Happy Monday! 

I’m not gonna lie y’all, my algorithms are primarily Love Island USA-oriented right now. Sorry to harp on it… but this season is genuinely a fascinating study of the consequences of young people falling into the far right pipeline. So, if you’ll indulge me, I have some more thoughts on that below. 

But it can’t all be Love Island all the time! We have to discuss Kylie Jenner, offline summers, The Noah Kahan Concert Incident, and more. 

If you missed last Thursday’s newsletter, the gist is this: The manosphere has infiltrated the Love Island USA villa. 

The main culprit of this behavior is contestant KC Chandler, who has been called an incel (among other things) for the way he has 1) insulted his former connection Aniya Harvey behind her back; 2) gotten upset with her for not being physically intimate with him; and 3) weaponizing the rejection he experienced on day one of the season. Plus, fans are claiming to have found some reposts from KC’s from the late influencer Kevin Samuels, who was known for denouncing modern feminism and bashing Black women. 

Now, the reaction toward KC has become a sort of litmus test for women to see what the men in their lives find acceptable. Women have considered breaking up with their boyfriends, sisters have cussed out their brothers, and girls have jumped their male friends for defending KC. Jokes or not, I am glad that most women are straight-up telling the men in their lives that behavior like that will not be tolerated. 

Predictably, there have been a lot of men—and to be fair, some women!—defending KC online. Many have praised him for choosing himself by dumping Aniya and chastised Aniya for not giving KC enough affection. And the divided discourse has grown so much that the growing male Love Island USA fanbase has complained that the show is too sympathetic toward women and that female contestants are too protective of each other. Of course, women are hitting back at this notion, noting that the primary audience for reality shows like Love Island USA are women.

Ultimately, the ways that some of the men on Love Island USA—not just KC—have been acting toward the girls has really illustrated the double bind that women face. Throughout this whole season, we’ve seen the Madonna-Whore Complex play out, with female islanders getting whacked whether they chose to be sexual or not. In either case, sexuality and abstinence have both been used as an excuse to discard and degrade women. We can only hope that this season brings forward more empathy toward the expectations women face, both in dating and in simply existing.

Kylie Jenner has been receiving major backlash for collaborating with Meta to release a newer, sleeker model of Meta glasses. And while I think it’s understandable that people think that this line was made to fail—this Mother Jones piece suggests that the two parties have fleeting relevance, for instance—I think it would be a mistake to doubt this link-up.

Meta glasses have caused major debate over the past year, with critics arguing they are aiding in the breakdown of our rights to privacy. In the age of panopticontent, some creators have used these glasses to film unwitting bystanders. These new Kylie glasses make this act even more discreet because the camera is less visible. And Kylie herself, with her social power and influence, will help make these surveillance tools fashionable and ubiquitous.

While many people object to AI and the sneaky nature of Meta glasses, the accessory is more popular than ever. With Kylie’s cosign, they are sure to surge in popularity, despite many critics believing that her influence has been diminished over the years. In fact, I think many people doubt the Kardashians’ selling power because it has almost become a given—inconspicuous—over the past decade. And the reality is, scandals like this have only served to strengthen the Kardashian brand and bring more visibility to whatever they are hawking. 

With this news coming out, Dekonstructing the Kardashians by MJ Corey really is shaping up to be the book of the summer. It is such a spot-on, comprehensive look at how and why the Kardashians have become the dominant cultural force, even as people continue to downplay their impact. And MJ shared her take on the situation, which you can see here. 

Every Monday letter gets a playlist. Before Pride Month ends, a sexy playlist of queer artists to celebrate <3

In this week’s playlist:

Other things I want to share with you.