Conversation Piece, April 9, 2017
A weekly series.
Enjoy our Sunday series, Conversation Piece, a NUVO–curated digest of things on the Internet we think you’ll want to talk about.
Bon appétit. We don’t like contributing to that weird phenomenon of North American publications idolizing the most mundane habits of the French, but a) Vogue started it, and b) reading about what Le Meurice pastry chef Cédric Grolet eats for breakfast is admittedly very soothing. Fresh OJ with ginger, anyone? See for yourself, here.
You go, girl. The New Yorker’s Jia Tolentino pinpoints the paradoxical way society infantilizes female ambition in this striking essay on the hypocritical language of empowerment. “Ambition,” she writes, “will always be complicated for women, and not just because of external impediments: it is an imperfect drive, enacted in imperfect circumstances, that inevitably leads to imperfect things.” Read more, here.
So, that Pepsi thing was bad. But Pepsi is hardly the first corporation to capitalize on the counter-culture (even Don Draper ostensibly did it in the last episode of Mad Men with that true-to-life Coke ad). From interracial couples to body positivity to second-wave feminism, nothing escapes the long arm of commercialization. Check out this compilation of history’s most successful zeitgeist co-opting ad campaigns, plus insight into why Pepsi’s flopped, on Jezebel, here.
Pay-per-swipe. Meet New York’s Meredith Golden, the 41-year-old dating app matchmaker who swipes, flirts, and sets up coffee dates on your behalf. Golden doesn’t worry about singles on the other side of the equation feeling duped—and she’s never been found out while impersonating a client. In fact, she says she flirts relatively little, honing in on first date arrangements deftly. All in all, Golden’s services might be a step-up on asking your sister to edit your profile for you. Read more, here.
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