5SR - September 20, 2023

Zara Hanawalt is a freelance journalist covering parenting, women's health, culture, and more. She has written for outlets like Parents, Elle, Shape, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Glamour, Vogue, and more. Zara is a mom to four-year-old twins and a passionate advocate for maternal rights and health.

What Workplaces Should Be Doing About Covid Right Now (TIME)

In some ways, it feels like navigating rising Covid cases is more complicated now than it was at the onset of the pandemic. Then, there was a pretty clear-cut set of guidelines.

Now? We’ve settled back into some semblance of normal life…only to see cases tick back up. Something has to change, but how much? For workplaces, especially those that have put an end to remote work policies, figuring out how to recalibrate in light of rising cases is going to be tricky.

This article lays out the uncertainties, but gives employers some guidance (while also acknowledging that it’s going to involve some trial and error).

Do I Have Avoidant Personality Disorder Ot Am I Just Shy? (Wonder Mind)

People are diagnosing themselves based on things they see on TikTok right and left.

See: Content about avoidant personality disorder, which has a lot of people feeling seen…but, in all likelihood, many (if not most) of these people don’t actually have the disorder.

I truly believe we’ve lost our sense of nuance thanks in part to this sort of social content — you can be shy or introverted or easily overstimulated without it being a trauma response or a legit disorder. This piece gives people who feel seen by this content a gracious reality check.

We Don’t: The Bridesmaid Burnout (Glamour) 

The whole package on bridesmaids from Glamour is so good — and so timely.

When I got married in 2016, I opted to not have a bridal party at all, and people definitely thought this was a “weird” choice. I haven’t had a single regret, though — and since then, the demands on bridesmaids’ time, money, and emotional labor has become even more…well, demanding.

From saying "no" when a friend asks you to fill this role, to being a considerate bride, to a hot new take on how the finances should shake out, this package offers great, fresh commentary on the whole bridesmaid thing.

Women Are Bombarded By Health Information Online- But They Don’t Trust It (Rescripted)

Being a woman is exhausting. Being a woman in the age of social media? Don't even get me started. It's never been so apparent that women are fed straight up lies about their bodies — and now that we're losing even more control over those bodies, it's more dangerous than ever.

This piece by Kristyn Withawhy, co-founder of Rescripted perfectly lays out the effect of all the information (and misinformation) women receive regarding their health, and how confusing it all is.

When Your Body Is Your Brand (Marie Claire)

When we think about how the public's focus on your body affects your sense of self, we often think of people like Emily Ratajkowski or Alexis Ren — people who represent a very specific beauty standard we've heavily glorified. The most brilliant thing about this article is that it explores what it feels like to carry the torch of body representation.

When you're an icon of body positivity, when your brand is inextricably linked to what your body looks like and what that means to your community, weathering change in the public eye can be a whole different thing — especially because your whole platform was built on the idea that all bodies are beautiful, yet you serve an audience who won't allow you to change your own shape without criticism.