OVERTHINK

In episode 141 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss femininity. They look to Simone de Beauvoir’s famous claim that one is not born but rather becomes a woman, and discuss how the process of feminization is crucial to this becoming. They explore the association between femininity, mystery, and docility. Is the return to traditional gender roles an attempt to move away from capitalism? How do contemporary beauty standards shape women’s self-understanding. And is there such thing as “feminine writing”?

In episode 140 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss masculinity. What does it mean to be a man, and how has the concept of masculinity changed over time? They look at the connection between the male loneliness epidemic and the crisis of masculinity, the current influx of male influencers spreading right-wing rhetoric, and some of the features of masculinity. Is masculinity rooted in violence and homophobia? Is it possible to have a healthy model of masculinity?

In episode 139 of Overthink, Ellie and David talk about neighbors. They think through the parasocial relationships that exist between neighbors, how the values of our neighbors affect us, and how neighborly relations blur the public/private distinction. They look to Levinas’s understanding of the neighbor as the other and think about how this understanding can help us in day-to-day interactions. How do our relationships with neighbors differ from our other kinds of relationships? To what extent do we choose our neighbors, and how does this change according to people’s amount of wealth? And what actually makes a neighbor a neighbor?