Is wellness the new purity culture? In part 2 of Gender War Games, host Cristen Conger and trainer Cadence Dubus (@brooklynstrength) breaks down how body control, aesthetic discipline, and "clean" femininity are being sold as self-care—while reinforcing the same old patriarchal power structures. From the rise of Ozempic and disordered wellness trends to body shame masquerading as moral virtue, what happens when femininity and fitness become political battlegrounds where women are expected to be skinny, soft, and silent?

• (00:00) Your Body Is a Battleground
• (00:52) The New Right's Body Ideals
• (01:23) The Wellness Grind
• (03:16) Functional Strength > Weight-Loss Goals
• (05:48) Women's Fitness Mirage
• (11:13) The Ozempic Effect
• (15:18) America's Health Hierarchy
• (17:28) Politicized Exercise
• (21:15) Class, Wealth and Commodified Wellness
• (28:29) What's a Body to Do?

For ad-free bonus episodes and uncut guest interviews, visit patreon.com/unladylikemedia. Get in touch on Instagram @unladylikemedia, and/or subscribe to the newsletter at unladylike.substack.com.

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Is feminism dead—or just shadowbanned? In part 1 of the Gender War Games miniseries, host Cristen Conger and Diabolical Lies co-hosts Caro Claire Burke and Katie Gatti Tassin dissect how feminism got hyper-commodified, beauty became capitalism's favorite control tactic, and reactionary gender politics took center stage. From antifeminist burnout to algorithmic aesthetics, what's behind the right-wing, conspiratorial rebranding of women and gender—and who's profiting off it?

(00:00) Feminism Under Siege

(01:34) Womanosphere Rising?

(02:56) Diabolical Lies podcast

(04:12) A Femininity Crisis?

(07:40) Feminine Hierarchy and Gender Panic

(13:45) Reactionary Feminism and Its Roots

(19:33) Evie Magazine and Far-Right Women's Media

(23:50) Antifeminism's Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

(28:24) The 90s Evie Magazine

(29:32) Echo Chambers vs Reality

(41:27) Don't Underestimate Far-Right Women

(43:18) Conclusion and Call to Action

For ad-free bonus episodes and uncut guest interviews, visit patreon.com/unladylikemedia. Get in touch on Instagram @unladylikemedia, and/or subscribe to the newsletter at unladylike.substack.com.

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Sharing a new show from our friends at Higher Ground, hosted by Michelle Obama. On IMO, Michelle and her big brother Craig Robinson bring their candid perspectives to the everyday questions shaping our lives, relationships and the world around us. Each week, they’re joined by a guest to tackle real questions from real folks just like you offering practical advice, personal storytelling, and plenty of laughs. Topics range from dating and relationships, to family and faith. Michelle and Craig share stories about being there for each other throughout their lives, from first crushes and fraught college years, to landing at the White House, to losing their mom. For six decades they’ve been each others’ most trusted counsel—and now, they want to be that counsel for you. In this episode, they’re joined by actress Issa Rae for a topic we've discussed many times on Unladylike: female friendships. Issa helps a listener navigate the challenge of mismatched expectations in adult friendships.

You can find more episodes of IMO at https://lnk.to/imomichellecraigUN

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Why do sex trafficking myths keep spreading—especially among suburban moms and TikTok girlies? Journalist Caitlin Dewey (Links I Would Gchat You) unravels how viral misinformation, true crime culture and moral panic have turned Target parking lots into imagined danger zones. Caitlin and Cristen compare the realities of trafficking to "ladies, stay safe!!" rhetoric that insists we're always in danger.

Subscribe to Conspiracy, She Wrote and hear the FIVE-part Ladies, Stay Safe miniseries.

Scroll The Links x "Conspiracy, She Wrote" reading guide to America’s sex trafficking panic.

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Gold digger. Ice queen. Punching bag. Why was a 22-year-old Robin Givens villainized when her whirlwind romance with boxer Mike Tyson spiraled into a living nightmare? In this bonus from the Unladies' Room, Susie Banikarim (In Retrospect) tells us the story of how their brief and tabloid-frenzying marriage ended with Robin declared "the most hated woman in America" and why she still hasn't gotten the cultural redemption she deserves.

CW: intimate partner violence

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Why waste a good passport marrying a fellow citizen? Is love strong enough to withstand deportation? Journalist and author Anna Lekas Miller shares what happened when she "proposed marriage fraud" to a Syrian refugee and how borders, visas and passports decide who gets to be together. Her book is Love Across Borders: Passports, Papers, and Romance in a Divided World.

. . .

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With the rise of the "perfectly imperfect" veneer ideal, it's the perfect time to revisit how beauty culture got here. (And subscribe to The Review of Beauty by Jessica Defino!) Why are more young women trading in their natural teeth for cosmetic veneers? What does it say about beauty standards, class perceptions and the dental healthcare gap? Writer Jessica Goldstein drills down on the rise of cosmetic dentistry, aesthetic veneers, head-to-toe "hotness creep" and her brilliant Washington Post feature, "Have you noticed that everyone's teeth look a little too perfect?"

. . .

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Good men aren't hard to find. What's "good" is where it gets complicated. Sociologist Emily Carian returns to the pod to share what she learned interviewing male feminists and men's rights activists for her new book Good Guys, Bad Guys: The Perils of Men's Gender Activism. Highlights include: privilege renegotiation, women's roles in cishet men's paths to feminism and/or the manosphere and why a leftist Joe Rogan doesn't exist.

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