logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2024
49m 23s

How Tumblr Memes Became Political Ideas:...

Meghan Daum
About this episode

Paid subscribers get full access to my interview with Katherine Dee.

The first half of this episode is available to all listeners. To hear the entire conversation, become a paying subscriber here.

Katherine Dee is a writer, cultural commentator, and a phenomenally astute observer of online culture. If you want to understand the rise of the “tradcels,” the “girl boss” trope (and subsequent backlash), and how identity concepts like “otherkin” become connected to social justice politics, Katherine is the one to explain it.

In this conversation, she talks with Meghan about how ideas on places like Tumblr found their way into our political discourse, academia, and even the retail space and they had a profound impact on young people’s psychological development, especially when it comes to dating and relationships.

Katherine herself was so indoctrinated by online manosphere content and it’s the scarcity complex it engendered that she ended up marrying someone she met online after knowing him in person for three days. She also discusses why Taylor Swift is just the latest example of a powerful woman reframed as a sad cat lady, why the beauty standards of the 1990s were so destructive, and why New York City arts and media circles are incubators are terrible places to meet heterosexual men. (But very good places to be one.)

GUEST BIO

Katherine Dee is an internet culture blogger. Everything else is secondary. You can find her at default.blog.

Want to hear the whole conversation? Upgrade your subscription here.

HOUSEKEEPING

📖 🌵Come see Meghan in Austin, TX on February 29 at Moontower Verses, talking about her book, The Unspeakable, and other literary matters.

✈️ Unspeakeasy Retreats: See where we’re going to be in 2024!

🥂 Join The Unspeakeasy, her community for freethinking women.

🔥 Follow my other podcast, A Special Place in Hell.

Up next
Yesterday
How To Quit Drinking Without Quitting Drinking
Katie Herzog, co-host of the Blocked and Reported podcast (BarPod), is best known as an anthropologist of, as she puts it, “internet bullshit.” But she’s swerved far out of her lane for her latest project. In her brand new book, Drink Your Way Sober, Katie combines personal histo ... Show More
1h 14m
Oct 1
Street Protesters: Who Are They, Really? with Jeremy Lee Quinn
Photojournalist Jeremy Lee Quinn has spent years documenting protests, rallies, and moments of public unrest that often look very different on the ground than they do on the evening news. In this conversation, he talks with Meghan about what really happens when a “mostly peaceful ... Show More
1h 23m
Sep 25
Can Democrats Admit They Were Wrong On Gender? with Lisa Selin Davis
After years of institutional groupthink and policy whiplash, what have we actually learned—and what are we still not allowed to ask? Lisa Selin Davis returns to discuss the evidence (and non-evidence) around youth gender medicine, talk about the ongoing taboo and confusion around ... Show More
1h 13m
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2024
Gwyneth Paltrow : l’étrange gourou venu de l’Upper East Side
L’épisode que vous vous apprêtez à écouter n’est pas interdit aux moins de 18 ans, et pourtant, on va parler de “bains de vapeur vaginaux” et de “bougie senteur orgasme”. Ce chapitre est donc consacré à Gwyneth Paltrow, l’actrice hollywoodienne aux 45 films, certes, la comédienne ... Show More
39m 44s
Dec 2021
Natalie Wynn (ContraPoints) Returns
We loved her so much, Natalie Wynn is back! The youtuber and political commentator joins Jameela this week to go deep on incel culture. They cover the origins of the culture, why it is so toxic, the societal issues that encourage incel ideology, the body issues which plague its c ... Show More
1h 25m
Dec 2023
#48. Ontology and Oppression ft. Katherine Jenkins
Alex and Tinka are joined by Katharine Jenkins as they delve deep into the captivating world of gender, identity, and the various social constructs that shape our lives. The way society is organised means that we all get made into members of various types of people, such as judge ... Show More
55m 39s
Sep 2020
#107: Guys We F****d with Corinne Fisher and Krystyna Hutchinson
Stand-up Comedians Corinne Fisher and Krystyna Hutchinson are the hosts of the popular podcast "Guys We F****d." This podcast is most known for changing the way society thinks about female sexuality through a merging of humor and expansion. This week I am so delighted to have the ... Show More
1h 22m
May 2024
The Cult of Tradwives
Catch Amanda on tour! First of all, we are downright GIDDY to share two iconic voices on this week’s episode—not only our expert guest, culture reporter (and personal hero of Amanda’s) Anne Helen Petersen, but also Sounds Like A Cult’s very own intern (actually recently promoted ... Show More
1h 17m
Apr 2021
Your Success Probably Didn’t Come From Merit Alone
Prepping for a conversation with Tressie McMillan Cottom is intimidating. McMillan Cottom is a sociologist at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, a 2020 MacArthur fellow, co-host of the podcast “Hear to Slay,” and the author of the essay collection “Thick,” which was a ... Show More
1h 22m
Jul 2020
Le patriarcat contre la planète
Qu’est-ce qui relie le patriarcat et la catastrophe écologique planétaire que nous sommes en train de vivre ? Il y a-t-il des mécanismes, des causes et des conséquences communes entre la domination masculine et la destruction du vivant ?  Jeanne Burgart-Goutal, agrégée de philoso ... Show More
1h 8m
Mar 2024
69. Faith, Family, and Feminism | Katherine Bennet
This podcast was filmed November 1st, 2023 at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship Conference in London, England. In this insightful episode of my podcast, I engage in a deep and thoughtful conversation with Katharine, exploring a wide range of topics including the challenges ... Show More
1h 6m
Apr 2018
Women in podcasting: The Guilty Feminist and Not Your African Cliché
Feminism! Freedom! Identity! When it comes to frank discussions, podcasts by and for women are leading the way in creating communities where nothing is off limits. Kim Chakanetsa brings together two women who are seizing the mic and recording their own stories and conversations. ... Show More
27m 3s