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‘Big Mouth,’ a Cartoon, Has Taught Me More About Menopause Than Any Other Show


A cartoon has somehow taught me more about the female experience than any other show I’ve watched. I’m talking about Netflix’s adult animated comedy Big Mouth, which centers on three teens, Nick, Jessi, and Andrew, going through puberty. Interestingly, the show is doing some serious heavy lifting for feminism—educating both women and men, in hilarious ways, about the realities of the female body. I admit, as a 41-year-old woman, I felt embarrassed at first about watching a cartoon until I realized that Big Mouth covers topics relevant to women’s lives—including, much to my surprise, menopause.

This specifically happens in the fifth episode of season three, when a hormone monster dressed as a witch approaches Andrew’s mom, Barb, who’s sweating for no reason. “The change is coming,” the witch says to her in a maniacal tone. At first Barb has no idea what the witch is talking about, but soon it hits her: menopause. She’s initially terrified of the concept, but the witch, in her own bizarre way, eases Barb’s concerns. I’ll reveal how she does this in a second, but first I should explain why this episode means so much to me: I’m currently experiencing changes in my own menstrual cycle. And like Barb, I was originally freaked out.

For months now I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat. Last winter my periods went from being exactly seven days a month to, now, only three. But when I went to the doctor (a female one, mind you) and asked why this might be happening, she said, “Well, our bodies are not machines. Nothing is perfect.” OK, sure, but my periods have always been machine-like in predictability. So what was the deal?

The witch and Barb in Big Mouth

Netflix

It wasn’t until I spoke to my older sister that I found out what was going on. “Night sweats, weird periods—you’re in perimenopause,” she told me. “Nobody warned me about this crap either.” This was the worst thing she could’ve told me—or so I thought. You see, thanks to TV and movies—and a complete lack of sex education, but that’s a rant for later—I’ve dreaded menopause for as long as I can remember. The general consensus seems to be that menopause turns women into perpetually angry monsters who are always hot. Think back to the episode of Sex and the City where Samantha receives an unsolicited magazine in the mail about approaching menopause. She views this as a death sentence, and relief comes only at the end, when she gets her period.

My ingrained, internalized misogyny has convinced me to fear menopause as the time when women become “dried-up,” “unfuckable” hags who can’t have babies. But Barb’s story in Big Mouth makes me see it in whole new light, as something I should maybe look forward to.



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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Made a Big Donation in Baby Archie's Name


Baby Archie is already a little philanthropist! This week, his parents Meghan Markle and Prince Harry made a huge gesture of kindness towards Love the Oceans, a marine conservation non-profit — and they did it all in the name of their five-month-old baby.

According to Harper’s Bazaar, the royal parents donated $5,440 to the charity in mid-August under the name “Archie HMW.” Love the Oceans had been running a month-long JustGiving.com fundraiser at the time and still needed a substantial amount to reach their goal. The organization was able to sleuth out who the money was from because the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had recently highlighted their work in an Instagram post. Once they confirmed that the gift was indeed from the royal family, they were reportedly “blown away” by their generosity. We have to say, we’re also blown away by their creativity of putting it under Baby Archie’s name — he’s not even a year old and he’s already giving back to the world!

Love the Oceans works both to conduct research on marine life in the region and also runs a community outreach program to combat a high number of drownings in Guinjata Bay, Mozambique. They also help locals get acquainted with the ocean and are working to open a swimming pool to teach kids to swim — something which Archie’s donation helped make possible. Their mission lines up with conservation efforts with which both Prince Harry and Markle have been involved: They’ve both worked to preserve animal habitats in Botswana, and their upcoming tour in Africa with Baby Archie will include several outreach efforts to discuss wildlife and forest protection.

“Without that donation and support this would not be happening,” Adam Knight, a swim coach and partner with Love the Oceans tells Harper’s Bazaar. “Now that we’re able to go ahead with this, we will all be thinking of Archie when we open the pool next August. What started out as a passion project is now transforming a community and beyond.”

In an Instagram post six weeks ago, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shouted out several organizations doing similar work, including Love the Oceans. They wrote in the caption, “We were so happy to learn about them and are now able to share them with you!” they wrote. “Thank you for being part of this collective conversation with us; we hope everyone has enjoyed discovering many of these accounts and engaging with each other on how we can all be Forces For Change.”

The organization was so touched by the royal’s social media recognition that they announced on Instagram that they had named one of their sharks after the littlest royal. “As a thank you we have just named one of our juvenile whale sharks ‘Archie’! Welcome to the Love The Oceans family Archie,” they shared alongside an image of the animal.

And Archie’s donation has inspired many others to do the same. Since news of the littlest royal’s efforts make headlines, the JustGiving.com fundraiser page has been flooded with royal fans pledging money and thanking Love the Oceans for their work.



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Cheerleader Movies Are Big Business for Lifetime


I realized five minutes into Lifetime‘s Identity Theft of a Cheerleader, which premiered September 7, that it was going to be a journey. Is the made-for-TV movie good? Not in the Oscar-bait sense, of course, but it is unquestionably enjoyable. Partially-based on a real-life story, it follows Vicky (Maiara Walsh), a 30-year-old woman who steals a teen’s identity in order to re-enter high school and become a cheerleader. Her motivation? To win the affection of her mother, a former cheerleader herself, who berated Vicky as a child for not following in her footsteps.

Vicky becomes obsessed with living out this cheerleader fantasy—so much so that she kills anyone who threatens to expose her secret. “My mother always said I lacked ambition,” Vicky says right before her first kill, her eyes wide and terrifying. “That was the old Vicky. I’m Caitlin now, and Caitlin makes mommy proud.”

Maiara Walsh in Identity Theft of a Cheerleader.

Courtesy of Lifetime

The scene is creepy, but in a campy, I-can’t-believe-this-is-actually-happening way. That’s how Identity Theft of a Cheerleader hooked me. It’s no secret that Lifetime’s bread and butter are movies like this: far-fetched, head-scratching plots with lies, murder, and sex sprinkled in. What is surprising: Movies about cheerleaders are particularly successful for the network.

“Any time we had movies with a cheerleader theme, they just worked,” says Meghan Hooper, Lifetime’s SVP of original movies, co-productions, and acquisitions. “They would out-deliver and outperform.”

So Lifetime is leaning in with a month-long stunt aptly called “Cheer, Rally, Kill.” It started on September 2 with The Secret Lives of Cheerleaders, in which a high school’s new girl takes on the maniacal head cheerleader. The aforementioned Identity Theft of a Cheerleader followed soon after. This coming weekend the stunt will end with The Cheerleader Escort (September 14), about—you guessed it—a college cheerleader who moonlights as an escort, and the equally dramatic Undercover Cheerleader (September 15). These films vary as far as plot goes, but thematically they’re similar: They involve real or fake cheerleaders doing an assortment of sneaky, evil, and bonkers things.

It’s an interesting conceit. In their own bizarre way, these movies subvert the image of the Queen Bee cheerleader so often found in pop-culture. (Think Brooke Davis in One Tree Hill or Cheryl Blossom in Riverdale.) It’s a heightened, at times hilarious, look behind that “popular kid” curtain—a space I never occupied in high school. After watching a few of these Lifetime movies, I’m not too upset about that.



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Rihanna’s Miniature Carry-On Luggage: A Big Mood


If there was any doubt that Rihanna—the multi-hyphenate singer, songwriter, designer, muse, actress, etc.— has got us all wrapped around her finger, let us please bring your attention to her right-hand pointer. The artist landed at JFK Airport yesterday, just days before her anticipated Savage x Fenty show for New York Fashion Week. From her hand hung what we can only assume is her carry-on luggage: a handbag resembling a New York City yellow taxi. It was about the size of her palm.

The bag, a style from Delvaux’s Les Miniatures Big Apple Collection, dangled from Rihanna’s manicured fingers and accented an outfit that’s actually not too far off from what the rest of the world wears on an airplane: sweatpants and a cut-off hoodie. In photos she’s seen smiling and looking happy, which is more than many of us can say when making our way out of a crowded airport terminal.

DIGGZY / SplashNews.com

But Rihanna is not your average flyer—nor average anyone, for that matter. Still, people had questions (and guesses as to what was in that tiny bag).

Though this is not the first time Rihanna’s dabbled in the micro bag trend, this latest style seems especially surprising in the hands of such megastar talent. One who’s on the verge of a huge New York Fashion Week moment. One who, rumor has it, will release a new album before by end of year. One who’s recently been named world’s richest female musician. And one who, well, just got off of a plane.

And yet, in this unbothered, unencumbered, big mood, there’s so much hiding up Rihanna’s sleeve at this moment, she doesn’t even need a bag. The one she’s holding is just a reminder that she has it secured.



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‘Friends’ Is Coming to the Big Screen for Its 25th Anniversary


When Friends first debuted on NBC almost 25 years ago, it was pretty much an instant hit. Millions upon millions tuned in every week to see what Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Ross, Joey, and Chandler were up to in New York City. You have to remember this was a time before DVRs and streaming services, so the show was definitely appointment television.

The cast—Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and Matthew Perry—became household names overnight. And now, all these years later, the show is just as popular as ever thanks to new generations of viewers’ discovering the Central Perk gang on Netflix.

To celebrate the show’s big anniversary and long-lasting popularity, Friends will be appearing on the big screen. According to Entertainment Weekly, on September 23, September 28, and October 2, more than 1,000 theaters across the United States will feature four episodes per night. Not only that, the screenings will feature exclusive new interviews and never-before-seen content.

Cheers to Friends coming to the big screen

Getty Images/NBC/Newsmakers

Cue us jumping around the room like Phoebe and Rachel when they’re trying to distract Ross from finding out about Chandler and Monica.

“The cultural impact that Friends continues to have, 25 years after its premiere, is astounding, a true testament to the genius of Marta Kauffman, David Crane, Kevin Bright, and the incredibly talented cast,” Warner Bros. Television Group president and chief marketing officer Lisa Gregorian told EW. “It is so amazing to know that the series is still bringing people of all ages together. We could not be more excited to deliver these digitally remastered episodes to theaters—for the first time ever!—so that together, in a shared experience, our loyal fans can enjoy some of their favorite Friends scenes in a new way.”

Matthew Perry Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox star in a scene from Friends.

We couldn’t be any more excited about this news.

Getty Images



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Best Bralette For Big Boobs: Les Girls Les Boys' Soft Bra Review


I’m the latest in a generations-old line of late bloomers. How late? Well, I didn’t wear a bra at all until I turned 16. And even then, it served a more or less decorative purpose.

Maybe it’s because I had been denied the privilege for what felt like forever, but I’ve had a love-hate with lingerie ever since. Love: the Natori Feathers, the ThirdLove 24/7 Classic Contour, the CUUP Balconette. Hate: most lace, all rhinestones, that one mean saleswoman at a boutique which shall remain nameless, and above all, bralettes.

For the better part of the last decade, I’ve refused to buy into the absolute scam that is the unlined, unwired “soft cup” bra. Oh, sure, all the cool, flat-chested girls wear them and extoll their virtues—“I don’t even feel it! It looks so chic!”—but I’m now a 32D in bras, and if I wanted an inanimate collection of atoms that offer no support to lift me up, I’d just go back to college.

The fact of the matter is: Most bralettes for D cups, in my experience, are bad—poorly made, shoddily designed, mostly purchased by women who don’t need to wear bras at all.

Let’s be clear, it’s not that I think an underwire is some incredible boon to women. But unlike a bralette, at least it’s honest. You know what you’re in for with an underwire. Smooth boobs. A modest lift. A mental countdown clock that calculates the seconds until you can come home and take it off. I had therefore all but written off bralettes. That is, until I found the logo soft bra from Les Girls, Les Boys.

Les Girls Les Boys Logo Soft Bra

Les Girls Les Boys

$60

Buy Now

Les Girls, Les Boys is a new, simple, and achingly cool street-style brand from designer Serena Rees. Aesthetically, the label is a decided departure from Rees’s previous venture, Agent Provocateur. (She co-founded Agent Provocateur in 1994 and sold it in 2007.) Les Girls, Les Boys is as minimal, utilitarian, and understated as Agent Provocateur was extravagant. And its logo soft bra is good enough to make me come around an entire category of undergarments.

The logo soft bra—which is mercifully not called a bralette—doesn’t look like much more than a piece of perforated fabric, but its construction is full of delightful surprises. First, the elasticized band is a little thicker than most, which means it doesn’t buckle or twist, even over hours of wear. Second, the cups don’t offer quite sports-bra level coverage, but are fuller than most standard triangle bras, which means a snugger, more comfortable fit. And third, there’s not a trace of frill or lace in sight.

Since I got it a few months ago—and then stocked up on it, religiously—it’s become a wardrobe staple, and I’m genuinely crushed when I get dressed to put on some outfit that requires a real bra. Or worse! A strapless one.

Still not sold? When I came home last week after an endless slog at the office, it took me an entire episode of Southern Charm to realize I hadn’t taken it off yet.

Mattie Kahn is a senior editor at Glamour.



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