My Isolation Diary
What Year Is It? By Emily Vogel
It’s summer 2021. JLO and Ben Affleck are dating. Nelly’s hit single "Lil Bit" is top of the charts. “Friends” is trending and fans are freaking out about the potential real-life romance between ‘Ross’ and ‘Rachel.’ Britney is dominating the headlines. Oh, and did I mention they announced a new “Polly Pocket” movie last week? Life is good. But wondering if the vaccine
took us back to 1999. Regardless, I’m still having my mom overnight me my Juicy Couture tracksuit and Von Dutch hat #HAGS. While I loved the 90s (I mean, who didn't?!) I can't help but think about how far we've come since the days of frosted tips and Furbys. Especially when it comes to social justice and inclusion. In the last three weeks alone, Kamala Harris became the first sitting Vice President to walk in a Pride Parade, Juneteenth became a federal holiday, Laurel Hubbard became the first openly transgender athlete who will compete in the Olympics and the NFL is gay. Of course we still have a long way to go in the fight
for equality, but we're further along than where we started... and we brought Bennifer along with us!
Victoria’s Secret ‘Feminist’ Rebrand:
Goodbye Angels And Hello Activists
(Source: Ryan Pfluger/Victoria’s Secret via The New York Times)
Last week, Victoria's Secret finally announced their VS Collective rebrand —including ditching their Angels and championing soccer player Megan Rapinoe, transgender model Valentina Sampaio and South Sudanese refugee Adut Akech. But wait, not so fast... "Rebrands are never as easy as swapping out angels for
activists—or shunting one group of women for another," according to Jeetendr Sehdev. "Remember the Pepsi and Kendall Jenner ad? The soda brand tried to jump on the topical cultural conversation of race relations to sell more soda. Nobody believed it. The tactic trivialized the Black Lives Matter movement, was labeled tone-deaf, and Pepsi pulled the ad and provided an apology." According to Jeetendr, "Brands must match their marketing changes with organizational changes. So how are
you internally branding your organization?" While the brand has promised to change the organization with a new board that will consist of seven directors, six of these will be women, the brand still hasn't expanded its limited size range, which has caused some speculation. Read full Forbes article here.
‘Zola’ Star Taylour Paige Says She Worked as a Stripper for a Month Preparing for the Role
"Zola" star Taylour Paige took WrapWomen behind the scenes of the greatest stripper saga ever tweeted and how she prepared for the role. “I think all my life experiences prepared me for the role,” Paige told WrapWomen during a recent interview. The former Los Angeles Laker Girl even spent four weeks working at a strip club to make sure she perfected the part. “I didn’t want to look like an actor trying to dance, I didn’t want to look like a dancer trying to strip, I wanted to look like this person in the given circumstances who works at a restaurant and also dances.” While Paige put a lot of preparation into the role of Zola, she was also able to take a lot from the experience,
including a newfound sense of freedom. “Freedom to be a woman and love my body and my sexuality and not being also self-conscious or such a perfectionist,” Paige said. “Just giving myself grace to figure it out as I go and be as present and honest as I can with the dialogue… it just marked a really, really, really pivotal change in my life.” Check-out the full WrapWomen interview here.
Black Women Got Their Shine On At The 2021 BET Awards
Hosted by actor Taraji P. Henson, the theme for this year’s awards was “The Year of The Black Woman.” “Look at us. Look around the room. Look at this power. The grace, the class, the edges, we are everything honey. Celebrating Black women isn’t a fad or a trend, it’s a forever mood,” Henson told the audience. “And there is more than enough room for all of us to thrive. Cause can’t nobody be me like me and can’t nobody be you like you.” Here are some of the most memorable moments from Sunday night’s show.
Read full HuffPost article here.
Meet the 6 Gymnasts Who Will Lead Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics
The U.S. Women's Gymnastics Team for the Tokyo Olympics was announced Sunday, introducing a mix of familiar faces and new talents. Simone Biles, 24, whose record-breaking scores and gravity-defying routines have been seen at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and other national gymnastics competitions. MyKayla Skinner,
24, was an alternate for the Rio Games, meaning she traveled with the team and would have competed if one of the other gymnasts was injured. She also was diagnosed with COVID-19 earlier this year and was hospitalized, which made it even more difficult to compete this year. Jordan Chiles, 20, was named after basketball legend Michael Jordan. Her Olympic moment will be shared with one of her good friends: Biles. The two have been photographed
together at multiple tournaments, and when Chiles made the team, Biles wrapped her in a huge hug. Grace McCallum, 18, said that when it comes to completing routines, the gymnasts just have to trust themselves and know that they're capable. "I think you just have to remember 'I've done a thousand of these routines in the gym,'" she said. Sunisa Lee, 18, the moment she made the team was a dream come true for her and for her father, who was paralyzed in an accident two years ago. Lee said that her family has supported her through the entire
Olympic journey, and that her father has been her most steadfast fan. Jade Carey, 21, is one of the lucky few whose parent is also their coach, so her father will be the only team parent there. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, international athletes will not be able to have their families present at the Tokyo Games. "I'm really excited and I'm really glad (I have) Dad to share it with," Carey said. Read full article on Today.com.
South Africa is Considering Letting Women Have Multiple Husbands
South Africa's government is considering allowing women to have multiple husbands. The proposal to allow polyandry was included in a green paper from South Africa's Department of Home Affairs, which hopes to make marriage more inclusive. Polygamy is already legal in the country. As part of the push to make marriage policy stronger, the department consulted with traditional leaders as well as human
rights activists and other groups on the key issues. The human rights activists "submitted that equality demands that polyandry be legally recognized as a form of marriage." The officials found that people had vastly different views on marriage but one of the proposals put forward is to draw up a "gender neutral" marriage scheme. "South Africa could do away with categorizing marriages along lines of race, sexual orientation, religion and culture," the suggestion reads."That means South Africa (could) adopt a dual system of either monogamous or polygamous marriages." Due to the
gender-neutral element, this option would apply to women as well as men if made law and therefore permit polyandry. Read full CNN article here.
Who Run the World?! Girls.
WrapWomen is a power base of influential women of entertainment, media, technology and brands committed to changing the face of their industries. Sure to stay up-to-date on all things WrapWomen at www.wrapwomen.com. Join the conversation on social media! Follow us on Instagram for surprise guest takeovers and Insta live performances.
In the meantime, stay safe and stay fabulous.
Xoxo,
Emily Vogel on behalf of WrapWomen
Director of Programming, TheWrap
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