In the opening chapter of Jane Tara’s Tilda Is Visible (out in February), the titular character is working at her computer when she notices her pinkie finger has disappeared. Worried she’s losing her grasp on her sanity, she retreats to the bathroom, where she sees one of her ears is gone, too.
She can feel both of them when she touches the spaces where they’re supposed to be.
She just can’t… see them.
Her first assumption is that she’s having a mental break. But at an appointment with her primary care physician, she’s given a diagnosis of Invisibility, which is apparently a real thing in the world of this book. The condition primarily affects women starting in their late 40s/early 50s.
It’s all a bit on the nose, but I’m truly enjoying this novel, which interrogates the sense of invisibility aging women often feel as they’re passed over for opportunities, as they’re no longer seen as beautiful, as they start to embody the things they’ve come to believe about themselves thanks to the way they’re treated by our culture.
Meanwhile, body horror The Substance, starring Demi Moore, is out in theaters, and it’s getting a lot of buzz. In the film, Elisabeth Sparkle (Moore), known for her popular aerobics show, is fired on her 50th birthday. Filled with self-loathing, she's feeling particularly vulnerable when a laboratory offers her a substance that promises to transform her into an enhanced version of herself.
This satire explores the way women are often aged out of Hollywood against their will. In an Instagram slideshow, Impact used the film as a jumping-off point, declaring: “It’s time to confront why society puts expiration dates on women.”
As someone who explores these themes in her own writing, I’m loving these new pop cultural offerings. I’ve spent my entire life trying to make myself smaller, more unobtrusive, more palatable to others. But now, as a wife, as a mother, as someone who floats around in the background, wearing her “mom uniform,” making sure things don’t fall apart, I resent this erasure.
At the same time, I’ve been thinking that the crux of the matter is not whether we are visible or invisible. It’s about whether we choose a path of expansion or contraction. Instead of tying ourselves in knots trying to attain eternal youth, why not opt out? Instead of participating in hustle culture, prioritizing productivity and boundless ambition at the expense of our health and wellness, why not prioritize the things that actually fill us up?
Instead of following the path society has always told us we should be following, why not become rule breakers, unruly humans, powerful witches who actively manifest their own happiness?
What are you manifesting these days?
On the Internets
Relevant to all of the above, journalist Virginia Sole-Smith responds to a letter from someone who’s struggling with the “fat old lady” in the mirror.
Illustrator Jess Vosseteig put together this nifty slideshow that compares body neutrality and body positivity.
Beauty journalist Jessica DeFino takes down the bonkers trend that is “the morning shed.”
In my home state of NJ, Governor Murphy has signed legislation expanding the bill of rights of sexual assault victims.
Do we all remember when I wrote about “benign neglect” for Romper, and then Jennifer Garner made it a parenting trend? Now a clinical psychologist is in the NYT telling helicopter parents to ignore their children and I feel vindicated.
Everything I Accomplished Despite Life
I’m not gonna lie. I’ve been useless for most of late August / early September. But I did lead a chat with author Paul Rousseau for Hippocampus Magazine and, by the time you read this, I will have also attended Flights of Foundry (a virtual conference in the speculative fiction space), for which I’m appearing on a panel about career planning for creatives, and also participating in a discussion about starting a writing critique circle.
Necessary for My Sanity This Past Month
I’ve been embracing all things witchy with the advent of fall, so I love that Disney+ is running the new Agatha All Along. (“The Ballad of the Witches’ Road” will never not be in my head now.)
My latest favorite from The Perfect Scoop is strawberry sorbet. It may be getting chilly, but YUM.
Grady Hendrix has done it again. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls (out in January) checks all my boxes.
It took me a bit to get into Liz Moore’s The God of the Woods, but then I was so invested in finding out where this literary mystery was taking me.
Finally, Brownstone by Samuel Teer and Julia Mar—a coming-of-age teen graphic novel—made me weepy.
Hot Take
My Mood at This Very Moment
Loved this, Steph. I'm manifesting peace and creative excitement this month (which is what peace feels like for me)--and as many mystical experiences as I can handle. I love October!