans and "Senior" sweatpants. Millennial and Gen Z guests are, collectively, refusing to age, and Disney has decided to capitalize on it by cramming the Carousel of Progress full of Easter eggs designed to make twenty-somethings squeal in recognition. The new version isn't going to feel like a history lesson. Instead, it's going to feel like an Instagrammable callback machine designed to sell tickets to the people who grew up watching Lizzie McGuire. At face value, this doesn't seem like it would be all that bad. But the problem is that we're already drowning in nostalgia. We do not need another attraction pulling us backward. The Carousel of Progress was a rare piece of Disney IP that asked guests to look at the past as a launching point for the future. It celebrated how far we've come specifically so we could imagine how much further we might go. That kind of forward-facing storytelling is increasingly rare, and it's the exact thing children (and adults) need more of right now. The attraction won’t teach people about technological progression, but will encourage them to get excited over recognizing random, trivial toys from their childhood. It’s more important than ever that we understand our history. America invented the lightbulb, the television, and the airplane, and revolutionized the car and modern plumbing. Some of the most influential scientists and inventors of the modern age have been Americans like Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, and Albert Einstein. Unfortunately, there has been a decline in Americans’ knowledge of U.S. history. Since 2014, there has been a steady drop in students’ U.S. history test scores, and “only 27 percent of those under the age of 45 nationally can demonstrate a basic understanding of American history,” according to the Institute for Citizens and Scholars . If Disney wants to truly continue its goal of both entertaining and educating its guests, especially children, it wouldn’t erase history, it would promote it. A lot has changed since Walt Disney passed away in 1966. The company he left behind has often scrambled to live up to his legacy. In recent years, the Disney company has had a history of “going woke” and valuing performative activism over families. Its recent movies, including those targeted at children such as Lightyear and Strange World, have included same-sex relationships. They've rethemed park attractions to be more “culturally sensitive,” such as Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean. During the 2010s, the company even implemented strict DEI policies under their “Reimagine Tomorrow” initiative. Yet, the families who love Disney don’t need progressive policies or random, tedious bits of nostalgia. They need wholesome, positive experiences that build up families. Walt wanted his theme parks to be a place where the entire family could laugh, play, and learn together. Removing so much history from the Carousel of Progress only limits the value of that progress.]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/disneys-tomorrowland-is-erasing-real-history-to-sell-you-fake-nostalgia</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 02 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>News</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[Confessions Of A Former Lesbian]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/confessions-of-a-former-lesbian</link>
      <dc:creator> Taylor Fogarty</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[I used to be a lesbian. Now I'm not, and apparently that's the most controversial thing about me at any given dinner table.]]></description>
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      <content:encoded><![CDATA[When I describe myself as a “former lesbian,” I’m often met with incredulity, particularly from those who lean left. Their doubt does not lie in the fact that I had relationships with women, but instead they doubt that I could ever “stop” being gay. From their point of view, being gay is something that is intrinsic, something essential about oneself. It’s not something a person does, but something a person is . When someone “comes out,” they're revealing something that has always been there, something that was forced to hide, waiting to be discovered. Once someone claims the gay identity, they have revealed their truest self, and one cannot opt in and out of the truth. Throughout my twenties, I embodied the ideal image of a woke, liberal progressive. I lived in New York, held all the correct opinions , and kept my mind open to anything and everything that was considered “woke.” I was also struggling to quell my unhappiness. I was constantly searching for something to fill the emptiness inside me, whether I knew it at the time or not. A lifestyle of indulgence allowed me to find temporary solace; partying, promiscuity, and pursuing material goods became the main sacraments of the religion I had found worshipping my own self. I was surrounded by every letter of the LGBT+ group, and sexuality was no big deal in the circles I ran with. Sex itself wasn’t something sacred or special for me or for those around me, so it made sense to treat sex as something to experiment with rather than something to be cherished and protected. The goal of sex was never to create a lifelong bond or to potentially create a new life; instead, it was something as recreational as going out to the bar or trying a new restaurant. All types of relationships and sexual encounters were validated and encouraged with whoever and however many people were involved. I realized that after the initial high of my gay discovery wore off, the nagging feeling of deep unhappiness still remained. When I first told those around me of my new attractions, the response was positive: congratulations, support, and encouragement. It was as though I had finally found the “real” me, leaving behind my old, heterosexual self. I felt the need to explain away past relationships with men, claiming that I wasn’t ever truly happy with them, and that there was always something “off” in my straight relationships. I was trying to convince those around me that I was truly gay, and also trying to convince myself. Since this identity was supposedly something that had always been in me, waiting to come out, I had to find some way to make sense of my former straight behavior. The more I adopted my new label, the more compelled I felt to reinterpret my past through it. Every happy memory with a man had to be explained away, while every disappointment became evidence that I had never been straight at all. Eventually, like many other things I left behind in my twenties, I grew out of homosexuality after two long-term relationships with women and a handful of casual hookups. One day, pursuing women lost its novelty, and I found myself exactly where I started: unhappy. I realized that after the initial high of my gay discovery wore off, the nagging feeling of deep unhappiness still remained. Lesbianism, as it turns out, wasn’t the answer to all my problems. The short euphoria of “figuring it out” dwindled when I realized I hadn’t, not even a little. Resting my identity on the sex of the person I choose to sleep with was a flimsy foundation. The attraction to women seemed to wear off, and the more I chose to separate myself from the lesbian label, the less interested I naturally became in women. I eventually dated men again. For me, the choice was just that: I chose to date men instead of women. It felt simple and anticlimactic; it merely felt like a phase had passed. Once I stopped participating in homosexual behavior, naturally I gave up my lesbian label. Of course, this transition was not welcomed with as much celebration. Speaking about heterosexuality as an identity to the leftist crowd is not valid, since it’s not in the oppressed class. It was only valid to use who I chose to date as an identity if the people I chose to date were not men. My newest discovery about my sexuality wasn’t a discovery at all; instead, it was a sort of regression back into the closet. Calling myself "formerly gay” was met with sadness, while being “formerly straight" was seen as brave and empowering. Calling myself a “former lesbian” is simply speaking the truth. I once participated in homosexuality, and now I don’t. This may be a threatening concept to those who rest their entire identities upon their sexual inclinations, and who would want their identities attacked? But acting on a vice or a temptation is not the same as formerly acting on a vice or temptation, or even thinking about acting on it. An action may describe part of a person’s history without defining the essence of that person. It was only valid to use who I chose to date as an identity if the people I chose to date were not men. Our culture today encourages people to treat identity as a product to be curated, displayed, and endlessly refined. Identity politics demands that we treat our desires and impulses as the truest things about us. For many years, I tried to find identity in something that was within me, something that centered myself. I eventually came to believe that our deepest identity is found not in our wants and desires, but instead in what we choose to pursue and ultimately serve. It wasn’t until I sought purpose and identity outside of myself : as a Catholic, as a mother, as someone who served others and not solely myself, did I finally find the peace and happiness I was searching for in all the wrong places.]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/confessions-of-a-former-lesbian</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 02 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Relationships</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[After Years Of Being Compared To Her Boyfriend, TikTok Influencer Brooke Monk Opens Up About Being The "Ugly One" In Their Relationship]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/years-compared-boyfriend-tiktok-influencer-brooke-monk</link>
      <dc:creator>Meredith Evans</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[This week, TikTok influencer Brooke Monk found herself at the center of a surprisingly heated debate after posting a video about her experience being the "uglier person" in her relationship. ]]></description>
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      <content:encoded><![CDATA[Like many, I was confused by the premise because Monk is conventionally attractive. With more than 55 million followers on TikTok, being one of the platform's most recognizable faces, plenty of people agreed with me. They felt the "ugly" label simply didn't apply to her. It all started after Monk reflected on her relationship with content creator Sam Dezz, whom she has been dating since 2020. The two still frequently appear in each other’s videos. The couple initially spent time long-distance before eventually building one of social media's most popular relationships. Anyone familiar with their content knows Dezz appears completely devoted to her, which is part of what made the controversy so fascinating. Brooke Monk's Viral Video Explained In the video, Monk explained that she has always considered her boyfriend exceptionally attractive. "It's no secret that my boyfriend Sam, he's a beautiful human being, like inside and out, but he's a gorgeous human being," she said. She recalled being surprised that he was interested in her when they first met. "I was like, wow, I really aimed high, and he happened to like me." Monk wasn't calling herself ugly, but did title the video "My experience being the ugly one in my relationship." What she mostly described was how people react online when they perceive the man in a relationship as more attractive than the woman. They get genuinely angry at the fact that Sam is with me and he's better looking than me. "He is better looking than me. It's funny. It's not like no one needs to get in a tussle over it," she said. What caught her attention, however, was how upset some people seemed to become over it. "They get genuinely angry at the fact that Sam is with me and he's better looking than me," Monk said. "That ignites some kind of anger in them." Some viewers insisted that Monk was fishing for compliments. But I think she was simply sharing her experience online and making a point about beauty standards, particularly how men and women are perceived on the internet. The viral moment eventually spilled onto X, where users began circulating side-by-side photos of a bare-faced Monk and Dezz. The posts quickly ignited a debate about attractiveness, with some people arguing that men are naturally more attractive than women and pointing to the couple as evidence of that claim. That argument ignores an important reality of how social media works. Has Social Media Distorted Our Perception Of Beauty? Most chronically online people aren't comparing women to the other women they see in everyday life. They're comparing women to highly curated online versions of beauty. Influencers are often seen wearing makeup, using flattering lighting, styling their hair, editing photos, applying filters , and presenting themselves at their absolute best. Over time, that becomes the standard. People lose touch with reality and natural beauty. Meanwhile, men are often judged against a much wider range of appearances. The result is a distorted comparison in which women are measured against perfection, while men are measured against normality. Just take a look at magazine covers today: Men are allowed to keep their lines and wrinkles, while women are airbrushed to perfection. Monk actually touched on this dynamic herself. She joked that she experiences a much bigger transformation when she gets ready because she wears makeup and styles her hair, while Dezz "just looks the same because he wakes up looking that gorgeous." Following her video, numerous users pointed out that people have been commenting on her appearance for years. One viral tweet referenced a TikTok comment claiming Dezz had "mogged" her, internet slang used when one person is considered significantly more attractive than another. The post alleged that comments criticizing Monk's appearance had accumulated hundreds of thousands, and in some cases millions, of likes across social media. Another user noted that they had followed Monk long before she began dating Dezz and remembered her early days on the platform when she wore braces, used less makeup, and was just posting videos as a teenager. The user argued that many of the harshest comments were coming from people projecting their own fascination with Dezz rather than making objective observations about Monk. Maybe people don’t actually believe Monk is “ugly,” maybe they just want her man. Whether people agree with that assessment or not, it speaks to something Monk repeatedly emphasized in her video: strangers have become unusually invested in ranking the attractiveness of her relationship. "I see it's more common objectively speaking with beautiful women being with men that are less attractive than them and no one bats an eye at that," she said. Let’s say that Dezz is the better-looking one in the relationship (although I think both of them are equally gorgeous). Would that be so wrong? According to Monk, many people struggle with the idea that a conventionally attractive man would willingly choose a woman they personally view as less attractive.  "People can't fathom the idea that a beautiful man would choose to be with a woman that they deem less attractive than him,” she added. Meanwhile, the only opinion that actually matters appears unchanged. After more than five years together, Dezz still seems just as smitten with Monk as ever, regardless of what strangers on the internet think about either of their faces.]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/years-compared-boyfriend-tiktok-influencer-brooke-monk</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 01 Jun 2026 05:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Culture</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[The New Kate Moss Biopic Reveals The Hidden Cost Of Being The Ultimate “Cool Girl”]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/the-new-kate-moss-biopic-reveals-the-hidden-cost-of-being-the-ultimate-cool-girl</link>
      <dc:creator>Emily Osment Davis</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[The exposed-brick New York office smelled faintly of melon and marigold. Inside, impossible decisions were being made by impossible people: fashion titan Calvin Klein and his cool exacting fashion director, Carolyn Bessette. Circling one another, they searched for the next face of the decade. ]]></description>
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      <content:encoded><![CDATA[“What about Kate Moss?” Bessette asked. Klein hesitated. “She’s cute, but no one knows who she is.” Carolyn snapped, “Exactly. She’s almost unknowable. She’s guarded, elusive—she’s not trying to sell you anything or ham it up for the camera, she’s just letting you in.” Klein paused. “Well, let’s bring her in.” And just like that, according to ' 90s fashion lore , one “cool girl” gave rise to another. Carolyn Bessette ushered in Kate Moss, taking her from anonymity to becoming the coffee-and-cigarettes “It” girl. The ultimate “cool girl”—a label that would define both Moss’s rise and eventual unraveling. The Real Tragedy of Kate Moss The new biopic of Kate Moss paints a raw and revealing portrait of her life just as her star power begins to fade in the early aughts. Interestingly, Kate Moss is an executive producer on this film and gave her blessing. Yet, its portrayal does her few favors. Over the years, Moss became synonymous with many things: arresting beauty, fashion icon, but also substance abuse and an endless cycle of men and excess. This movie captures all of that. Much like her beauty, this movie is striking and haunting, not just because it shows Moss’s external failings but because it confirms the deeper emptiness beneath her shiny veneer, and, in turn, forces us to look inward. The real tragedy of “cool girl” Kate Moss wasn’t that she was wild, but that despite being endlessly desired and adored, she has no lasting intimacy to claim. This movie confirms that. It zeroes in on a brief window of time in Moss's life when she meets a nearly 80-year-old famous painter who offers to paint her nude and she gleefully accepts. Moss formed a bond with this elderly man who she would do drugs with, party with and pose nude for, even while pregnant. She would later describe him as the most interesting person she’d ever met and the one who taught her discipline. He must’ve meant a great deal to her given that she produced a movie about her life that focuses almost entirely on her short-lived time with him. One of the movie’s most revealing and mind-blowing details is the part with the father of her child, the man who should’ve carried the most emotional significance, yet doesn’t at all. In fact, his impact is dulled in comparison to that of the elderly painter. Why is that? The Curse of the Cool Girl In my opinion, Moss is the most extreme example of what happens when we, as women, emotionally anesthetize, refusing to set healthy boundaries for our lives and relationships. To become the “cool girl” often means we mute our own discomfort to win the affection of men. We suppress our feelings and femininity. Take Moss as a perfect example: It’s rumored that the father of her child first greeted her with, “You smell of pee.” Thinking she was too full of herself, he needed to bring her down a peg. And being the “cool girl” she was, she went along. If this sounds outlandish to you, ask yourself this: How often do women compromise in dating today? How many times have you or your friends self-silenced in a dating situation? The culture constantly encourages us, as women, to emulate the worst of men’s dating habits, to ignore our desire for true commitment and intimacy. I’ve seen it repeatedly in my own life; friends who call to say that they know their live-in boyfriend will propose soon… it’s just a matter of time. Or tearful calls saying that even though they’re sleeping together already they’re sure he’ll see her worth and decide to lock in and commit eventually. But abandoning our standards to create intimacy will never work. The Lie at the Center of Cool Our current dating culture rewards ambiguity and detachment, while social media aesthetics glamorize emotional distance. A culture that teaches women to mute their desires to remain desirable eventually leaves them unable to recognize real intimacy when it arrives. Watch almost any reality dating show airing today and the pattern is obvious. The women are trying to beat the guy at his own game. Get him before he gets you, they say. Often dumping the guy or shifting to another man to avoid pain. But does that really work, using endless motion as avoidance? Outrunning your problems before they hit you? These are all hallmarks of emotional anesthetizing and while they may offer temporary protection, in the long run they’re personally harmful and dangerous. Because the truth is, you can’t outrun pain. But you can build a life that doesn’t perpetuate it. Why This Lifestyle Actually Hurts Women Our emotions exist for a reason. They serve as vital data points to guide us through decision-making. If we perpetually suppress our feelings, especially when it comes to love, we will distort our internal compass which could really impair our critical life decisions. And if we couple that emotional blunting with alcohol or drugs, we're inviting in a world of personal pain. Some reports show that women who self-silence report 32% higher relationship anxiety and attachment fears. And let me clarify by saying, speaking honestly about your feelings, your standards and hopes you have for your romantic relationship isn’t needy or imposing. No one is saying go out and be a demanding diva or a crash out queen but you must stand up for your own morals and establish healthy relationship boundaries. Setting those early in the relationship is crucial to finding the true love of your life. The legacy of Kate Moss isn’t all the glamour or chaos but the uncomfortable realization that a woman can be adored by millions and remain emotionally unmoored. The cultural “cool girl” ideal promises freedom through detachment. Make sure you never need too much, never feel too deeply, never let anyone know they can hurt you. But over time, that performance can hollow you out. If we’re honest, our goal isn’t to suppress ourselves to stay endlessly desired but instead to be emotionally honest so we may be deeply known and faithfully loved.]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/the-new-kate-moss-biopic-reveals-the-hidden-cost-of-being-the-ultimate-cool-girl</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 01 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Culture</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[I Have An Ivy-League Degree And I Plan On Staying Home With My Kids. Here's Why.]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/i-have-an-ivy-league-degree-and-i-plan-on-staying-home-with-my-kids</link>
      <dc:creator> Evelyn Yu</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[I’ve often been told being “just” a stay-at-home mom in the early years is a waste of my potential. But I’d argue that it's precisely the fact that I'm well-educated and intelligent that I should be entrusted to raise successful children. ]]></description>
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      <content:encoded><![CDATA[Having graduated from a top university and accomplished quite a bit as both a student and young professional, conversations about relationships, family, and future careers are constant. As an intelligent, capable, and ambitious young woman, I’ve often faced a constant dilemma shared among other successful women: what happens if and when we choose to get married and have a family? What about our careers? Our career isn’t necessarily just a paycheck or financial security, it's part of our identity and ideally a field we sincerely enjoy working in. The most obvious and frequent answer I’ve received is this: outsource childcare as much as possible, especially daycare, and focus on your career. Indeed, this advice makes rational sense. If I’ve worked hard at a job for years, taking a break would inevitably hinder future promotions and create less visibility in the workplace. But my gut signals a different answer: An intelligent woman can, and should, utilize her academic, interpersonal, and learned life skills to raise successful children who will meaningfully contribute to the world. Choosing a more hands-on approach is not a lesser or “time-wasting” career break. I believe it's arguably one of the most important and difficult jobs that should be held in high regard. But this is not to be dismissive of the hard work I, and many other women, have put into their careers and professional life. Indeed, we should be proud of our accomplishments and what we’ve built. However, when a woman (and man) make the critical decision to bring children into the world, their well-being must take precedence in the early years. Erica Komisar, LCSW, a renowned author and psychoanalyst on childhood development, emphasizes that age 0-3 is a "critical period of brain development where children need attachment security as a foundation for future mental health.” In other words, children are not born resilient, they are emotionally fragile and need a mother’s unique biological, physical, and emotional presence to regulate and soothe children. The more present parents can be from ages 0-3, the greater the chance their children will be able to cope with adversity and achieve success later on into adulthood. The more present parents can be from ages 0-3, the greater the chance their children will be able to cope with adversity and achieve success later on into adulthood. Regarding continuing my career or even starting a business, both accomplishments do not have a rigid time limit. The average age of U.S. women entrepreneurs is around 42, with the most successful women startup founders between the ages of 45 and 54. In fact, many accomplished women cite motherhood and increased life experience as reasons for successfully cultivating and launching a business. On another note, a husband and wife coming together to build a family business that offers flexibility, security, and fulfillment allows women to prioritize motherhood while still contributing to the business. Several studies demonstrate the positive impact of female entrepreneurship on children’s development and confidence. As Erica Komisar says , “We can have everything, but not at the same time.” And while some women may interpret such a statement as a limitation, I’d argue that Komisar’s claim is both practical and beautiful. When we choose to get married and become a mom, we enter different phases of life, distinct from our early 20s post-college predictable career schedule. We should make space for different seasons of life and learn to cherish them, both for our well-being and that of our children. A career or business idea will always be there, but childhood only happens once. We will spend most of our lives knowing our children as adults, yet only a handful of years with them as babies. Why not make the most of the moments we can never get back? Aside from the real biological and psychological reasons for staying home in the early years, many women still feel discouraged and feel as if staying at home is "unsuccessful.” But success for a woman should not be measured by her increasing, linear career progression because it's simply unfair. Men do not bear the physical and psychological burden of pregnancy, so why should we as women compare success to that of a man? Not to mention, even if a woman does not have children, she does not opt out of the regular menstrual cycle and challenging menopause phase later in life. Choosing to stay at home in the first few years is not just beneficial to the child, but also to the new mom. Postpartum recovery is not optional, it is essential . Within just three to four days postpartum, estrogen levels drop 100 to 1,000 fold from their third-trimester peak, plummeting to below pre-pregnancy levels, and it can take up to half a year or longer for hormones to fully adjust. And this is assuming a normal, healthy delivery. The months following childbirth present heightened vulnerability to depressive mood changes, in addition to drastic physical changes and sleep deprivation. I could not bear the thought of only having the standard 10 weeks off (sometimes even unpaid), before clocking back into an in-person commuting job as if nothing has changed. As women, we should honor and nourish our bodies after such a brave and honorable act of bringing life into the world. The secondary argument I’ve often encountered is that by staying at home, I’ll turn into nothing but a live-in maid with no meaning or intellect. But I beg to differ. Smart women know how to delegate and wisely schedule their time. Delegating looks like communicating with your husband on what you need support with and outsourcing help as needed. In the early years, infants require 24/7 care, but once a child becomes slightly more independent, this is a great time to develop other skills. Intelligent women who wish to continue their studies and have an innate desire to continuously learn new skills simply make it happen. Whether that’s learning more about finance, design, writing, art, or health. I’ve frequently heard from women that having children actually helped them realize what type of work they truly enjoyed. Since having kids fills your schedule and energy up so quickly, you naturally figure out what it is you truly wish to focus on. And I’d argue that not having a full-time traditional 9-5 allows for flexibility to fit in childcare, personal career development or even a flexible side gig, and quality time with family without feeling burned out. A career or business idea will always be there, but childhood only happens once. Motherhood burnout is not just stressful, but dangerous to her physical and psychological health, which naturally affects the family. Full-time working moms are constantly conflicted between a work culture that demands a minimum of 40 hours per week plus commuting, while still spending time with children and shouldering the majority of the domestic duties. While a husband can help as much as possible, children instinctively crave and need their mom for biological and psychological regulation. At the end of the day, while promotions and a glitzy corner view office may feel like the ultimate marker of success, the real accomplishment will be one day when I’m 60 years old and sit down on my couch knowing that I raised good children who I’m still close with and who contribute meaningfully to our society. My career accomplishments will not matter if my relationship with my children and husband are a mess, because of my active decision to make them second on my list of priorities during the early, most formative years. This is a painful type of regret I refuse to experience.]]></content:encoded>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/i-have-an-ivy-league-degree-and-i-plan-on-staying-home-with-my-kids</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 01 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Living</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[Everything No One Told Me About Being A First-Time Mom]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/everything-no-one-told-me-about-being-a-first-time-mom</link>
      <dc:creator>Markella Kyprios</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[Confessions from the newborn trenches.]]></description>
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      <content:encoded><![CDATA[On my chest, my newborn son starts to cry. It’s some time in the middle of the night; I avoid looking at the time, lest I become aware of how much sleep I’m missing. My husband and I have been taking turns letting the baby sleep on us because he refuses the bassinet. I start to change him and brace myself for the next ten minutes of screaming and crying. He’s only days old. After he’s been changed, I start a thirty-minute timer to nurse him. The pain is immediate as soon as he latches, and even though I’m delirious, I know that the fuller he is, the better chance I have of sleeping for a full two hours until the next feeding. Even though I don’t want to look at the clock, I have to know when to set my alarm so I can feed him again. It's roughly 1 a.m., so I set my timer for 3:30 a.m., when I’ll do it all over again. My husband rubs my back, trying to comfort me. He wants to help, and I’m grateful that he sits up in the middle of the night with me, and reminds me I’m not alone. After my son unlatches, I hand him to my husband, who turns on a movie for his “shift”; the nurses at the hospital told us that cosleeping is basically illegal, so whoever has the baby has to stay awake. I pray I can fall back to sleep quickly, but as I close my eyes and try to rest, I can’t help but cry. My body hurts in every way. Postpartum contractions are still painful and frequent. I’ve not yet healed. And I’m disappointed in myself. My heart is heavy, and I’m asking God what’s wrong with me. I've always wanted to be a mom, but this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and I fear that this is what the next 18 years of my life will look like. Though I feel like I’m drowning, I can feel God grab hold of my spirit and remind me that He is with me in the waves. This isn’t about me; it’s about him, my son, and about Him, The Son. I wish I could go back and hug her and show her a glimpse of now. Fast-forward six months, my son is the happiest baby I’ve ever known. Though he still isn’t the best sleeper, and I'm operating on five hours of sleep and caffeine most days, life is good. We laugh together, we see the world, and all of my old hobbies are slowly becoming more regular again. But every day I think of the mom I was in those first weeks, how much shame I felt, and how lonely it was. I wish I could go back and hug her and show her a glimpse of now. And I can, sort of, for new moms today. So new moms, moms-to-be, and friends of moms, I’ll try to reveal the reality of postpartum, how it gets better, and how to be a good villager during that time. Here’s the start line: you’ve just gone through nine months of pregnancy that probably consisted of at least a little nausea, some swollen feet, restless leg syndrome, and a whole lot of praying you’ll fit into your jeans again one day. You start to feel contractions, you head to the hospital, and in the blink of an eye, you’ve gone from “I think I’m in labor” to gripping your husband's shoulders as you get ready to push an entire baby out of your body. After a whole lot of work, the doctor puts the baby on your chest, everyone cries and smiles, and passes the brand-new baby around. Your family brings you dinner (or breakfast), you chat about how it all went down, you're visited by countless nurses, and then suddenly… It’s silent. It’s just you, your new baby, and your husband, who’s probably having the worst sleep of his life on the hospital couch. I remember thinking, “The worst is over. I am done being pregnant, I’m done with labor, I’m a mom.” In my case, this was not true. In fact, the real work had just begun. The first thing they don’t tell you about (it must be code, amongst seasoned moms) is the post-birth contractions and the fundal massages. After delivering your baby, your uterus spends the next few days shrinking back to its original size, and these are significantly uncomfortable. They basically are just contractions, like you had in early labor, for a few more days. The fundal massage is what the nurses call putting pressure on your abdomen to make sure you’re not bleeding out; the term “massage” is generous (and inaccurate). If there was ever a time to take the meds the hospital gives you, it’s now. Soon after your baby is born, if you choose to breastfeed, you’ll likely be visited by several lactation consultants. What I thought was going to be a magical and natural bonding experience was an entire month of wincing and crying while I fed my baby at least every two hours around the clock, if not more. (This gets better, I promise.) You return home after a blurry two days at the hospital, excited to lay the baby in their perfectly decorated nursery or even in a bassinet next to you, only to find that—to no one’s surprise—babies hate going from the constant warmth and comfort of your womb to a cold, lonely, hard cot. So you try to bully yourself out of cosleeping, and come up with every other option you can, only to find that you’re either going to die of delirium, or you’ll figure out how to safely cosleep. The shock of going on two weeks with less than four hours of sleep every night is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Reddit, Google, and Dr. James McKenna’s cosleeping studies finally convinced me that cosleeping was my only option. After weeks of less than three hours of sleep each night, and losing my sanity and starting to fear going to bed, cosleeping blessed us with the few extra hours of sleep that we so desperately needed. For all the moms who are terrified of cosleeping, as I was, there is a safe way. The Safe Sleep Seven , if you need them, may be your ticket to successful sleep with your newborn. After asking every mom I knew how they got any sleep during this stage, I was surprised to find out that more often than not, they were cosleeping. Many moms don’t want to talk about it or bring it up because it’s somewhat taboo, but it was like a whole secret society was being revealed to me. At some point during those first postpartum weeks, I texted all my mom friends and apologized. I was heartbroken for them that they went through all of this while I merely said, “Let me know if you need anything!” I put the pressure on them to ask for help, and I realize now that was selfish. They all responded with so much grace, all saying essentially the same thing: “It’s okay, you didn’t know.” And I didn’t, but now I do. Many moms don’t want to talk about it or bring it up because it’s somewhat taboo, but it was like a whole secret society was being revealed to me. About a week into my son's life, I realized I was sitting right next to my husband, but he felt a world away. Not because he was distant, but because we knew that every waking moment for the next while would be spent thinking and talking about the baby. Our time together just us would be few and far between for at least a couple of months. It was hard to imagine a world in which date nights, solo outings, and time to ourselves would be normal again. At the six-week mark, I got my first clogged duct of many. A clogged duct, for those who may not know, is an inflamed milk duct in the breast that is rock hard and tender; even slight pressure is excruciating. I got them roughly every other week for several months. My first was the size of a river stone, and the nurse attempted to calmly explain to me that I may need to visit the ER. I sobbed out of stress to my husband. Trying to manage the pain while breastfeeding every hour and not worry about mastitis or needing some emergency operation was not easy. While still dealing with sleep deprivation and clogged ducts, around two months postpartum, I looked in the mirror and thought, “I’m doing it.” It happened gradually, but before I knew it, I was healed. Before I knew it, breastfeeding was easy and normal. Before I knew it, I finally accepted cosleeping, and my son slept in our bed, allowing us all to finally get more sleep. Before I knew it, we would put him to bed early, and my husband and I went back to movie nights and having time to ourselves. Before I knew it, I loved motherhood. In my experience, the first two months of my son’s life felt longer than the following three months of his life. The constant crying in the bath, the car, and during diaper changes will eventually end. It’s nothing you’re doing wrong, but it’s admittedly grating to listen to. If you need to set your baby safely in their crib and step away for a moment, that’s okay. Having a village was the biggest help I could have asked for during my postpartum weeks. My mom and my husband's mom spent hours awake in the middle of the night holding my baby while we slept. Other friends came, brought dinner and treats, and did our dishes for us. One of my favorite memories is of when two of my best girlfriends, both of whom likely intuited how much I was struggling, simply told me they would be at my house soon with Chick-fil-A. As soon as they walked in the door, I broke down in tears. They hugged me and watched the baby for a few hours while my husband and I ate dinner together and napped. It was the gift I didn’t know how to ask for. I learned that cosleeping was extremely common, and while still not recommended, there is evidence in its favor. It allowed me to nurse my son while I went back to sleep. It made putting him down for naps shockingly easy. It meant that there was no getting up and walking around in the middle of the night. It wasn’t a perfect system, but it worked for us. Breastfeeding—though extremely challenging at the beginning—became the best life hack. The beginning is quite an adjustment for your body and your skin, but it will adjust, and before you notice, it will likely be a pain-free experience. By about four weeks, I was able to feed him whenever and wherever. And it became the easiest option; for seven months, I never had to pack food, bring bottles, or clean any dishes. We could just pack up and go. I also learned that on-demand breastfeeding was basically the answer to everything. Is he having a hard time sleeping? Boob. Teething? Boob. Witching hour? Boob. Nothing the girls can’t fix, I promise. And by the way, he’s almost ten months old, and that’s still the case. Before I knew it, I loved motherhood. The clogged duct issue was one that my blessed lactation consultant helped me with. I, by the grace of God, have gotten so many clogged ducts but not mastitis, and I believe it’s because of the routine I follow when one comes up. First, ice the breast. Pop a small ice pack into your bra and make sure it’s not too tight. Keep the area cold. Next, crank the sunflower lecithin. Make sure not to over nurse or over pump, and no need to massage it; just light breast gymnastics. Finally, hydrate and wait. And to prevent further clogged ducts, I recommend eating a healthy amount of probiotic yogurt (I like Siggi’s) as well as taking a daily Breast Health supplement. Lastly, the sleep. In my honest, first-time-mom opinion, it’s the luck of the draw. Some kids love sleep, some don’t. My son is nearly a year old, and we haven't slept through the night yet. We still try new things and I’m always open to new suggestions, but whenever I talk to parents of multiples, they basically all shrug, give me a soft smile, and tell me the same thing, which is “that’s just part of it.” It doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong and it doesn’t mean you aren’t trying hard enough. It just means that maybe your little one has a difficult time sleeping. These parents all tell me that it’ll pass, that they’ll sleep one day. And amazingly, all the parents of once-sleepless kids still glow when talking about the years when they had little restless babies. So I have no choice but to believe them and trust that in 20 years, I’ll miss these days. As it relates to your spouse, you will see each other again. For a few weeks, it might feel like you get no more than a hug and a kiss between him leaving for work or the countless diaper changes, but every day you will have a few more moments together. Each week, you’ll find some new pocket of time in your day to watch the reels you sent each other, or a baby’s nap will run just long enough to rest on your husband’s chest while you watch TV. More than all of this, I can promise you that nothing is as romantic as watching your husband carry you through postpartum. I’ve never been more in love with my husband than after holding onto his shoulders as he walked me to the shower, one hour after I gave birth to our son. For Friends of Moms If you know a mom who may need help but has a hard time asking, here’s the blueprint: first, don’t use “let me know what you need” as your extended hand. It’s always with good intentions, but it’s lazy and places the burden on the mom. Instead, be definitive and pushy; “What evening this week is best for me to bring dinner, and what would you like? I’d love to do some dishes while I’m there and hold the baby so you can shower or rest, or I can leave it at the door if you’d prefer.” It’s always better to be annoying if it makes the other person feel cared for. Sidenote: for the mom that denies every type of help, gift cards are magical for new parents. DoorDash, Amazon, Starbucks, Kroger, etc. If you can’t visit them in person, a digital gift card is genuinely a lifeline. A Final Note of Encouragement In my first days of having a baby, I proclaimed that I could never have another. Now, I’m begging my husband for a second. In my first weeks of my son’s life, I thought I would never bake, read, or go antiquing until he was in college. Now, it’s not uncommon for me to do all of those things in a single day, all with my son strapped to my chest. In the first months of being a mom, I thought I would never get to watch a movie or go out to dinner with my husband until we were empty nesters. Now, we're about to celebrate our two-year anniversary, while the baby sleeps in his nursery, and we get to do whatever we want. It’s not a 9-5; it is our eternal investment. It gets better and more fun, and as mothers, we should enjoy it as much as possible. But more than that, it’s not about us, it’s about them. It’s not supposed to be easy; motherhood is not designed to inflate our ego. It’s not a 9-5; it is our eternal investment. God Himself invites mothers to bring life into the world, and if we accept His invitation, we might experience the exhilarating and exhausting journey of giving every part of ourselves to our children, as He does for us. For His glory, we have the opportunity to sacrifice our own desires, our own wishes, our own will, for our children, whom He has given to us. I pray that every mother recognizes the gift of His mercy, and by His mercy, we might get to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”]]></content:encoded>
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      <pubDate>Fri, 29 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Relationships</category>
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      <title><![CDATA[45 Sundresses Guaranteed To Make Him Do A Double-Take]]></title>
      <link>https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/45-sundresses-guaranteed-to-make-him-do-a-double-take</link>
      <dc:creator>Anna Hartman</dc:creator>
      <description><![CDATA[Two years ago, Evie Magazine nearly broke the internet. Not because of some political statement or hot take as viral arguments tend to stem from, but because of a sundress. ]]></description>
      //
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[Was it too scandalous? Too short? Too "pick-me"? And what really constituted a "sundress" in the first place? These are the important conversations we were drawn into in the summer of 2024. Now, nearly two years later, the sundress is still top of mind for many women and men. Sundresses remain the most feminine (and admired) silhouette available to women during the hottest months of the year. There was good reason behind why our dress sold out within minutes when marketed with the tagline that we were "hard at work solving the population crisis with this groundbreaking fertility tech." Ask any guy what the most attractive thing a woman can wear is, and you'll get some version of the same answer (usually accompanied by a faraway look in his eyes). The dress is essentially a cheat code: bare shoulders, cinched waist, a little leg, a lot of sun. It signals a girl who likes being outside, doesn't take three hours to get ready, and probably owns a picnic blanket. Or, as one guy put it to Glamour , a sundress "gives a man most of the information he needs but makes him want to explore even more." Trends come and go (we're looking at you, barrel leg jeans), but sundresses have the unique ability to make us feel both relaxed and pulled together with ease, year after year. They will always be a staple in a feminine woman's closet who seeks to wear fits that flatter. Below, 45 of our favorites, from the breezy and budget-friendly to the splurge-worthy investment pieces, guaranteed to earn you a double-take (and possibly a marriage proposal). 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/45-sundresses-guaranteed-to-make-him-do-a-double-take</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 29 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <category>Style</category>
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