Back to School Content Guide
It’s September. Summer is over. It’s getting colder, there are less trips to look forward to. For those who aren’t #fall enthusiasts, it can be a tough time. But on the bright side, I’m here - your neighborhood content recommender. You know the person who tells you what to watch and consume, even when you didn’t ask? Sometimes it’s helpful - I swear!
As we ease back into routines, it helps to have some content to immerse ourselves, be it a TV show, podcast, long form piece, or even just a nice Instagram feed to scroll through. My self care is a content binge. But I want to make sure that I’m consuming is nourishing because there is a lot of flawed and harmful representation out there. Here is a round up of some of the best pieces of Body Type approved content below:
To Watch
Amazon: Fleabag - the final season of this *perfect* show takes an even deeper dive into mental health.
MTV: Are You the One? - this dating show was the first to have a cast that all identified as sexually fluid.
Netflix: Dear White People - season three has a really great queer storyline with Lionel’s character.
Refinery 29: Shady - a web-series about the lesser-seen, and sometimes dark, sides of the beauty industry.
To Listen
The Nod: How to Show Up - a lifestyle writer shares her unexpected self care journey.
Science VS: The Abortion Underground - the incredible history of a movement to provide safe abortions.
Food Psych Podcast with Christy Harrison: How Diet Culture Harms the Gay Community with Jeff Iovannone, Gender-Studies Scholar and LGBTQ Activist - debunking the “Pride body.”
UnladyLike: How to Self Help Yourself - exploring the “self help” book craze, by living it.
The Cut on Tuesday: AAHH IT’S THE ANXIETY EPISODE AHHHH - the title says it all!
To Read
Nylon: On The Pleasure Of Finding A Queer Space That Isn't A Bar
GQ: Brockhampton Mastermind Kevin Abstract Makes Art to Survive
The Cut: Maybe It’s Lyme, What happens when illness becomes an identity?
The New York Times: The Abrupt End of My Big Girl Summer
Vice: Jia Tolentino Doesn't Care What You Think About Millennials
Vogue: Meet the Playwright Taking the Complexity of Eating Disorder Recovery to the Stage
Bonus Section: Curate a Good Feed
We’ve all heard a lot about the negative impacts of social media, especially Instagram, on our mental health and self-image. I want to help you make your feed a happier place by recommending some great accounts to follow.
The greatest gift - likes. Illustration by Caroline Reedy / @doot_doodles
Queer and femme animators are more visible than ever in series like Rebecca Sugar’s Steven Universe and I wanted to give a shout out to a few of my favorites. To start, here are a few queer and femme animators sharing their sketches on Instagram for us to enjoy:
If you come across any pieces you’d like to suggest or would like to promote your own work, send it along to us. We would love to highlight your work! Thank you for clicking, reading, and enjoying! See you all next month with some more goodies.
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Sabrina Bleich is the Editorial Director of Body Type and event contributor to Body Politic. She is a writer and researcher for film, TV, and podcasts based in Brooklyn. She dabbles in comedy as a member of the sketch comedy group, God Should Not Have Chosen Us. Find her infrequent tweets and other pieces at @rabbisabbi.
Caroline Reedy is a Brooklyn based digital artist, who has been mixing comedy with pastel colors since 2016. Her work is mainly inspired by pop art portraiture, mental health advocacy, and internet culture. She has had her work featured on Overheard New York/LA, Link NYC, and Hello Tittie. Check out her work on her instagram@doot_doodles.
