<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Weekend Plans is our exclusive lifestyle feature where we highlight the real off-duty routines of the most exciting people in modern culture. </span></i></p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">This weekend, NASA Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch sits down with The Daily Wire to chat about her 29-minute morning routine, family moments that are too sacred for Instagram, and how getting comfortable with failing — in surfing and rocket science — made her one of the most inspiring astronauts of our time.</span></i></p>
<p>***</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Christina Koch settles in for our chat, wearing a royal blue NASA bomber jacket, decked out in official patches. Under that, I catch a glimpse of what looks like a </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/F-1-Engine-Schematic-Graphic-Shirt/dp/B07PJQZJPH?customId=B0752XJYNL&amp;customizationToken=MC_Assembly_1%23B0752XJYNL&amp;th=1&amp;psc=1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">concert tee</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, but instead features the schematics for an </span><a href="https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/rocket-engine-liquid-fuel-f-1/nasm_A19700271000"><span style="font-weight: 400;">F-1 rocket engine</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> — you know, the kind that successfully powered six Apollo-era missions to the moon. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I feel intellectually underdressed. But Christina’s laidback personality is refreshingly disarming. “I am here to underwhelm, trust me,” she says. I almost fall out of my chair. She’s so beloved, the internet spontaneously combusted with </span><a href="https://www.etsy.com/market/christina_koch_nasa_artemis_shirt"><span style="font-weight: 400;">merch</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> featuring her quotes (“</span><a href="https://people.com/artemis-ii-astronaut-christina-koch-message-for-earth-after-historic-flight-11948205"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Planet Earth: You are a crew</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">”), her likeness, and the Artemis II team. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In light of all the hubbub around her latest mission, I wonder what she misses about Earth when she’s </span><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasas-artemis-ii-crew-eclipses-record-for-farthest-human-spaceflight/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">252,756 miles</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> away. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">I miss my family and my good friends. If they could come with me, I would probably never come back.” She doesn’t need creature comforts, but I immediately realize I’ve taken the “earthy things” she mentions for granted. Having lived on the </span><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/people/christina-koch/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">International Space Station</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> for 11 months, she recalls, “I was never thinking ‘A latte would be great right now,’ but I missed things like wind, the feeling of the breeze on your face, the smell of the ocean, the blue sky.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When she isn’t exploring the galaxy, she misses that too. “I miss everything. I miss floating. I miss the teamwork; being a part of a crew where you are working towards the same mission the whole time and you&#8217;re spending your off hours together, you&#8217;re supporting each other in every possible way … selflessly, with intention.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While the crew remains intact for post-flight engagements and tasks, Christina can feel the energy shifting. “We&#8217;re having to face the fact that it won&#8217;t last forever. We will move on and we will have different goals. A part of me already misses my Space Bros.” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The views are great,&#8221; she says, &#8220;but it&#8217;s the camaraderie and teamwork that would bring me back every time.”</span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<div id="attachment_1100585" style="width: 810px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1100585" class="size-full wp-image-1100585" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/9632739182_fce698f450_c.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="532" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/9632739182_fce698f450_c.jpg 800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/9632739182_fce698f450_c-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/9632739182_fce698f450_c-768x511.jpg 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><p id="caption-attachment-1100585" class="wp-caption-text">Credit: NASA</p></div>
<p><b>But first, coffee</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So what’s Christina’s personal rocket booster? “I am a black coffee person,” she says. “One cup of black coffee in the morning. Even if it were decaf, it would just be the ritual of it for me.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We had coffee in space, thankfully, so we could all have that ritual. You can&#8217;t smell it, though, in space. It&#8217;s in a pouch.” I suddenly feel like we’re best friends planning NASA’s next manned mission. I suggest that they start pumping the smell of coffee into the cabin. “Yeah, we need some coffee essential oil.” (“Houston …”)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When she’s home in Galveston, Texas, Christina’s out the door before her husband, geographic information systems engineer Bob Koch, gets out of bed, thanks to her longer commute. Bob handles their pup Sadie’s breakfast, but Christina’s morning routine might be more streamlined than anyone’s. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“My breakfast is a protein bar in the car on the way to work every day. The time from the alarm to the car is about 29 minutes for me, including a shower.” I suggest that she brand this bare-bones AM groove. She laughs. “It&#8217;s called ‘setting the bar very low.’”</span></p>
<p><b>Someone to come home to</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fans&#8217; hearts melted at Christina’s reunion with </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DXDONqmkceJ/?hl=en&amp;img_index=1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">her dog Sadie</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> post-mission. (The couple’s “LBD,” or Little Brown Dog, was also ecstatic about </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B8hMY8HJF6k/?hl=en"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Christina’s return from the ISS</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in February 2020.) But apparently, Sadie doesn’t hold back on the LBD affection. “She just loves people, so she probably would do that to you as well if you got down on the floor and let her lick you to death.” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Despite the global interest in Christina’s every move, not every emotional moment makes it to social media. “To be honest, the real tearjerker was me saying goodbye to her. That will not be on Instagram because that was a lot.” Sadie has a sixth sense for when Christina’s heading out on a mission. “I travel a lot these days, so she knows when we pack that something&#8217;s up. Dogs know your vibe; they know when you&#8217;re sad. So she knew when I said goodbye that it was a serious one.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For this family of scientists, the bond with their four-legged rescue is real. “I had a long, heartfelt goodbye with her this morning because she was just extra cute.”</span></p>
<p><b>The ultimate view of nature</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Christina’s social media teems with jaw-dropping POVs from space, the kind of once-in-a-lifetime cosmoscapes that someone else might ironically tag “view from my office.” But I was curious as to whether these types of views might make nature on Earth feel a little lackluster. Luckily, that’s not even close to being the case.   </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“For me, it helps me appreciate it and see it in a different light,” Christina assures me. I think of her shot of </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B7RAMfDJql_/?hl=en"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Raglan, New Zealand,</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> from the ISS; it reveals a sweeping aquamarine coastline that even the luckiest among us will only ever view from sea level. “I look at the ocean, or look up at the blue sky, or look at a forest and literally imagine how it looks from the universe, and it just makes it so rich. There&#8217;s just so much there.”</span></p>
<p><b>Hanging ten</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There’s no better advocate for the great outdoors — whether it’s your backyard or the dark side of the moon — than Christina. But instead of strictly being a favorite way to decompress, her passion for catching a wave aligns with the physicality of her more high-profile ventures. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The one thing that is the same is having to take in a lot of inputs at once, process them, and then react. Especially when you&#8217;re first learning surfing, this idea of when do I pop up, when do I set my line, when have I caught the wave, when do I paddle harder, when do I paddle less … There&#8217;s so much happening all at once.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We have this saying in human spaceflight about growing your world,” Christina says. “At first, your situational awareness bubble is very small and you can maybe only take one input and have one output. But as you grow that bubble, you can take in multiple inputs and have multiple outputs. That&#8217;s what you&#8217;re working towards.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Having surfed exactly once and barely stood up on my board, I ask if surfing offers a budget version of weightlessness. “It doesn&#8217;t really feel like floating, but there are those takeoff moments that are very beautiful.”</span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<div id="attachment_1100589" style="width: 809px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1100589" class="size-full wp-image-1100589" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/46608515535_f59f1aa160_c.jpg" alt="" width="799" height="533" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/46608515535_f59f1aa160_c.jpg 799w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/46608515535_f59f1aa160_c-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/46608515535_f59f1aa160_c-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 799px) 100vw, 799px" /><p id="caption-attachment-1100589" class="wp-caption-text">Credit: NASA</p></div>
<p><b>Trusting the journey </b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Looking at Christina Koch now, it might be hard to picture a time before she became a star of the U.S. space program. But when she first began her journey to become an astronaut in </span><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/people/christina-koch/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">2013</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, she says the energy was more like “I&#8217;m really bad at it and it&#8217;s really hard.” Still, she went full-send on that daunting learning curve. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“When I was a baby astronaut, I used to say that my job was to show up at work and learn new things and be bad at them. And I truly was,” she explains. “You just have to accept that you&#8217;re bad at a lot of things when you first start, and you just have to keep trying and trust the process and know that you&#8217;ll get there.”</span></p>


Weekend Plans With Christina Koch

Artemis II

christina koch

Coffee

inspiration

NASA

Surfing

Upstream

weekend plans

<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">This article is part of </span></i><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/upstream">Upstream</a>,</span></i><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.</span></i></p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">***</span></i></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As we gather together on Memorial Day weekend to honor the extraordinary sacrifice of our nation’s fallen heroes, many of us go full </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">carpe diem</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> with our hard-earned freedom by celebrating with our favorite people and a proper meal. But whether you’re the backyard barbecue, pool party, or picnic in the park type, you can’t go full-send without a crowd-pleasing side. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Save the pool noodles for someone else’s watery coleslaw. This weekend, we’re riffing on five home-run favorites to tickle your taste buds and serve up a good ol&#8217; plate of U.S.A. And, since they’re easy to prep and simple to transport, you can focus on more important things — like doing a surprise cannonball into the pool next to grandma who already told you several times she doesn&#8217;t want to get her hair wet. Welcome to the unofficial start of summer. But first, food.</span></p>
<p><b>Fritos Corn Salad</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Don’t even pretend it’s not Fritos Summer. America’s greatest curly little deep-fried corn chip breaks free of its foil-pouch prison to turn creamy corn salad into your new signature dip.</span></p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=476&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FSouthernLiving%2Fvideos%2F411073288035045%2F&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=267&amp;t=0" width="267" height="476" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A spin on the trendy Mexican roasted street corn “elote” you’re seeing everywhere, this salad takes the corn off the cob and gives it the crunchy topping it deserves via crumbled Fritos folded into the mix. Use fresh summer corn, or throw everything together last-minute with the canned stuff, and add a few jalapeño slices for kick. Serve with more Fritos, top burgers and tacos, or eat it as-is with a spoon. Just make a big bowl because this one’s gonna fly off the table. </span></p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Make it: </span></i><a href="https://www.southernliving.com/frito-corn-salad-8419985"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Creamy Fritos Corn Salad</span></i></a></p>
<p><b>Garden Fresh Avocado Salad</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Harness the five-second window when avocados are perfectly ripe with a fresh salad that puts that creamy, buttery glory front and center. It’s similar to guacamole, but it’s so fresh and tangy you’ll be craving it all summer.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cilantro, red onions, and jalapeños keep things feeling just-picked, while cucumber and cherry tomatoes add playful texture. Just chop your avocado when it’s ripe but not mushy if you want a salad that’s camera-ready. Even better, that zingy seasoned lime-and-honey vinaigrette keeps everything from getting brown, so you can fix it and forget it until everyone’s ready to eat. </span></p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Make it: </span></i><a href="https://www.loveandlemons.com/avocado-salad/"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Garden Fresh Avocado Salad</span></i></a></p>
<p><b>Saucy Smoky Baked Beans</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">No one’s trying to step on Aunt Beatrice’s toes with a competing dish of baked beans. But once you try this saucy and smoky baked beans recipe, you might never go back to other baked beans again. </span></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Whoever invented sweet and savory vegetables deserves an award. Here, Bush’s Grillin’ Beans, sweet onions, and bacon get a gourmet makeover thanks to Dijon, barbecue sauce, and apple cider vinegar. Like a little smoke? Check out that seasoning with its smoked paprika and chipotle chili powder. Assemble this recipe ahead of time, and cook it on the day. And always feel free to bake your beans with extra bacon on top. America.</span></p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Make it: </span></i><a href="https://www.howsweeteats.com/2020/05/baked-beans/"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Saucy Smoky Baked Beans</span></i></a></p>
<p><b>Panko Parmesan Mac and Cheese</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Plenty of elite mac and cheese recipes boast fancy ingredients and cooking methods, but in real life, the secret to the best mac and cheese is the contrast between rich, cheesy, flavor-packed al dente noodles and a crunchy, seasoned topping. This version checks both boxes without even blinking.</span></p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FMomOnTimeout%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02KxkUkhLWupdCXxYmxDj3PxCN1t3e9ugDC6kK9m3xpKGtoFibkL82tQtytWBe1Ls7l&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=500" width="500" height="498" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Another secret is a homemade roux. Once you’ve mixed butter and flour with warm milk until smooth, sharp cheddar and Gruyère pull cheese duty with chewy elbow noodles. But the Japanese panko, butter, and parmesan combo that gets sprinkled on top and baked until golden brown? Chef’s kiss. You can go ahead and add this little number to your regular rotation.</span></p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Make it: </span></i><a href="https://www.momontimeout.com/best-homemade-baked-mac-and-cheese-recipe/"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Panko Parmesan Mac and Cheese</span></i></a><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></i></p>
<p><b>Tangy Deviled Egg Potato Salad</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’re unde-</span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">side-</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">ed on whether to do deviled eggs or potato salad for Memorial Day, allow me to introduce you to the ultimate mashup: deviled egg potato salad. Start a new tradition by putting your two favorite things in one big, delicious bowl.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The iconic flavors of each dish come together in harmony for a tangy salad you can customize to be as spicy hot as you like. Creamy mayo holds everything together while fresh parsley and celery add a grassy texture. And don&#8217;t forget the dill pickle relish, yellow mustard, apple cider vinegar, and paprika. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For anyone determined to peel perfect shells for legit deviled eggs, bless your heart. But on a long weekend, I’d rather not stress over shells that won’t budge and whites that fall apart. Here, hard-boiled eggs get chopped and tossed into the mix (you can even use the pre-peeled kind from the store). The most effort you’ll have to give is boiling baby new potatoes and then moving the fork from the salad to your mouth. Sprinkled with paprika or bedazzled with bacon, deviled egg potato salad is simply delicious.</span></p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Make it: </span></i><a href="https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/deviled-egg-potato-salad"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tangy Deviled Egg Potato Salad</span></i></a></p>


Friends celebrating and eating at a tailgate party

Move Over, Burgers. These Memorial Day Sides Just Took Over.

avocado salad

baked beans

corn salad

deviled egg potato salad

Fritos

mac and cheese

Memorial Day

recipes

side dishes

The Bright Side: A Baby Monkey, A Diamond Hunt, And The Internet’s Favorite Grandma

bright side

Commencement

crater of diamonds

Dentist

garden

lilies

punch the monkey

sara blakely

spanx

the golden girls

Tom Brady

xylo

<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">This article is part of </span></i><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/upstream">Upstream</a>,</span></i><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.</span></i></p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">***</span></i></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">RSVP like you mean it, y’all, because it’s wedding season. But this year, standing by your bestie as she says “I do” comes with a soul-crushing price tag. Grab a bottle of Veuve and get ready for a shocking lesson in “girl math.” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Just like Kristen Wiig’s character in “Bridesmaids,” </span><a href="https://youtu.be/sf9038zMVgo?t=22"><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I’m excited, and I feel relaxed, and I’m ready to parrrrrr-tayyyyyy!”</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> The </span><a href="https://www.imf.org/en/publications/weo/issues/2026/04/14/world-economic-outlook-april-2026"><span style="font-weight: 400;">economy’s sluggish</span></a>,<span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/29/style/marriage-decline-delay.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">people are less likely to get married</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, but the </span><a href="https://www.theknotww.com/press-releases/the-knot-worldwide-unveils-2026-real-weddings-study"><span style="font-weight: 400;">$100 billion</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> wedding industry in the U.S. continues to thrive. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Roughly 2 million couples tied the knot in 2025, with </span><a href="https://www.theknotww.com/press-releases/the-knot-worldwide-unveils-2026-real-weddings-study"><span style="font-weight: 400;">77%</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of those who said the economy affected their plans claiming they spent </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">more</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, not less. Apparently, “something borrowed” refers to all the cash in the wedding party’s savings accounts. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">These days, the average wedding costs </span><a href="https://www.fidelity.com/learning-center/smart-money/average-wedding-cost"><span style="font-weight: 400;">$36,000</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, but it’s not surprising to see couples shell out </span><a href="https://www.zola.com/expert-advice/whats-the-average-cost-of-a-wedding"><span style="font-weight: 400;">$100,000</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> or more for the party of the year. </span><a href="https://nypost.com/2024/09/06/lifestyle/why-gen-z-is-saying-no-to-being-a-bridesmaid-and-its-not-just-the-cost/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Allison Cullman</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, vice president of marketing for wedding planning site Zola, blames extravagant spending on the limitless inspiration of social media. Decades before, brides were stuck with “wedding magazines and binders.” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With </span><a href="https://www.eonline.com/photos/38028/2026-celebrity-weddings"><span style="font-weight: 400;">high-profile nuptials</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> from stars like Lainey Wilson already on the books for #WeddingSzn26, and </span><a href="https://pagesix.com/2026/04/09/entertainment/taylor-swift-and-travis-kelces-wedding-date-and-location-revealed-as-save-the-dates-go-out/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> semi-secret ceremony likely to flood social media in July, there’s a cultural script to go big or go home when it comes to the big bash. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As Kansas City Chiefs co-owner </span><a href="https://nypost.com/2026/05/18/sports/chiefs-heiress-gracie-hunts-lavish-wedding-will-feature-14-bridesmaids/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Clark Hunt</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">’s daughter Gracie Hunt recently revealed via Instagram, every detail matters. The billionaire heiress invited </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DYYIIGRJUaL/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">14 bridesmaids</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to participate in her upcoming wedding. We can assume Hunt and Co. covered the fresh flowers, catering, personalized bubbly, and Sugarfina champagne gummy bears. But the rest of the #BrideTribe probably spent significant dough on floral tea dresses, matching clutches, hair, makeup, and party heels.</span></p>
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<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DYaDqYfDmb3/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Gracie Hunt (@graciehunt)</a></p>
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<p><script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“There is something so special about being surrounded by women who make you feel stronger, wiser, softer, and closer to Jesus just by knowing them,” </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DYaDqYfDmb3/?img_index=1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Gracie posted</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. “My heart is overwhelmingly grateful for each of these friendships and the gift of getting to do life together.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s a blindingly beautiful message. But logistically, these warm fuzzies come at a price. For those who might not be funded by an heiress bride, the cost of entry into this bridal supporting cast is astronomical compared to the estimated </span><a href="https://www.theknot.com/content/wedding-guest-cost"><span style="font-weight: 400;">$610</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to be a regular wedding guest. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This is the reality. Bridesmaids throw down on </span><a href="https://thewed.com/magazine/the-real-cost-of-being-a-bridesmaid-in-2026"><span style="font-weight: 400;">dresses</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, shoes, shapewear, jewelry, alterations, bachelorette blowouts, travel, lodging, spray tans, and Instagrammable looks for the wedding weekend.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">All-in, the bridesmaid life can cost anywhere from $1,500 to </span><a href="https://www.brides.com/cost-of-being-a-bridesmaid-2025-11702605"><span style="font-weight: 400;">$5,000</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> per wedding. The tally only rises from there for destination ceremonies, bachelorette vacations, plus-ones, and babysitters. And don’t forget to peep those bridal shower and wedding registries. Waterford crystal flutes don’t buy themselves.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Add to that the potential emotional cost of a viral wardrobe malfunction during the reception entrance, like the bridesmaid who did “</span><a href="https://www.boredpanda.com/bridesmaid-wardrobe-malfunction-wedding-dance-goes-viral/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Worm</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">” in a dress she may never want to show her face in again. This is your gift for agreeing to give 100% support with zero decision-making ability regarding the festivities.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I cannot believe I have to walk down the aisle in front of 200 people looking like something you drink when you’re nauseous,” Rachel said on “</span><a href="https://youtu.be/81J7Oco3_VQ?t=20"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Friends</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">” while dressed in a Pepto-colored tulle disaster of a bridesmaid’s dress. Pay up, girl. You wouldn’t want your BFF4EVR to catch wind that you aren’t in it to win it.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Even when your eyes are wide open, surprise expenditures add up fast. “My total costs ended up being $3,500 at the end of the year after a bunch of events (that I didn&#8217;t know I had to pay for) and keeping up with the bougie tastes of the other bridesmaids,” noted one reluctant </span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/wedding/comments/1px1tzo/comment/nwaboxq/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web3x&amp;utm_name=web3xcss&amp;utm_term=1&amp;utm_content=share_button"><span style="font-weight: 400;">wedding attendant</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. “I sincerely regret saying yes because I ended up being extremely stressed over money all the time (I was not making much then).”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Someone else spelled out the truth for everyone but the newlyweds when they </span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/wedding/comments/1px1tzo/comment/nwe6s0t/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web3x&amp;utm_name=web3xcss&amp;utm_term=1&amp;utm_content=share_button"><span style="font-weight: 400;">wrote</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, “While your wedding might be the most important day of your life, it&#8217;s not the most important day for everyone else.” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There’s an emotional cost as well since you weren’t invited to be a bridesmaid for nothing. Maybe you were best friends as kids, you held each other’s hair after college parties, or you cried with each other through heartbreak. Can you put a price on hurt feelings or strained friendships after declining a bridesmaid proposal? And there’s the inevitable knife to the gut when you see the #LoveAtFirstSwipe and #BrideOrDie carousels on Instagram, minus you. It’s even worse if several different friends are getting hitched in the same year.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Still, despite the social pressure to say yes to the financial mess, some would-be bridesmaids are unapologetically saying “no thanks” to the gig. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We need to normalize saying no to being people’s bridesmaids,” one maid of honor posted to </span><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@steph_greenstreet/video/7396553847906372897"><span style="font-weight: 400;">TikTok</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. “This is hard work … it’s okay to assess whether you can do it.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One </span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/TheGirlSurvivalGuide/comments/vcsyno/comment/ichhc5g/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web3x&amp;utm_name=web3xcss&amp;utm_term=1&amp;utm_content=share_button"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Redditor</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> wished they had spoken up before being subjected to an over-the-top bridesmaid proposal. “I really felt forced to say yes because I was handed a box of goodies including a personalized wine glass, and asked at the same time as others, in front of a room full of people,” they said. “It [was] so not me, I was really bummed that my friend didn’t know me well enough not to ask me like that.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Being in someone’s wedding is much more expensive than simply attending,” Chicago-based wedding planner, </span><a href="https://www.thecut.com/article/how-to-rsvp-no-wedding-invitation.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kia Marie</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, says. “It can cost $4,000 or $5,000 or more, between the dress, the makeup, the bachelorette party, travel expenses, staying in a hotel for multiple days — that’s not money that anyone should take lightly.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hey … [Repeatedly taps a fork on a wine glass] … before this all ends in shredded peonies and a shattered champagne tower at some Airbnb villa in the South of France, can we agree to bring normal weddings back? We’re trying to get good people hitched, not gatekeep marriage for the .01%. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><em>Here comes everyone to tell us they got married in a trash bag in the alleyway behind the courthouse for $18 and they’ve been happily married for 90 years</em>. (Okay, maybe </span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/weddingplanning/comments/1naaiud/comment/ncsytiq/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web3x&amp;utm_name=web3xcss&amp;utm_term=1&amp;utm_content=share_button"><span style="font-weight: 400;">that’s</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> not for everyone.) But a </span><a href="https://simplyeloped.com/blog/why-do-couples-elope/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">70% increase</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in elopements shows more couples are going for intentional, personal, and often more affordable weddings. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Others are skipping the formal ceremony in favor of relaxed </span><a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/key-wedding-micro-trends-of-2026"><span style="font-weight: 400;">parties</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (and exchanging rings privately). Potluck buffets, dual-purpose engagement-to-wedding bands, and bespoke cakes all signal smaller wedding day budgets — and savings that get passed down to bridesmaids-turned-</span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">guests </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">of honor. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If all goes well, the whole crew gets to spend a day celebrating the ultimate commitment between two of their favorite people. And pretend like they’re hearing “</span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtOvBOTyX00&amp;list=RDrtOvBOTyX00&amp;start_radio=1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">A Thousand Years</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">” by Christina Perri at a wedding for the very first time, till death do us part.</span></p>


The One Wedding Trend Draining Young Women’s Bank Accounts

brides

bridesmaid

gracie hunt

Kansas City Chiefs

Money

wedding cost

weddings

<p><i>This article is part of </i><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><i>Upstream,</i></a><i> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.</i></p>
<p>***</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Demi Moore just revealed her most horrifyingly skeletal look yet. But after the </span><a href="https://pagesix.com/2026/05/12/celebrity-news/demi-moores-toned-arms-take-center-stage-on-cannes-film-festival-2026-red-carpet/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">New York Post</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> ran a headline about “Demi Moore’s toned arms,” the internet clapped back at the use of “toned” to describe the severely anatomical detail of her upper limbs. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It wasn’t “toned”; it was terrifying. A natural beauty now in her sixties, she had morphed into the evanescent incarnation of dark diet culture. And the media were all in. Thankfully, many onlookers pushed back. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Daily Wire host </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DYS6kdIlkq1/?img_index=2"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Isabel Brown</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> posted, “This is equally as damaging to women’s health conversations as normalizing morbid obesity is.” </span></p>
<p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reels/DYQwckfSPdP/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Riley Gaines</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> quipped, “Demi Moore actually looks like she’s on the brink of death … Girls, don’t believe the lie that this is what it looks like to be ‘toned.’” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“That is neither muscle nor healthy. It is phenomenally sad that she looks in the mirror and sees this as a win,” one </span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/popculture/comments/1tceaqy/comment/olnr9i2/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web3x&amp;utm_name=web3xcss&amp;utm_term=1&amp;utm_content=share_button"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Redditor</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> posted. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As a society, we’re pretty cool about offering others a wide berth to live life in a variety of possible body shapes, delivering grace when it’s needed. But when does empathy become enabling? Is it kind to let an impending train wreck speed straight off the rails, or do we have a moral obligation to pull the emergency brake? </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Moore’s apparent emotional bedrock, Bruce Willis, has been suffering from </span><a href="https://www.today.com/health/disease/bruce-willis-health-rcna99998"><span style="font-weight: 400;">dementia</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> since 2022. No one would argue that she shouldn’t be afforded the room to grieve. But two things can be true at once, and 63-year-old Moore has previously admitted to punishing her body in the name of beauty.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In 2025, Moore described her new “self-care” routine, telling </span><a href="https://people.com/worlds-most-beautiful-demi-moore-cover-story-photos-exclusive-11717760"><span style="font-weight: 400;">People</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, “I have a greater appreciation for all that my body has been through that brought me to now … It doesn’t define my value or who I am.” She admitted to once doing “crazy things like biking from Malibu all the way to Paramount, which is about 26 miles. All because I placed so much value on what my outsides looked like.” In the same breath, she said she was “so much more about my overall health and longevity” now.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It was just a few months after she won </span><a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/01/06/nx-s1-5249981/demi-moore-golden-globes-the-substance"><span style="font-weight: 400;">her first</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> major acting award: a </span><a href="https://pagesix.com/2026/05/12/celebrity-news/demi-moores-toned-arms-take-center-stage-on-cannes-film-festival-2026-red-carpet/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Golden Globe</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> for “The Substance,” which is about a black market anti-aging </span><a href="https://www.flixist.com/review-the-substance/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">drug</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. As part of her acceptance speech, she recalled, “In those moments when we don’t think we’re smart enough or pretty enough or skinny enough or successful enough … I had a woman say to me, ‘Just know you will never be enough, but you can know the value of your worth if you just put down the measuring stick.’”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Maybe Moore allegedly ditched the measuring stick, but it seems she doesn’t live up to her own beauty standard. Still, it’s not unreasonable to redirect the focus to medical professionals who continue to prescribe weight-loss drugs to vulnerable A-listers who are starving themselves and then convince fans to follow suit.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On the jury to select the Cannes festival’s Palme d’Or, Moore first made a red carpet splash in a sequined and sculpted Jacquemus gown, followed by a fuchsia look by French cult favorite Matières Fécales (yep, that’s “fecal matter” in French, for anyone who’s been following along since the </span><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fake-urine-famesick-celebs-and-100k-tickets-inside-the-grotesque-hypocrisy-of-the-met-gala"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Met Gala</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">). The pink reflected a rosy glow onto her porcelain skin as her mantis-like frame appeared to be propped up by an enormous bow of intentionally tattered fabric in a fashionable “</span><a href="https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/a71328540/demi-moore-cannes-matieres-fecales-dress-stylist-interview-red-carpet/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">state of decay</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.” Touché. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Let’s say there were no such thing as GLP-1s. Let’s say we were just looking at that. You’d go, ‘Well, that is starvation, that’s an eating disorder, if she was not in a concentration camp,” </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRZw9B9u3ek"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dr. Drew Pinsky</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> suggested on “The Rubin Report.” “But now we have a drug that causes that … I don’t know where this is gonna stop. It’s gonna hurt a lot of people.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Despite the backlash, some think Demi Moore and other stars making notoriously waify waves in the industry (such as </span><a href="https://www.aol.com/articles/exclusive-ariana-grande-sparks-fan-120000082.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAACRd0dAGZwPVgIhjtv48zqesOTA31-kW5cruECKW6zT6O4W7512Q7x_yBVbX5vEVAZahqFpyHVYJcuMEx6bh0tXvTQwqUFT1fdm65-YMTuTrf5EuAtSYFNkgWmxq3nf1emuCdSZRJmnop5B9JVgwxv82XyvZKXVh8924zcfBewOJ"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ariana Grande</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://people.com/kelly-osbourne-slams-critics-for-calling-out-her-dramatic-weight-loss-transformation-11866054"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kelly Osbourne</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and </span><a href="https://pagesix.com/2026/03/15/celebrity-news/stylists-fear-stars-are-blind-to-how-skinny-they-really-are/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Emma Stone</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">) look </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">good. </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">After spending almost two decades in Hollywood, I’m confident that some of these stick-thin stars probably still think they could lose a few pounds. Flattering media certainly doesn’t help. OK! magazine fawning over Olivia Wilde’s emaciated “</span><a href="https://okmagazine.com/p/olivia-wilde-glows-new-photos-after-health-concerns-unrecognizable-appearance/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">glow</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">” helps no one.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Never mind the constant flow of GLP-1 ads we’re being force-fed. </span><a href="https://www.noom.com/lp/clinical?route=clinical&amp;upv=3&amp;sp=google&amp;utm_source=g&amp;utm_medium=paidsearch&amp;utm_campaign=23234457596&amp;gid=185213649541%7C&amp;type=drug_branded&amp;cid=CjwKCAjw8arQBhB9EiwAfIKdQtLF8op5XSeFixxPU73oE7h3MxZ_HBXDlWMxKmMSYDIt4Vg0lYQnyBoCXUgQAvD_BwE&amp;pos=&amp;step=pros&amp;lang=en&amp;device=c&amp;group=brand-drug&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=23234457596&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjw8arQBhB9EiwAfIKdQtLF8op5XSeFixxPU73oE7h3MxZ_HBXDlWMxKmMSYDIt4Vg0lYQnyBoCXUgQAvD_BwE"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Noom</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, which used to be about eating smart and exercising, pivoted to “forget it, just do this drug we’re selling.” Serena Williams loves talking about how she’s “healthier” on her own brand, </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqXOcRtZoow"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ro</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. And </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk_ZUYegt14"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Wegovy</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> launched a star-studded awards season campaign normalizing doing weight loss drugs, comparing dosing the GLP-1 pill to rescuing kittens in trees. Why </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">wouldn’t </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">you take it? Be a good person!</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“In a clinical setting, these changes from baseline are cause for alarm,” celeb nutritionist </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jess Baker </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://pagesix.com/2026/03/15/celebrity-news/stylists-fear-stars-are-blind-to-how-skinny-they-really-are/">said</a> of the hollow muscle wasting she sees in GLP-1 overusers. “They can indicate malnutrition, meaning the body isn’t getting enough of what it needs to function.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">That </span><a href="https://health.ucdavis.edu/news/headlines/uc-davis-health-examines-systemic-impact-of-glp-1based-therapies/2025/12"><span style="font-weight: 400;">40% lean muscle loss</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> you’ll likely experience is scientifically proven (this drug-induced weight loss is all-inclusive, y’all). Just focus on the fact that if you stop taking GLP-1s, you’ll likely </span><a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11940170/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">rebound</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to your previous weight. Y’know, minus your </span><a href="https://www.massgeneral.org/news/article/why-muscle-mass-matters-and-how-to-keep-it"><span style="font-weight: 400;">blood sugar-regulating</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, critically structural muscle mass. Maybe you’ll get lucky and just </span><a href="https://macularhope.org/ozempic-is-making-some-patients-go-blind-will-ozempic-survive-this-well-see/?gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=22624478307&amp;gbraid=0AAAAADmkl5ztW0Ku0pkT0DB3M4vGH5Ihk&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjw8arQBhB9EiwAfIKdQrWfJPl_xJm6cph8z2EFPw5-bPqDhIKyJgTWqYHJE4hfxLFvX83RShoCYuAQAvD_BwE"><span style="font-weight: 400;">go blind</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> like some plaintiffs of the </span><a href="https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/10-dangerous-drug-cases-in-2026-are-you-8925382/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">3,000 active lawsuits</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> against these weight loss drugs allegedly have.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Frustratingly, celebrities will never come clean about the massive resources they have at their disposal to set the current standard of beauty, while the rest of us mill around the Walgreens clearance section like Children of the Corn. However this GLP-1 thing shakes out, we can almost guarantee there will be a pharmaceutical antidote we won’t be able to afford.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But as a precursor to societal doom via hot girl pharma, maybe we could stop propping those who are dangerously overweight or</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">devastatingly thin, as a picture of health. We’ve walked way over the line on whether we should or shouldn’t talk about women’s bodies, and maybe it’s time we get honest about what’s healthy. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Evolutionary behavioral scientist </span><a href="https://www.newsweek.com/2021/05/28/gad-saad-cancel-culture-idea-pathogens-future-discourse-1593467.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Gad Saad</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> offers a term for not speaking the truth on the chance it will hurt someone’s feelings: “forbidden knowledge.” Pretending that someone is well when she isn’t is not empowering; it’s dangerous. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Even if Demi Moore is going through a challenging chapter, is it empathetic for loved ones to let her destroy herself in the name of her own grief? Standing by as someone eats herself to death — or her body consumes its own muscle tissue to survive — is a suicidal mission in both directions. We can do so much better for each other. Let’s shine the spotlight on balanced health and real wellness, not disordered eating in disguise.</span></p>


Demi Moore Doesn’t Look ‘Toned.’ She Looks Like She’s Starving.

Ariana Grande

Bruce Willis

Demi Moore

dr drew pinsky

gad saad

glp-1

isabelle brown

Kelly Osbourne

Olivia Wilde

Riley Gaines

the rubin report

<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">&#8220;Weekend Plans&#8221; is Upstream&#8217;s exclusive lifestyle feature where we highlight the real off-duty routines of the most exciting people in culture. </span></i></p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">This weekend, “FOX &amp; Friends Weekend” host Rachel Campos-Duffy tells The Daily Wire about life with nine kids, her mom’s secret to getting dinner on the table, how to carve out family time everyone enjoys, and why her new book “</span></i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/All-American-Patriotism-Celebrating-Greatness/dp/006351527X"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">All American Patriotism: Celebrating 250 Years of America&#8217;s Greatness,</span></i></a><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">” spotlights stars-and-stripes spirit at the perfect moment.</span></i></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Let’s be honest, Rachel Campos-Duffy never really goes “off duty.” She sat down for our virtual chat at her home looking like relaxed luxury in a denim button-down and delicate jewelry. Admitting she threw on a little makeup (she looks stunning, of course) after dropping her daughter off at the bus, she says she’s usually fresh-faced and wearing leggings and a ponytail when she’s hanging out at her New Jersey home. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I ask about the piano in the background. She laughs as she tells me it came with the house. “</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">I had this fantasy that all the kids would take piano lessons, and of course that didn&#8217;t happen,” she says. “</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">No</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> one plays it other than Valentina who bangs on it.” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As Campos-Duffy’s youngest daughter, six-year-old Valentina steals the show with her unfiltered joy. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">“You get to the last one, who ends up having Down syndrome, and she turns out to be the cherry on top, the family favorite. She brings us all together. It&#8217;s just awesome.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Campos-Duffy hopes her kids grow up to love their country, something that&#8217;s not a given for kids today. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Just in time for America’s big two-five-oh, Campos-Duffy hopes her latest FOX News Books release, “All American Patriotism: Celebrating 250 Years of America’s Greatness,” will inspire families to revel in Americana. </span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-1095671" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/All-American-Patriotism-Book-Cover-448x576.jpg" alt="" width="448" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/All-American-Patriotism-Book-Cover-448x576.jpg 448w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/All-American-Patriotism-Book-Cover-233x300.jpg 233w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/All-American-Patriotism-Book-Cover-768x987.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/All-American-Patriotism-Book-Cover.jpg 1167w" sizes=" (max-width: 448px) 100vw, 448px" /></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Stacked with personal essays from Campos-Duffy and other FOX News hosts, it has photos and candid stories from all across our nation. It’s this tradition of storytelling that Campos-Duffy hopes will right the ship. “</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">I think it&#8217;ll inspire moms and dads and grandparents and aunts and uncles to start telling their own American dream stories to their kids,” she says. “Sadly, our kids have been getting a message that they should be embarrassed of who we are as a country, that our founding was a bad thing. Our founding documents had </span><a href="https://fedsoc.org/commentary/fedsoc-blog/harmful-language-in-the-u-s-constitution"><span style="font-weight: 400;">trigger warnings</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> on them at the archives at one point a few years ago.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There’s a reason why American citizenship retains unprecedented demand. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">“</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">It&#8217;s the lottery ticket that everyone in the world wants,” she says.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“America has been so good and generous to so many of us,” Campos-Duffy shares. “I dedicated the book to President Trump because I feel like he saved us from the woke nightmare we were in where statues of Washington and Lincoln were coming down and flags were being burned.” She attributes the president’s reelection to teaching us “to serve, love, and fight, fight, fight for America.”</span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<div id="attachment_1095673" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1095673" class="size-large wp-image-1095673" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/IMG_4979-864x576.jpeg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/IMG_4979-864x576.jpeg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/IMG_4979-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/IMG_4979-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/IMG_4979-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/IMG_4979-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/IMG_4979-1800x1200.jpeg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/IMG_4979-1200x800.jpeg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /><p id="caption-attachment-1095673" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Rachel Campos-Duffy and her family visit President Trump. Photo courtesy Rachel Campos-Duffy</em></p></div>
<p><b>On-camera versus off-duty</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Campos-Duffy’s upbeat personality shines from the FOX weekend curvy couch. But she’s just as genuinely kind without set lights and cameras in the room. When I ask about what contrast stands out to her most when it comes to her work-life balance, she doesn’t hesitate.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“At work, people get me coffee. At home, I&#8217;m getting everybody everything,” she jokes. Adding a little color to the picture, she says of domestic life, “</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">I&#8217;m ordering people around to help me with all the pickup, the cleanup, and everything. I am the CEO here, but I&#8217;m also the person who&#8217;s serving everyone.” She sees the humor in the dueling mom roles. “I&#8217;m the intern and the CEO.”</span></p>
<p><b>Cooking for a crowd</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Campos-Duffy says her husband, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, cooks family meals on days when she works: barbecue ribs or smashburgers. But this devoted mom happily takes the reins for the rest of the family’s meals.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I love to cook, and my family loves when I make Mexican food. I make lamb, salmon, chicken, everything. My kids literally call me on the way home from school to ask me what I&#8217;m making for dinner that day.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She welcomes her kids home from school with a neat house and a warm, satisfying meal instead of snacks. It’s a strategy she picked up from her mother, who once commented about the afternoon snack-before-dinner situation, “‘This is the dumbest thing ever. What are you doing? You&#8217;re making so much work for yourself.’”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Loving the efficiency of an afternoon dinner schedule, Campos-Duffy says, “You feed them as soon as they come home, you clean up or they clean up, and then you&#8217;re done, and they can move on. It changed my life.”</span></p>
<p><b>Getting the whole family together</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Duffy gang loves cooking together, but they share another kitchen-centered tradition that they could probably do in their pajamas. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“When we&#8217;re all together on a Saturday, we love to just get up and have coffee together,” Campos-Duffy describes. “Everyone loves to just sit around, and the older kids come during vacation. At night they&#8217;ll go, ‘OK, meet you downstairs for coffee in the morning,’ and we all just like to sit around and hang out together. I mean, genuinely do nothing but sit around and talk.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If this sounds too perfect to be true, she claims they’ve tried other, less successful attempts at family bonding: movie nights. (Totally relatable.) “What happens with a big family is we spend about an hour arguing about what movie to watch, and then someone&#8217;s always pissed off that their movie wasn&#8217;t chosen, and then they&#8217;re like, ‘I&#8217;m not watching.’” That’ll be a no on board games, too. She adds, “Monopoly and movies end in fights or isolation.”</span></p>
<p><b>Carving out time to relax</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With her filming schedule locked into Saturdays and Sundays, Campos-Duffy’s “weekend” happens during the week. But she’s got a quick fix if she needs a little time to herself.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I love a good bath. There&#8217;s nothing like a hot bath by yourself, you know, playing music or a podcast, no one bothering you,” she shares. “We have a sauna in our house, and that&#8217;s also a great way to relax. The only problem is the sauna shortens the life of the Botox.” </span></p>
<p><b>Advice from a seasoned pro </b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s no secret that Campos-Duffy’s life revolves around her kids. And while she acknowledges that she started her family “the Catholic way,” looking back, she has no regrets. </span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<div id="attachment_1095679" style="width: 853px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1095679" class="size-large wp-image-1095679" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/1-1-843x576.jpg" alt="" width="843" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/1-1-843x576.jpg 843w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/1-1-300x205.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/1-1-768x525.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/1-1.jpg 1280w" sizes=" (max-width: 843px) 100vw, 843px" /><p id="caption-attachment-1095679" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Photo courtesy Rachel Campos-Duffy</em></p></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Somebody told me a long time ago: Don&#8217;t think about how many kids you want right now because you&#8217;re so busy or you don&#8217;t have enough money — Think about how many kids you want around the table 20 years from now.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As their 27-year-old daughter, Evita, prepares to welcome her own baby girl, the Duffys’ holiday table will probably need a few more chairs. But even though the dynamics are ever-changing, this mother’s love only gets stronger with time.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I love every single one of them,” Campos-Duffy says. “I love watching them bond with each other, and I love all the different ways that they contribute to the family with their personalities and their energy. It&#8217;s literally the one thing in life I don&#8217;t regret. I can&#8217;t imagine my life without them.” </span></p>


Weekend Plans With Rachel Campos-Duffy

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Sean Duffy

<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">This article is part of </span></i><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Upstream,</span></i></a><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.</span></i></p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">***</span></i></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Welcome to the Bright Side, a weekly roundup of all the good news and ideas you might have missed from the past week.</span></p>
<p><b>Piano-playing mini horses are everything we need right now</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You guys. I’m not even joking, I nearly fell out of my chair listening to these miniature horses “play piano.” If you’re wondering how an animal with hooves plays an instrument with little keys, please go </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reels/DMT20lBvbD5/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">here</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to be awesomely amused.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Growing up, my grandma played Vince Guaraldi-style jazz piano and my mom composed choir anthems and musicals on the ivories. But lil </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWZLwQnCg2Y/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Liberty Belle</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">’s lippy glissando instantly struck my funny bone. Maybe it’s also the freeflow mane adding to the magic, along with the fact that it’s all for a good cause. </span></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The California-based </span><a href="https://www.minitherapyhorses.com/?gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=20787295107&amp;gbraid=0AAAAAqhcVgDeniGJ40WP-0aaFhrmOfPSk&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwwpDQBhAuEiwAa-4Woydpe4_xjbJM3HHx5oxvmlObg3Q070uXupH63W-850rfm7sdcEYLCxoCZMcQAvD_BwE"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mini Therapy Horses</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> outreach serves children in hospitals and court systems. An animal’s calming presence can </span><a href="https://phoenixchildrensfoundation.org/moments/changing-futures/how-paws-can-heal/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">decrease stress</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and they’ve helped motivate a child to take their first steps after surgery or even wake from a coma. But when that animal is a musical mini horse, each patient gets the added benefit of a warm forehead to nuzzle, a four-legged trot alongside a ride in a wheelchair, and a perfectly timed musical interlude to lighten the mood. (Imagine waking up from anesthesia to “Panasonic Panic” by Mister Snickerdoodles.) No matter who you are, if you’re suffering from seriousness, the best remedy is horse piano.</span></p>
<p><b>The &#8217;90s fitness sensation TikTok just brought back</b></p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dwKQCNnIcQ0?si=aqESgLFOq_k8l-1q" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Does anyone remember Tae Bo? Even if you didn’t throw punches and kicks with martial arts icon Billy Blanks back in the day (to what sounded like a manic club version of “</span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEXWRTEbj1I&amp;list=RDHEXWRTEbj1I&amp;start_radio=1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">What Is Love</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">”), </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">TikTok is bringing Tae Bo back.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Just like Pilates, SoulCycle, and the Jane Fonda Workout wormed their ways into the hearts of generations of cardio queens, Tae Bo served the ultimate fitness mashup of taekwondo-ish karate-boxing-dance-erobics. It was a cultural phenomenon. Beyond that, it was </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">hard. </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">(I’m sorry, but only a 1990s fitness guru could repeatedly </span><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@bigherbj/video/7474376496887483679?is_from_webapp=1&amp;sender_device=pc&amp;web_id=7612721609313699341"><span style="font-weight: 400;">kick at 11 o’clock in the air</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> for a whole minute.)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I’m guilty of moving coffee tables, rugs, and lamps to the corners of the living room so my roommate and I could try not to knock each other out while following Billy’s moves on VHS. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tae Bo’s biggest draw may be </span><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@victoria.marano/video/7630544377068244238?q=tae%20bo&amp;t=1778701087276"><span style="font-weight: 400;">nostalgia</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, moving for </span><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@dri.ster7/video/7629972038580440333?is_from_webapp=1&amp;sender_device=pc&amp;web_id=7612721609313699341"><span style="font-weight: 400;">mental health</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and (of course) </span><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@kare_les/video/7519896336506883359?is_from_webapp=1&amp;sender_device=pc&amp;web_id=7612721609313699341"><span style="font-weight: 400;">comedy</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, but it warms my heart to see that Billy returned to the spotlight at 70 years old for a new generation of fans. After launching </span><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@billyblanksofficial/video/7566689895834488078?is_from_webapp=1&amp;sender_device=pc&amp;web_id=7612721609313699341"><span style="font-weight: 400;">his own Tae Bo TikTok</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> once the craze returned, </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/06/well/move/tae-bo-workout-tiktok.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">he said</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, “Now I’m getting a second chance.” </span></p>
<p><b>Celebrating the tell-tale signs of a happy life</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With the constant buzz about the latest </span><a href="https://www.thezoereport.com/wellness/kathy-hilton-self-care-ritual"><span style="font-weight: 400;">banana peel</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://metroderm.org/salmon-sperm-facial-what-it-is-how-it-works-and-why-its-the-next-big-thing-in-anti-aging-skin-care/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">salmon sperm</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and </span><a href="https://pagesix.com/2026/04/28/style/i-tried-the-sculpting-facial-anne-hathaway-swears-by-for-an-instant-facelift/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">sculpting</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> facial every celebrity esthetician is selling, it’s easy to feel a little frowny-face about our laugh lines. But what if, instead of desperately trying to erase our history of smiling, we </span><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@drewbarrymore/video/7637204784142929183"><span style="font-weight: 400;">appreciated those lines</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> a little more?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A new therapy for depression, called </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2026/05/06/positive-affect-therapy-depression/?utm_source=email&amp;utm_medium=acq&amp;utm_campaign=RH-ACQ&amp;utm_content=dtpmonthly_20260506_RH&amp;campaign_id=18006021"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Positive Affect Treatment</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, prioritizes joy. Basically, instead of just minimizing negative feelings like traditional therapy, it amplifies positive emotions by training the brain to look for the good stuff. Be kind, see the glass half full, have something to look forward to, and notice the little things. Having dinner with a friend? Think about how comforting the conversation might be, how good the food tastes, or what the cool breeze feels like. Those little details aren’t for nothing. Life is tough. Our smiles are extraordinarily hard-earned. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As writer </span><a href="https://www.strikemagazines.com/blog-2-1/laugh-lines"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sarah Bourloukas</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> suggests, “I hope you remember what a privilege it is to have a body that carries the burden of your happiness; what a privilege it is to have lines that show your laughter.” </span></p>
<p><b>Get into strawberry season with summer’s most iconic dessert</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I just discovered an ancient Greek word that summarizes my thoughts when the “feels like” temperature hits triple digits: </span><a href="https://x.com/TomKindlon/status/1803518995330638051"><span style="font-weight: 400;">κακοθερής (kakotherēs)</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, which means “unfit to endure summer heat.” But blast me with A/C because nothing’s stopping me from living my best life during strawberry season. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">They’re only ripe for about three weeks sometime between </span><a href="https://www.southernliving.com/food/fruits/berries/strawberry/when-are-strawberries-in-season"><span style="font-weight: 400;">February and June</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> depending where you live, so if you spot those bright red berries at the farmer&#8217;s market (they are lighting up Nashville right now), snatch them up immediately. Eat them straight off the truck or whip up this nostalgic </span><a href="https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/11823-strawberry-shortcake?campaign_id=58&amp;emc=edit_ck_20260513&amp;instance_id=175521&amp;nl=cooking&amp;regi_id=306409521&amp;segment_id=219781&amp;user_id=efebae5de6ef428e0fa81be9c8f05168"><span style="font-weight: 400;">five-star strawberry shortcake</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in 45 minutes. </span></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Gather two pints of hulled strawberries, 1/2 cup sugar (plus three tablespoons), four cups flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, five teaspoons baking powder, 1 1/4 cups butter, three cups whipping cream, and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Gently crush 1/4 of the berries, then mix with the rest of the berries and ½ cup sugar. In a separate bowl, mix together three tablespoons sugar, salt, and baking powder. Add ⅓ cup softened butter and rub into the mixture. Add 1 1/4 cups cream to form a soft dough. Roll out to a half-inch thick, then cut into four rounds with a three-inch biscuit cutter. Brush with melted butter and bake for 15 minutes until golden brown. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Beat the cream with vanilla. Layer one half of a shortcake round with whipped cream and strawberries. Top with the remaining shortcake, and bedazzle with whipped cream and berries as you please. If you’re my dad, you have to pour milk on it. And if you’re from Pennsylvania (like me), this dessert is your dinner because strawberry season only comes around once a year.</span></p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">I love hearing about what you’ve loved this week, too! (I can confirm the breakfast cookie recipe from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-bright-side-wild-flamingos-return-gen-z-discovers-beethoven-and-fomo-finally-dies">last week</a> is a total crowd-pleaser.) Dish all the delightful details in the comments (you can </span></i><a href="mailto:lbair@dailywire.com"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">email</span></i></a><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> me too) to amplify the joy. Thanks for stopping by! — Lauren </span></i></p>


The Bright Side Goes Full 1999

'90s fitness

billy blanks

facials

happiness

mini horses

Piano

recipe

smile lines

strawberries

strawberry shortcake

tae bo

<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">This article is part of </span></i><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Upstream,</span></i></a><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.</span></i></p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">***</span></i></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the most decorated bobsledders in history, Kaillie Humphries has it all: six Olympic medals, a loving marriage, and the most adorable son. And after teaming up with </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtqv0I_QyJw"><span style="font-weight: 400;">XX-XY Athletics</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in 2026, she’s inspiring women everywhere to go after their dreams. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Humphries knows a little something about beating the odds. She gave birth to her son </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DJ5kXoSRRQJ/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Aulden</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in </span><a href="https://www.ibsf.org/en/news/detail/three-times-bobsleigh-olympic-champion-kaillie-humphries-welcomes-baby-aulden"><span style="font-weight: 400;">2024</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and just 18 months later, she won </span><a href="https://www.teamusa.com/profiles/kaillie-humphries"><span style="font-weight: 400;">two medals</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It is possible to achieve everything you want to achieve,” she tells The Daily Wire. “But it is gonna take work and sacrifice, and there will be some hardships along the way. I&#8217;m not gonna say that doesn&#8217;t exist because that wouldn&#8217;t be truthful.”</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Unafraid to stand her ground, Humphries makes a natural fit for XX-XY. Since its founding by </span><a href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/02/07/jennifer-sey-levis-exec-anti-trans-clothing-brand/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">former Levi Strauss exec</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Jennifer Sey in 2024, the activewear brand has been dedicated to normalizing women’s sports for biological girls and women. The mission? For athletes to “</span><a href="https://www.xx-xyathletics.com/pages/our-founder"><span style="font-weight: 400;">simply be afforded the chance to compete on an even playing field</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the battle over </span><a href="https://adflegal.org/campaign/winning-the-battle-against-gender-ideology/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Title IX</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, which was once designed to provide women </span><a href="https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2014/1/27/title-ix-frequently-asked-questions.aspx#title"><span style="font-weight: 400;">equal opportunity in sports</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, XX-XY offered sanctuary from </span><a href="https://edworkforce.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=411780"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Biden-era policies</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that allowed an </span><a href="https://katv.com/news/nation-world/lia-thomas-exposed-male-genitalia-in-womens-locker-room-at-swim-meet-ex-swimmer-says"><span style="font-weight: 400;">intact man</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> claiming to be a “woman” to strip down in front of female swimmers and, in another case, spike a volleyball so hard it led to another athlete’s </span><a href="https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/cmte_testimony/2025/wam/1E52PALNHjL37zcTICExf7g4TqIaF3cuW.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">concussion</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> during a high school game. Adding insult to injury, biological male athletes regularly broke women’s records, stole nearly </span><a href="https://kfoxtv.com/news/nation-world/un-study-reveals-transgender-athletes-have-won-nearly-900-medals-in-womens-competitions-united-nations-sports-lgbt-gender-identity-title-ix-athletics"><span style="font-weight: 400;">900 women’s medals</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and hijacked hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money and </span><a href="https://www.akleg.gov/basis/get_documents.asp?session=32&amp;docid=80468"><span style="font-weight: 400;">scholarships</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The devastating fallout was no surprise. </span><a href="https://womeninsport.org/transgender-inclusion-womens-sport/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Men are stronger</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, faster, taller, leaner, and more muscular and have larger lung capacity than women. Period. Extremely </span><a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10795902/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">limited research</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> showed that “physical performance of nonathletic trans people who have undergone [gender-affirming hormone therapy] for at least two years approaches that of cisgender controls.” It wasn’t close to being fair.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">President Donald Trump </span><a href="https://youtu.be/2-QfaFvxxQA?t=48"><span style="font-weight: 400;">signed an executive order</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> declaring an end to the war on women’s sports </span><a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/keeping-men-out-of-womens-sports/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">in 2025</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. But for Humphries, who spent her entire career advocating for equality in bobsledding, some battle scars last a lifetime.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She’s currently the women’s athlete rep for the </span><a href="https://www.ibsf.org/en/news/detail/ibsf-athletes-elected-their-representatives-for-the-athletes-committee"><span style="font-weight: 400;">International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, competing for the U.S. on the world stage, but back when she was a citizen of her native Canada, Humphries was forced to advocate for a fair shake. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“When I first started in the sport, women didn&#8217;t compete on all the same bobsled tracks,” she says. “We weren&#8217;t good enough, is what we were told, so we were given the easy tracks, the soft tracks. I had to go compete against the men with an all-women&#8217;s crew at the World Cup because that was the only way they were going to allow us to showcase that we are skilled enough, fast enough, strong enough. I was told no one wants to see women crash. Women can&#8217;t do this. You can&#8217;t move the weight. It&#8217;s too dangerous.” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If this sounds like some kind of vintage vision of sports, Humphries says the balance was still off as recently as 2018. “[Women] didn&#8217;t have equal medal opportunity for four of the six Olympics I&#8217;ve been to,” she explains. “The men were getting a lot more prize money than the women were getting for the exact same stuff. There were some races when you were given, like, a cheese plate, and the guys were getting prize money.” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Humphries was also advised that she’d lose her competitive edge if she </span><a href="https://www.xx-xyathletics.com/blogs/newsroom/kaillie-humphries-the-ultimate-athlete-mom?srsltid=AfmBOorPqjXwPrSwA44AlHTc0ZJbGCxRRpZWjmqM2J8Ew6YN8Hv4jCJc"><span style="font-weight: 400;">got pregnant</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. But instead of abiding by other people’s limits, she followed her gut. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The number of women who let go of career or family goals because they believe both can’t exist is uncountable. Humphries wants to change that. She established her </span><a href="https://trailblazeher.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">TrailblazeHER</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> foundation to support elite female athletes with financial assistance and wellness resources as they go for Olympic and Paralympic gold. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So how can every woman go all in off the bobsled track? Whether it’s bench pressing a few pounds or learning to play the piano, start by believing in yourself. “Find your people, chase your dreams … don&#8217;t listen to the limitations that people put on you,” Humphries says. “It&#8217;s the greatest satisfaction when we can be the best versions of ourselves by showing up for our goals and dreams.” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Along with her dedicated mental game, she attributes her success to her stellar support system and suggests surrounding yourself with your biggest fans. “It might be the friend down the street, it might be a grandparent, whoever it is, a coach, a therapist, stick close to those people.” It’s not uncommon for Humphries to train alongside her </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DUlYrNrgYGT/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">husband, her son</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DUU75YWinaV/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">her team</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> among the many people equally dedicated to her goals. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In 2021, Humphries became an American citizen so she could compete for the U.S. at the </span><a href="https://www.espn.com/olympics/bobsled/story/_/id/32773308/ex-canadian-bobsled-star-kaillie-humphries-sworn-american-citizen-clearing-compete-us-beijing"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Beijing Olympics</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Five years later, in May 2026, she accepted her third invitation to the White House to be honored at a Mother’s Day event in the Rose Garden. Her chic </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DYIWeoPyHAq/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">cherry blossom pink suit</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> put a demure spin on her signature tattoos. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When I ask her what her next bit of ink might be, she confirms “something for Cortina,” but also shares some news. “Hopefully we can get pregnant again, and then that will change what tattoo I want to get.” After we joke that the only open real estate left may be her face and neck, she laughs, “My face? Never. My dad would shoot me.” What she doesn’t completely rule out is a </span><a href="https://www.olympics.com/en/news/team-usa-bobsleigh-legend-kaillie-humphries-and-the-mother-of-all-missions-inspired-by-serena-williams"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">seventh</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> run at the Olympics</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So will training like Kaillie Humphries in head-to-toe </span><a href="https://www.xx-xyathletics.com/collections/kaillie-humphries-favorites"><span style="font-weight: 400;">XX-XY</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> help you nab the gold? Along with a supportive team and a positive mindset, a fresh fit certainly lends the confidence boost for that next challenge — even if it’s groceries. But the real magic happens when you take the first step.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Tiny steps are still steps,” Humphries says. “Nobody&#8217;s an expert overnight. What looks like big jumps are really little steps in process and work. Focus on the little wins, and work on those steps to get to the goal.” </span></p>


The Olympic Champion Taking On The Left’s War Over Women’s Sports

bobsled

jennifer sey

kaillie humphries

Olympics

Women's sports

xx-xy athletics

<p><i>This article is part of </i><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><i>Upstream,</i></a><i> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.</i></p>
<p><i>***</i></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Meghan Markle loves three things: flower sprinkles, fame, and Meghan Markle. But if you missed the part about how she’s basically in a long-term relationship with her own handwriting, we tapped an expert to weigh in on what Meghan’s calligraphy reveals about her soul. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’re expecting a heart of gold, brace yourself. This is the </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">real </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Meghan Markle. Not even her fake-</span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DXWQDhnDDMt/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">empathetic eyebrows</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> can save her now.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s not like I was anticipating a glowing review,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">but I grabbed a bucket of popcorn when I got the results. “It is pretty damning stuff, but I&#8217;m afraid this is what I am seeing in the handwriting,” a leading analyst from the British Institute of Graphologists, </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tracey Trussell</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">, told The Daily Wire. “I&#8217;ve found that the handwriting never lies!” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After Markle’s latest newsletter from her As ever lifestyle brand dropped into my inbox, teasing a </span><a href="https://asever.com/products/the-signature-chocolate-box?variant=52205256081689&amp;country=US&amp;currency=USD&amp;utm_medium=product_sync&amp;utm_source=google&amp;utm_content=sag_organic&amp;utm_campaign=sag_organic&amp;tw_source=google&amp;tw_adid=806107494616&amp;tw_campaign=23767648557&amp;tw_kwdid=pla-354277681847&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=23767648557&amp;gbraid=0AAAABDQG_0G8ZZ6Vu5Gg1mO5Edv5MA2OO&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjw_IXQBhCkARIsADqELbIsMnrGCMCKj6dNeFWdvZLffFd3mz8JV-hcwS0DH7VUtzwtm7J9vBYaAvN0EALw_wcB"><span style="font-weight: 400;">$58 box of chocolates</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, each truffle impressed with “A-s e-v-e-r” in tight gold letters, I could no longer ignore the situation. The rigid unevenness of her handwriting pierced my heart. Why was the Duchess of Montecito doing this to us?</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Every As ever </span><a href="https://asever.com/collections/shop-all/products/signature-candle-no-506"><span style="font-weight: 400;">candle</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://asever.com/collections/shop-all/products/signature-fruit-spread-gift-box-raspberry-orange-marmalade-and-strawberry"><span style="font-weight: 400;">jam</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and </span><a href="https://asever.com/collections/shop-all/products/when-the-day-slows-set"><span style="font-weight: 400;">tea</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> canister is tortured by her signature script. But I wouldn’t care about Megligraphy, except for this: Along with her rinse-and-repeat story about demanding that an allegedly misogynist </span><a href="https://x.com/NickRewind/status/1125399474048839681"><span style="font-weight: 400;">dish soap company</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> change its TV ad when she was 12 (</span><a href="https://www.newsweek.com/meghan-markle-famous-feminist-dish-soap-story-questioned-vanity-fair-revenge-tom-bower-1725559"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Vanity Fair</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> couldn’t even verify the whole story), she’s been talking about her handwriting for decades — and loving every minute of it.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Meghan appeared on </span><a href="https://youtu.be/ivBc4VeTubg?t=1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&#8220;Larry King Now&#8221;</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in 2013, two years into unremarkably starring on “</span><a href="https://suits.fandom.com/wiki/Meghan_Markle"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Suits</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">” and three years before landing Prince </span><a href="https://www.instyle.com/meghan-markle-prince-harry-relationship-11834849"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Harry</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. When King inquired as to whether Meghan was a calligrapher, she replied with characteristic pseudo-humility, “I, I, I … I used to be, yes. That was, um … I went to all-girls Catholic school. Handwriting class was one of those lost arts.” King held up the writing sample for the camera (it said “I Love Larry King”) while Meghan appeared pleased with the extra flourishes she added to drugstore cursive.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In 2016, she told </span><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@dinosorr5/video/7485563017799699743"><span style="font-weight: 400;">AOL Build</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that she paid the bills with commissioned calligraphy while struggling as an actress. “I just had always had nice penmanship,” she bragged. “I’d done, I don’t know, celebrity correspondence for Dolce &amp; Gabbana or The Four Seasons. I did Paula Patton and Robin Thicke’s wedding.” </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Oh, here, Meghan, it looks like you might have accidentally dropped these names.</span></i></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Are you a survivor of the Netflix series “With Love, Meghan”? Then you saw her fawn over her own handwriting there, too. Lamenting an A-minus in penmanship class from like 100 years ago, </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reels/DHWGbPyIxva/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">she said</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of the “little swirls” she’s still obsessed with including, “You know what, I’ll take the ‘minus’ for a little bit of character.” So relatable, your majesty. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Unlike butter churning or lute playing, calligraphy isn’t some sort of ancient skillset we don’t see very much. Proving the writing style’s </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/29/style/calligraphy-handwriting-revival.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">revived popularity</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, Etsy hosts </span><a href="https://www.etsy.com/market/calligraphy_on_etsy"><span style="font-weight: 400;">thousands of shops</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> peddling custom designs by crafters powering a </span><a href="https://www.intelmarketresearch.com/calligraphy-pen-market-28985"><span style="font-weight: 400;">$1.28 billion</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> global calligraphy pen market. But these are gestural, flowing expressions of art. Meghan’s is the opposite of that. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We know that Meghan is obsessed with appearances,” Trussell observed. “Everything in her world is hyper-controlled and super focused on perfectionism, which means she is forever teetering on the brink.” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Maybe you’ve heard of handwriting analysis helping to </span><a href="https://forensicexpertinvestigation.com/handwriting-of-serial-killers/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">solve crimes</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. In the civilian lane, graphology can uncover roughly </span><a href="https://www.pens.com/blog/handwriting-infographic/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">5,000 personality traits</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> by studying the spacing between words, the sizing of letters, and slanting and looping patterns, among other things. “Our handwriting is the unique pattern of our psychology expressed in symbols on the page, and graphology is the science of deciphering these symbols,” Trussell said. Of course I happily unleashed this resource on forensically dissecting the celebrated founder of </span><a href="https://asever.com/collections/spreads"><span style="font-weight: 400;">fruit spread</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Trussell kindly accepted my request to analyze Meghan’s calligraphy from </span><a href="https://asever.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">As ever</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> brand packaging, along with Meghan’s handwritten notes that often accompany celebrity gift basket swag. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here’s what Trussell read between the lines.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Meghan may be producing a polished performance, but from a graphologist’s perspective, it’s style over substance — a type of ephemeral pseudo sophistication that lacks soul,” Trussel shared, describing a style that functions like a tourniquet to natural flow.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You could say that someone who just teased a photo of their </span><a href="https://people.com/meghan-markle-celebrates-prince-archie-7th-birthday-new-photos-princess-lilibet-11967353"><span style="font-weight: 400;">son Archie</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to possibly distract from less flattering headlines about how she&#8217;s </span><a href="https://www.aol.com/articles/meghan-markle-prince-harry-living-085815874.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">living a separate life from her prince husband</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> might be lacking in the soul department. At least when it comes to publicity.  </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Noting the stiffness and rigidity I saw on the chocolates, Trussell said of the “clockwork” nature of Meghan’s lettering, “This reflects her intolerant and inflexible approach to life, her affected, contrived and disingenuous nature, and further conceals underlying feelings of inadequacy.” That inflexibility is not at all shocking, considering how Meghan forced the Kardashians to delete </span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/DlistedRoyals/comments/1oudnid/kim_kardashian_and_kris_jenner_quietly_delete/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">photos of Harry</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> staring at Kris Jenner’s chest from Instagram, when it was obvious guests would be photographed at the party. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Trussell also didn’t let Meghan off the hook when it came to the smoke-and-mirror messaging of her excessively flattering and flowery gift notes. “Whatever the truth, the fact that she feels the need to construct and project something so flawless is telling.” As we can see from the following message, there&#8217;s not enough zhuzh on Earth to obscure the main message that she was <a href="https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/meghan-markle-guest-editor-september-issue-british-vogue-2019">guest-editing British Vogue</a>.</span></p>
<p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Handwriting/comments/eo8qmc/meghan_markles_handwriting/"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-1093585 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/meghan-markles-handwriting-v0-pgrs2v1fila41-651x576.webp" alt="" width="651" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/meghan-markles-handwriting-v0-pgrs2v1fila41-651x576.webp 651w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/meghan-markles-handwriting-v0-pgrs2v1fila41-300x265.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/meghan-markles-handwriting-v0-pgrs2v1fila41-768x679.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/meghan-markles-handwriting-v0-pgrs2v1fila41.webp 1080w" sizes=" (max-width: 651px) 100vw, 651px" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Getting into the nitty-gritty, Trussell sees specific details in Meghan’s penmanship that tell the real story. “The way the writing tumbles forward obliquely reveals Meghan’s passion and obsession, and her acute sensitivity. Plus, the letters are nearly all joined, so interrupt her at your peril!” Mirroring the line-crossing intimacy of the time Meghan awkwardly </span><a href="https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/2184421/meghan-markle-latest-kelly-mckee-zajfen"><span style="font-weight: 400;">cradled her friend’s baby bump</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> on a red carpet, her oversized lettering indicates manufactured confidence, Trussell says: “This is merely attention-seeking and an overcompensation for feelings of inferiority and anxiety, which are all lurking under wraps.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While upturned strokes signal good intentions, Trussell says the fact that those lines always hook backward in the opposite direction reveals Meghan’s inflated ego and greed. “It’s all for applause and effect, without any real feeling or emotion behind the intention,” she shared. Those little frills Meghan compulsively adds reveal anxiousness, a desire for protection, and apprehension about the unknown.  </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This was all extraordinarily delicious. But my guiltiest pleasure in this analysis of Meghan’s handwriting might be best portrayed via the sweeping letter “A” in As ever. “Meghan’s consciously drawn large (disproportionately oversized) capitals tell of her immense personal pride and vanity, her arrogance and presumptuousness, whilst disclosing her craving for respect and approval,” Trussell says. “She’s got her head in the clouds.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Case closed. Vain, insecure, and calculating, Meghan Markle’s calligraphy proves she’s thirsty </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">as ever </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">to be loved with a cursive capital L.</span></p>


A Handwriting Expert Just Dissected Meghan Markle — And It Got Brutal Fast

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Daily Wire Moms Share The Mother’s Day Gifts They’ll Never Forget

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<p><i>This article is part of </i><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><i>Upstream,</i></a><i> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.</i></p>
<p><i>***</i></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mother’s Day exalts womankind’s top job: motherhood. Roughly <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2018/01/18/theyre-waiting-longer-but-u-s-women-today-more-likely-to-have-children-than-a-decade-ago/">86% of women</a> qualify as mothers on this day of &#8216;grammable glory, but the celebration leaves </span><a href="https://ifstudies.org/blog/four-million-american-women-reach-ages-40-to-50-without-children"><span style="font-weight: 400;">4 million</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> women out in the cold. Casting a wide net, the price of admission into this 24-hour hall of fame is simple: your child. Your <i>human</i> child, not the furry kind with four legs and a tail — at least, if you hope to keep your dignity intact. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though Moms deserve their special moment, the cultural rush to get all types of &#8220;moms&#8221; in on the action raises the question: Why can&#8217;t we have another holiday to celebrate all the great ladies in our lives? <a href="https://nationaldaycalendar.com/celebrations/national-dog-moms-day-second-saturday-in-may">National Dog Mom&#8217;s Day</a> on the same weekend doesn&#8217;t quite do it.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There should be another day to honor the women and mother figures we love, and, technically, there is: International Women&#8217;s Day. But here in the U.S., the day is synonymous with celebrating every leftist policy you can imagine. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">What started as a day meant to elevate all girls and women was largely co-opted by those insisting on wrestling it into something like a “Day for Women’s Rights” or “Feminist New Year’s Eve.” It was riddled with stats about </span><a href="https://iwda.org.au/take-action/international-womens-day/?gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=20357781501&amp;gbraid=0AAAAADwVuS4Z6LTUvQwS11kGJNzLABWwK&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwzevPBhBaEiwAplAxvjBpKh5QGaxKZ2zAm6XzA8bfcDNtZ6hqqWWNYmOLjn3k8VJilDJl4BoCKzQQAvD_BwE"><span style="font-weight: 400;">women and girls who were murdered</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> by male family members, alleged gender pay gaps, and lax laws against rape and domestic abuse.  </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This, according to the rules of fun parties, is the complete opposite of something a person outside the group would ever be inclined to celebrate. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">No offense to the tattooed girl with the fuzzy pink hair and cheek piercings working behind the counter of my local bookstore. Girl, Women’s Day is for xe/xem/you. Have the best time at the next protest for the current thing.</span></p>
<p>My first encounter with the Women’s Day concept was enlightening. At the time, I was working a side job as a food delivery driver in Los Angeles (while I hustled on becoming a famous actor, naturally). A prolific blogger for my five subscribers, I happily detailed my life as a fun SoCal gal, totally buying into the message about not needing children in order to validate my existence.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hello, women were editors of high fashion magazines, famous actresses, and inventors of Spanx! I didn’t need to know if these boss babes had kids or could pay for nannies and IVF. The point was that their careers defined them, not their families. A killer shoe closet or a cute loft apartment was just as good. At least, that’s what I thought.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I arrived at the Bel Air home of a woman who greeted me with a smile as she emerged from an entryway that was overflowing with flowers. I assumed her sunny glow meant no one had died. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Ooo, is it someone’s birthday?” I couldn’t think of any other occasions on March 8 and was trying to attach a story to the $400 Sugarfish sushi order I had ferried to her door. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We’re celebrating Women’s Day!” she said. “It’s like your Mother’s Day here, but in Sweden we honor all women. These are from my husband to me,” she explained, gesturing toward an obscene arrangement of luscious white roses. Pointing to two more, she added, “And these are for our daughters.” It included all the women in the home. The pure, loving gesture of appreciation seemed nice.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I walked back to my car, wondering why the heck we didn’t do Women’s Day in the U.S. I found out later that Women&#8217;s Day was launched internationally by Marxist </span><a href="https://wearethecity.com/inspirational-quotes-clara-zetkin-founder-international-womens-day-2/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Clara Zetkin</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in early-1900s Denmark (stay with me!), spreading to millions of women worldwide who put their own spin on it. Italy’s practically covered with mimosa blossoms for </span><a href="https://www.italiancs.org/blog/international-womens-day-in-italy"><span style="font-weight: 400;">La Festa della Donna</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. And in </span><a href="http://masterrussian.com/russianculture/womens_day_march8.htm"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Russia</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, the national public holiday is marked by special meals, gifts, and champagne. Even in China, working women get half a day off for “</span><a href="https://www.globalimpactinitiative.com/blog/international-womens-day-and-its-impact"><span style="font-weight: 400;">self-care</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.” Without the heavy yoke of politics, it&#8217;s a day where every woman, young and old, blossoms into her own.</span></p>
<p>Maybe the problem is that all holidays eventually become avenues for propaganda or corporate profit. <span style="font-weight: 400;">The whole Mother’s Day idea started </span><a href="https://time.com/4771354/mothers-day-history-origins/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">in 1908</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> as an initiative by Philadelphia teacher Anna Jarvis to celebrate moms with a modest white carnation and a visit to the local church. Once President Woodrow Wilson put it on the calendar, things went off the rails. Jarvis formally disowned the holiday before she died in 1948, lamenting its commercialization. These days, greeting cards and flower bouquets have turned Mother’s Day into a </span><a href="https://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/mother-s-day-spending-expected-to-hit-record-38-billion"><span style="font-weight: 400;">$38 billion</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> industry. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Women make up more than half the population but control </span><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2024/03/07/who-runs-the-world-women-control-85-of-purchases-29-of-stem-roles/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">85% of purchasing power</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in the U.S., and they drop more than </span><a href="https://girlpowermarketing.com/statistics-purchasing-power-women/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">$31 trillion</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> worldwide. As </span><a href="https://youtu.be/j6DHRFuCEwA?t=56"><span style="font-weight: 400;">L’Oréal</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> drilled into generations of women’s heads, “If I pay more, I feel I get more. And I’m worth it.” Sold.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On top of this relentless commercialization, Mother’s Day presents its own conundrum. The tragic loss of a child, a long struggle with infertility, or the estrangement of a family member can add stress to a day that’s marketed as being full of love and chocolate truffles. Maybe it’s an impossible task, getting it right for everyone.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I was lucky enough to get the best mom in the biz. And I enjoy participating in motherhood and raising children in a supporting role as an aunt, daughter, and sister. I also recognize the incredible dedication and hard work it takes to be a parent. You don’t hear too many stories about someone’s last words being about a compelling corporate presentation. It’s family. Full stop. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Maybe someday we’ll find a real way to recognize the value in all women and girls, just as they are. Protect Mother&#8217;s Day for mothers, and let Women&#8217;s Day celebrate women without all the corporate feminist politics. There&#8217;s got to be a way to honor our sisters, aunts, girlfriends, daughters, nurturers, neighbors, and friends, no strings attached.</span></p>


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Mother’s Day Has A Growing Identity Crisis, And Women Are Feeling It

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The Bright Side: Wild Flamingos Return, Gen Z Discovers Beethoven, And FOMO Finally Dies

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Lauren Bair