“So Long Mean Girls,” read the headline of a piece published this week by my friend, Rachel Bowie. “2023 Is the Year of the Hype Woman.”
My first thought: HECK YEAH!
Allow me a little hyping here myself: Bowie is a mother, writer, author, senior director of special projects and royals at PureWow, co-host of the Royally Obsessed podcast, and a gem of a human. Of course she wrote this story! It opens with a retelling of Jamie Lee Curtis’s celebration of Michelle Yeoh’s win at the Golden Globes and then shouts-out more notable women uplifting other women.
Why does this feel so novel? Because it runs counter to how so many women have been conditioned. “Especially in corporate cultures, where female leaders are few and far between, we’ve been taught to view other women as threats, our competition,” Bowie writes. Later, she asks: “The question then becomes, can we normal people take the lessons of our celebrity sisters and implement them in our own professional environments?”
Challenge accepted! Typically these SMT discussion threads are for paid subscribers but today I wanted to open one up to everyone. Hit that button below and HYPE SOMEONE YOU LOVE. Not someone famous, not someone royal, but someone *in your life* who you admire. Brag, tag, drop a link, suggest a follow, whatever you like — this is a space to celebrate one another. If you want to be your own #hypewoman, by all means! And if you need hyping, let us know that, too.
Happy International Women’s Day, friends. I’m grateful for you.
My friend Szilvia Molnar is a mother of two (both under five years), has a full time job, and wrote a book that will be published by Pantheon Books on Tuesday! It’s called The Nursery (9780593316849), and I’m SO, so proud of her!
My colleague, “MW.” She’s a fantastic advocate for all, and a wonderful sounding board. I’m grateful for her collaboration and support. Bonus, she always has SMTs and always speaks her mind.
LOVE this. I feel beyond excited and honored to HYPE my girlfriend Lindsay (@legallylinz)! I've had the pleasure of knowing Lindsay since 2008 when we interned together at a magazine in Boston. We became friends immediately via our love of pop culture. We became roommates shortly after as we embarked on city living and have been friends ever since. We've experienced engagements, our weddings and babies (4 boys between us!), multiple job changes, moves and more. But her friendship has always been strong and PRESENT. She inspires me to BE TRUE TO MYSELF, to take risks, to be REAL, to be proud to love all things fabulous (fashion, style, books, tv - good and guilty - silly gossip and more). I adore her honesty, trust her unbelievably and feel lucky to have her in my life. She's so thoughtful - I will never forget the emotional tears that flooded my face when I opened a package she sent me after my 3rd baby, totally royal themed and so on point. SHE GETS ME. She motives me to be braver just by watching her live her life. She's just wonderful and I can't wait to see where our friendship brings us... I can picture us in our 70s and 80s sipping rose, eating salsa and chips and chatting for hours, just like how we started off ha :) Follow her on IG for laughs and smiles, I promise. xo
First, thank you so much for this, Elizabeth!! I want to start by hyping YOU because you’ve created this kind of space. Hyping each other is such a wonderful way to celebrate International Women’s Day and I love your honesty and how much thought you put into everything you do. Thank you for being you.
I want to hype Sam and Susan, my fellow childhood education grad students and two of my closest friends. On top of grad school, they are both full-time moms to three energetic kids (each) and I applaud them for essentially having two full-time jobs. They are slaying grad school and I know they will be amazing teachers. I know I would not be able to do this program without them.
Along the lines of school, I also want to hype my teacher, Dr Jean Ann Hunt. She’s my absolute favorite teacher, going above and beyond to make connections with her students. Dr Hunt is a class act and her personality is like a warm hug. One of the required texts for her class is called The Joyful Teacher and she truly embodies the qualities from this book. Her passion and joy are so infectious and she’s the teacher I aspire to one day be.
I also want to hype my music teacher/choral director, Linda. She knows me so well and what I need to learn. She tells me when I’m doing well and when I’m not, she knows the solution. She makes me a better singer and pianist. I’m privileged to call her my mentor, but I’m even more privileged to call her my friend. She’s someone I can talk to about almost anything. We’ve also bonded over a shared interest in the British Royal Family. I lent her my copy of HRH and she loved it. I’m privileged to call her my mentor, but I’m even more privileged to call her my friend.
My friend Rebecca has put her whole heart and soul into launching Sister Seasons, a platform of resources and community for women to better understand their bodies, and how women's wellbeing is linked to the planet's wellbeing. You can learn more at https://www.sisterseasons.com/ or https://www.instagram.com/heysisterseasons/.
I love this so much! It matters that we take the time to celebrate other women (I mean honestly it matters that we celebrate everyone. We need so much more love in the world every single day, but today in particular it matters that we celebrate women!) I want to hype up my newest internet friend Brandi Kincaid (@brandikincaid on Instagram)through both her art and her words she reminds me regularly to pause and reflect on the world around me, to take pride in the quiet still moments of a good cup of tea or a beautiful poem or a lovely little bird outside of my window. We live in such a fast paced world that these moments of beauty are everything to me. She has a wonderful website where monthly she sends out what she calls “Extravagant Hope” mailers and they are the perfect little bits of happy. There are art pieces that can keep and display in your own home or share with a friend, there’s a sweet letter, encouraging stickers and tidbits, a playlist full of just kind music and book recommendations to add some extra delight to your world. I just sit in awe at her all the time and I can’t resist celebrating her!
I also want to hype up my dear friend Brittain! She is my greatest reading companion and my sounding board for literally every thought in my head. I have lived in 5 different time zones in the past year. I’ve had a kid and moved a handful of times and she has remained a consistent source of comfort and stability throughout it all. She’s a nanny who loves the kids in her care as though they were her own, a reader who devours books with such a zealous fervor that you can’t help reading more around her, a runner who pushes herself to be the strongest, best version of herself always. I just feel so lucky to know her and be loved by her ❤️
(A special hype moment for you as well Elizabeth! For giving us the space to share this love and for always encouraging us to think critical thoughts. I know I’ve told you before and I won’t ever stop, finding your little spot of the internet has made me a better version of myself. I’m so thankful that I know you!)
I need to encourage everyone to listen to Your Last Meal with Rachel Belle. It's the best little podcast. Rachel brings such positivity, genuine warmth, and curiosity to conversations with celebrities and food experts; it's a joy to listen to, bringing light to my day, and I learn a lot about food, history, culture, and the celebrities give me SMT 😁
What a fantastic prompt! Here are a few women I'm fan-girling right now:
1. Amna Nawaz - the new co-anchor of PBS News Hour. She's an incredible journalists and I've followed her career for awhile. Love that she's the first Muslim to be a co-anchor at PBS.
2. Mallory McMorrow - a badass state senator from Michigan who gave an incredible speech against insane legislation this year and continues to stand up for her values
3. My mom - My mom is the strongest, most selfless person I know. She spends so much time taking care of other people, including her elderly mother, and I'm always in awe of her grace.
My amazing wife is a coach and trainer who focuses on recovery and stress management and making habits and staying moving work for people instead of like, shaming them! I love overhearing how compassionate she is with her clients and while we aren't parents, she's so empathetic to how HARD trying to take care of yourself while being a parent can be! This is her fun instagram (and you can see our puppy there too!) https://www.instagram.com/theother23hourscoaching/?hl=en and if you're local to Palm Springs she's teaching a workshop on how to avoid injuries in Pickleball next week! https://app.squarespacescheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=21483548&appointmentType=41634202
I want to hype my friend Marisa, whose book, Grief is Love, continues to help people. I want to hype my friend Adriana, who generously uses her energy and enthusiasm to hype so many friends and mentees. I feel their love daily and am so grateful for them!
You already KNOW I love this sooooo much!! I *also* want to hype my cohost Rachel Bowie all day everyday, because although she published this article this week, this was her outlook long before #hypewomen. She is everyone's biggest cheerleader, shows up to pod recordings with a smile each week for the past three years, and the kindest human many of us will ever have the great good fortune to meet. She's the best mom to Finn and friend to everyone she meets, constantly looking for meaningful ways to glue people scattered in her orbit together for their benefit. I feel so grateful to have her in my circle of strong females dedicated to building others up, and lucky to text her constantly. :)
I also want to hype my boss and friend Angela Pares, and our whole team (Cristina, Rachel and Kelsey) who make me feel lucky and excited to log on to work for the last eight (!) years. They are all incredible women and I don't tell them enough!
My friend Szilvia Molnar is a mother of two (both under five years), has a full time job, and wrote a book that will be published by Pantheon Books on Tuesday! It’s called The Nursery (9780593316849), and I’m SO, so proud of her!
My colleague, “MW.” She’s a fantastic advocate for all, and a wonderful sounding board. I’m grateful for her collaboration and support. Bonus, she always has SMTs and always speaks her mind.
LOVE this. I feel beyond excited and honored to HYPE my girlfriend Lindsay (@legallylinz)! I've had the pleasure of knowing Lindsay since 2008 when we interned together at a magazine in Boston. We became friends immediately via our love of pop culture. We became roommates shortly after as we embarked on city living and have been friends ever since. We've experienced engagements, our weddings and babies (4 boys between us!), multiple job changes, moves and more. But her friendship has always been strong and PRESENT. She inspires me to BE TRUE TO MYSELF, to take risks, to be REAL, to be proud to love all things fabulous (fashion, style, books, tv - good and guilty - silly gossip and more). I adore her honesty, trust her unbelievably and feel lucky to have her in my life. She's so thoughtful - I will never forget the emotional tears that flooded my face when I opened a package she sent me after my 3rd baby, totally royal themed and so on point. SHE GETS ME. She motives me to be braver just by watching her live her life. She's just wonderful and I can't wait to see where our friendship brings us... I can picture us in our 70s and 80s sipping rose, eating salsa and chips and chatting for hours, just like how we started off ha :) Follow her on IG for laughs and smiles, I promise. xo
First, thank you so much for this, Elizabeth!! I want to start by hyping YOU because you’ve created this kind of space. Hyping each other is such a wonderful way to celebrate International Women’s Day and I love your honesty and how much thought you put into everything you do. Thank you for being you.
I want to hype Sam and Susan, my fellow childhood education grad students and two of my closest friends. On top of grad school, they are both full-time moms to three energetic kids (each) and I applaud them for essentially having two full-time jobs. They are slaying grad school and I know they will be amazing teachers. I know I would not be able to do this program without them.
Along the lines of school, I also want to hype my teacher, Dr Jean Ann Hunt. She’s my absolute favorite teacher, going above and beyond to make connections with her students. Dr Hunt is a class act and her personality is like a warm hug. One of the required texts for her class is called The Joyful Teacher and she truly embodies the qualities from this book. Her passion and joy are so infectious and she’s the teacher I aspire to one day be.
I also want to hype my music teacher/choral director, Linda. She knows me so well and what I need to learn. She tells me when I’m doing well and when I’m not, she knows the solution. She makes me a better singer and pianist. I’m privileged to call her my mentor, but I’m even more privileged to call her my friend. She’s someone I can talk to about almost anything. We’ve also bonded over a shared interest in the British Royal Family. I lent her my copy of HRH and she loved it. I’m privileged to call her my mentor, but I’m even more privileged to call her my friend.
My friend Rebecca has put her whole heart and soul into launching Sister Seasons, a platform of resources and community for women to better understand their bodies, and how women's wellbeing is linked to the planet's wellbeing. You can learn more at https://www.sisterseasons.com/ or https://www.instagram.com/heysisterseasons/.
I love this so much! It matters that we take the time to celebrate other women (I mean honestly it matters that we celebrate everyone. We need so much more love in the world every single day, but today in particular it matters that we celebrate women!) I want to hype up my newest internet friend Brandi Kincaid (@brandikincaid on Instagram)through both her art and her words she reminds me regularly to pause and reflect on the world around me, to take pride in the quiet still moments of a good cup of tea or a beautiful poem or a lovely little bird outside of my window. We live in such a fast paced world that these moments of beauty are everything to me. She has a wonderful website where monthly she sends out what she calls “Extravagant Hope” mailers and they are the perfect little bits of happy. There are art pieces that can keep and display in your own home or share with a friend, there’s a sweet letter, encouraging stickers and tidbits, a playlist full of just kind music and book recommendations to add some extra delight to your world. I just sit in awe at her all the time and I can’t resist celebrating her!
I also want to hype up my dear friend Brittain! She is my greatest reading companion and my sounding board for literally every thought in my head. I have lived in 5 different time zones in the past year. I’ve had a kid and moved a handful of times and she has remained a consistent source of comfort and stability throughout it all. She’s a nanny who loves the kids in her care as though they were her own, a reader who devours books with such a zealous fervor that you can’t help reading more around her, a runner who pushes herself to be the strongest, best version of herself always. I just feel so lucky to know her and be loved by her ❤️
(A special hype moment for you as well Elizabeth! For giving us the space to share this love and for always encouraging us to think critical thoughts. I know I’ve told you before and I won’t ever stop, finding your little spot of the internet has made me a better version of myself. I’m so thankful that I know you!)
I need to encourage everyone to listen to Your Last Meal with Rachel Belle. It's the best little podcast. Rachel brings such positivity, genuine warmth, and curiosity to conversations with celebrities and food experts; it's a joy to listen to, bringing light to my day, and I learn a lot about food, history, culture, and the celebrities give me SMT 😁
What a fantastic prompt! Here are a few women I'm fan-girling right now:
1. Amna Nawaz - the new co-anchor of PBS News Hour. She's an incredible journalists and I've followed her career for awhile. Love that she's the first Muslim to be a co-anchor at PBS.
2. Mallory McMorrow - a badass state senator from Michigan who gave an incredible speech against insane legislation this year and continues to stand up for her values
3. My mom - My mom is the strongest, most selfless person I know. She spends so much time taking care of other people, including her elderly mother, and I'm always in awe of her grace.
My amazing wife is a coach and trainer who focuses on recovery and stress management and making habits and staying moving work for people instead of like, shaming them! I love overhearing how compassionate she is with her clients and while we aren't parents, she's so empathetic to how HARD trying to take care of yourself while being a parent can be! This is her fun instagram (and you can see our puppy there too!) https://www.instagram.com/theother23hourscoaching/?hl=en and if you're local to Palm Springs she's teaching a workshop on how to avoid injuries in Pickleball next week! https://app.squarespacescheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=21483548&appointmentType=41634202
I want to hype my friend Marisa, whose book, Grief is Love, continues to help people. I want to hype my friend Adriana, who generously uses her energy and enthusiasm to hype so many friends and mentees. I feel their love daily and am so grateful for them!
You already KNOW I love this sooooo much!! I *also* want to hype my cohost Rachel Bowie all day everyday, because although she published this article this week, this was her outlook long before #hypewomen. She is everyone's biggest cheerleader, shows up to pod recordings with a smile each week for the past three years, and the kindest human many of us will ever have the great good fortune to meet. She's the best mom to Finn and friend to everyone she meets, constantly looking for meaningful ways to glue people scattered in her orbit together for their benefit. I feel so grateful to have her in my circle of strong females dedicated to building others up, and lucky to text her constantly. :)
I also want to hype my boss and friend Angela Pares, and our whole team (Cristina, Rachel and Kelsey) who make me feel lucky and excited to log on to work for the last eight (!) years. They are all incredible women and I don't tell them enough!
Looooove this! My friend @katiekoenigart is an incredibly talented artist (and a great friend, of course!!) and deserves alll the follows.