In The Buzz Cut, we give our take on all of the intellectual and Internet-famous, celebrity and bizarre, buzzy and overlooked news we gossiped about all week.

Leading ladies. Miss Asian Global and Miss Asian America are the latest franchises to attempt to reinvent the beauty pageant by focusing on networking and skills and billing contestants as the “prettiest smart girls” or the “smartest pretty girls.” But the swimsuit competition lingers…. Over at Broadly, one writer suggests the Ariana Grande single “God Is A Woman” is a good reminder that until quite recently in human history, she really has been. (And still is in India, thankyouverymuch.) If that has revved you up for the matriarchy, consider Guna Yala for your next holiday; the tiny island society is run by women, and has a thriving and important third gender – Omeggid, who were born boys and choose to be ‘like a woman.’

An alternative perspective. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has been talking about having a tough time; in response, one writer explores how that admission would be received coming from a female CEO. Here’s a look at how the Dutch approach sex education from the earliest ages – openly, honestly and without shame. (Playing doctor is encouraged.) Finally, the pressing question of our times gets answered: Do men get into bathtubs on their hands and knees, so their balls hit the hot water last? A brilliantly demented investigative report.

Mother for others, mother for yourself. All mothers can relate to the need for new mom friends at the same time you’re new-momming yourself; as this piece says – who else are you going to freak out to at 2am? But we related more to this essay, which talks about the need to rebrand motherhood into something less terrible and drudging. That popular version of motherhood makes it too difficult to remember that we chose to become parents. And the growing trend of becoming a mother past age 50 has many reflecting on both the experience of new motherhood in middle age – and the need for better understanding of fertility at much younger ages.

All together now. Inclusivity is always a good goal, but it won’t solve the problems with India’s adultery laws, argues this piece. Though, it would solve the problem with hundreds of fertility apps – which put the whole burden of tracking fertility and making a baby on women. Only one or two are challenging the market (and societal) trend by offering a partner-sharing feature that acknowledges men as part of the equation. And finally, a look at how even casual conversation skews male, and why more people are making a conscious effort to use non-gendered words.