In The Buzz Cut, we give our take on all of the intellectual and Internet-famous, celebrity and bizarre, buzzy and overlooked family and parenting news we gossiped about all week.
Parenting. With mom Beyoncé and dad Jay-Z in the audience at the Grammys holding snacks and juice boxes, Blue Ivy Carter has done the world a solid, showing us that even the glamours are humbled in the face of a hangry 6-year-old. (We’re just going to leave this essay about how to raise a prodigy here, even though Jay and Bey probably don’t need it.) And for another peek into a different-yet-relatable world, check out this essay on what it’s like to be the only ‘baba’ amid all of the mommies and daddies.
Sexism. Speaking of the Grammys… In response to questions about the dearth of female nominees and winners at the Grammys, the president of the Recording Academy, said female artists need to “step up.” Needless to say, there has been some clapbacks from many female artists. But it does highlight a problem few of us want to admit: The Grammys, which went gender-neutral (i.e., eliminated explicitly male and female categories) in 2011, haven’t been the bastion of gender equality many hoped it would become. A report released right before the awards shows the outcome of gender neutral efforts in a still very sexist world. A quick snippet for you: Of the 899 artists nominated for Grammys in the last six years, only 9% were women.
Family. Every Indian in the world will be able to relate to this essay on family WhatsApp groups. (“It’ll never be as fun as the groups you have with your mates. But you can never get annoyed and leave. Not if you want to be a good family member.”) Less relatable, but still interesting: This article on the made-up words and language that bind families together. (Surprisingly relatable: The British royal family has a family WhatsApp group, too. We bet the Queen sends daily greetings that make everyone’s phones run out of space, too, just like our dadis.)
Marriage. This is a refreshingly frank peek inside the mind of a marriage counselor. And check out a woman’s first-person account of experimenting in group sex and polyamory with her husband — a choice she says saved their marriage.
Fashion. Maternity fashion is the worst, which is why we loved this exploration into the “prudish, sexy, shaming, expensive history of maternity clothes” over at Racked.
Health. Public service announcement over at Vox: ‘Mummy tummy’ isn’t a natural, lasting effect of pregnancy that can’t be helped. Rather, it’s a post-pregnancy disorder that (a) can cause long-term health complications, and (b) can be solved with the right care. But the medical community doesn’t pay much attention to the condition — just like it ignores most of the causes of women’s pain.
Work. Perennial fave and badass Mindy Kaling, who has a new show in the offing, is back at work a month after giving birth. We wonder if she can relate to this essay by Amy Nelson on being a new mom and a new entrepreneur at the same time. (We can.)