I know there’s not a one-size-fits-all situation, but what are some evidence-based practices that treat BED AND lose weight? I’m asking because I’m scared that I’ll never recover.
I’ve tried a myriad of medications under the supervision of a primary care physician and psychiatrist, regular therapy, and meeting with a dietitian. My psychiatrist said he can give me all of the amphetamines in the world but cognitive behavioral therapy is the best way to overcome binge eating disorder.
But the thing is, a lot of the therapists and dietitians I go to seem to be against weight loss and don’t support my goals. They showed me random infographics and didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know. It just felt like a waste of time to see them because I could get the same information by scrolling on instagram. And the funny thing is, that most of these gurus are thin white women. I’m sure they can have their struggles, but it’s super easy to promote just trusting your body and letting it be when you’re already conventionally attractive. For people like me, a poc girl on the chubby side, I can’t accept that. I’m sorry. I refuse to believe that this is it, that this is the way I’ll be forever.
It just sucks having to deal with two extremes; people who say that weight loss is evil and impossible and people who say I need to do keto and never eat sugar and flour again if I want to recover. You’re bugging if you think I’ll ever cut our carbs completely. I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure carbs serve a necessary function and life without them would just be miserable. But at the same time, what’s so bad about wanting to lose weight? Why is that considered wrong by some people?
I agree that we’re all worthy and should be given respect despite our weight. No one should ever be bullied for their weight, because it’s not easy to lose weight. However, in my opinion, telling people that they’ll never be able to lose weight so they might as well give up is a terrible way to go about it.
Im lucky to finally work with a therapist that supports my weight loss goals, but a majority of them do not. I guess I need to keep seeing her and be patient, but it’s hard. I wish there were more practitioners who approached things in a balanced way.
Maybe I should take one for the team and become said practitioner? I do want to pursue a career in health care, and I’m torn between being a doctor, a PA, or a dietitian. If I become a doctor, I’d love to work in endocrinology and weight loss.
Any thoughts on my post? If you disagree with me or have a different view point, that’s welcome as long as you’re respectful about it. I’m always open to learning and having a growth mindset, just please don’t be rude. I’m a person with feelings, not just a name on the screen.

I'm turning 22 this year and lately i've been thinking about how i even get to this point in my life. I never seem to be able to take anything seriously from school, career, to friendships.
At school i had the chance to be top of my class but never did cause i under estimate stuff too quick and get overwhelmed when the test day comes. Sometimes i get very good grades at the first semesters and fell off hard on the second one because i thought even if i failed the average cumulative grades would pass me and proceeds to mess around. When i get to uni i didnt study for my entrance test and got pretty poor result, i got in just because not many people sign up for my major. I go to a uni known for their comp-sci major and picked marketing just because its an easier path to a degree. While studying in uni i got an offer for an internship at a bank and a big food manufacturer from my cousin, but chose the job offered by my friend at an online retailer instead and talked my way to a pretty comfy position. I built a good relationship with my coworkers and made a name for myself. I promised to take on the jobs my supervisor gave me but i have some demands about the current system. My supervisor was a very good guy, he talked to the higher ups and actually made the changes. This was very good for me cause it meant i can register the company's name for my internship program on my uni while working flexibly with a full time position and pay. My supervisor even aced my internship scoring. Everything seems to be going perfect, too comfortable even. This is when things started to go downhill. I got too comfortable and started to mess up small things and it piled up into a bigger problem than i expected. I know everybody makes mistakes, but sometimes i managed to make the same mistakes multiple times. At this point my friend outperformed me and even got promoted. While working i spent most of my time at my job and my thesis got quite abandoned so i quit my job to focus on my thesis, but then my dad revealed that he wants me to work with him to run my family business after i graduate.
This is the part where i felt like a fraud and a scam, since technically i never perfom outstandingly well in anything. The only way i got ahead in my life is by doing favors and making sure the people that actually know what they're doing owe me favors. It's true that i never cheat, stole, or scam anyone in a literal sense, but getting to this point of my life without actually being able to do anything myself feels like a scam. Even in my friendships sometimes i'd hype up a day to hangout and cancel for no reason. One time a friend even tried to introduce me to a girl and i never followed up on it for no reason at all. Its like i progressed in life without actually progressing as a person.

We have a 1 to 10 grade scale with 5 (E) as the minimum passing grade and 10 (A+) as the top grade and 7 (B) as the average
I have a organic chem teacher that likes to give frankly really easy flash tests on top of the standard chapter tests. The grade corresponding to a 100% score is 9 (A-).
I understand why he doesn't want to give top marks on flash tests as they are much easier than the chapter ones but have the same weight. But it still feels like bullshit that even when I get everything correct my average goes down. He also announced that we will have a "flash" test tomorrow. So now I "have" to go and know that no matter how well I do on it, my semester mark will go down.
Other than that he is wonderful teacher and I love going to his class, legit best one I've ever had. He truly made me enjoy chemistry.
PS: Funny my past physics teacher also did exactly the same thing and he was also the best.

It sucks when your face shape is the primary factor affecting your attractiveness because there isn't really anything you can do to change it. I have predominantly more small, cute, and delicate features, and it totally clashes with my long, square face shape. It's hard to accept the fact that there isn't ever going to be anything I could ever do to fix that, no cosmetic procedures, not even really a way I can cover it up without drawing more unwanted attention to myself. At least issue regarding the nose and lips for example can be helped with a little bit of money; but face shape? There is no amount of money in the world that can shorten it or change its structure.
I just feel so depressed over it and the uncanny look it gives me. I just sit in my room hopelessly praying every day for a miracle, or that maybe it isn't as bad as it seems, but it always is.

Hi everyone!! SIR is tomorrow and I need to make a choice asap. I’d love some insight over this!
I was accepted to UCSB, and CSULB .
Both great schools. I applied as a political science major, but might switch to Econ!
UCSB
It’s a UC, there’s a little prestige to it.
I will be dorming as I live 2 hours away. I'm worried about not being able to find housing after my first year. How is the housing situation?
Received a 10k scholarship, that will cover my first two years of school.
I’m worried about the grading scale
More research opportunities?
Might have to pay some out of pocket
runs on quarter system, which I think I'd love, because I'm a fast paced learner, and LOVE testing on material I just learned
CSULB
Known as one of the better CSU’s
20 minute commute, although I want to try dorming my first year
I doubt I’ll pay anything out of pocket because of financial aid
Might graduate w/o debt
More of a hands on learning
Semester system... not sure how to feel about having the same class for 16 weeks.
I was also accepted into Cal Poly Pomona
Don’t know which is better out of the two
Personally, I feel like I'll thrive better at UCSB because I'll have the ability to do clubs/meet new people. basically get the full college experience.
I’m just scattered all around, and would appreciate what thoughts you guys have. Or if anyone was in my same situation, what they did, and whether they regret it or not.

Hi there,
Back story: I moved from MD to CA and sought medical care at a Sutter Health location. I have Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance, but am using their away from home care: Anthem Blue Cross while I’m living in CA. My step-mother is the primary insuresubscriber and actually works at Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Since January, Sutter has been billing my claims to the insurance company wrong and saying I have a primary and secondary insurance when I don’t. I have wrote to their customer service reps in their online portal, emailed, called, have even shown up in person (but they don’t have an in person billing dept.) and have called the insurance company numerous times to double check that I’m correct. I don’t know what to do at this point. I feel like I’ve tried everything.
Do I have a legal case or am I stuck paying this $2,000 bill?

Sorry it’s long, but I’m so tired of putting effort in my relationships when it’s not being reciprocated back anymore. The guy I was dating claimed to love me and miss me, we’re still talking and could potentially get back together. But he has periods of time when he goes awol for days and it worries me, and when I check on him he says he’s fine. But if I don’t text at times, he doesn’t check on me, which leads me to believe he doesn’t care.
My best friend also hasn’t been reaching out much to me lately. We normally vent to each other and can rely on one another for support, and she hasn’t responded to anything I’ve sent her lately, only small snippets. Yet when she sends me her long series of messages, I respond to everything, every time. It makes me feel like I’m not cared about, and like what I say doesn’t matter.
Now I do understand that people are living their own lives and get busy at times. My friend has been struggling to find a job for a year since she graduated college, and lately she expressed the frustration and hopelessness that she felt. I totally feel for her and she deserves the best. She mentioned how that has made her really stressed, therefore causing a lack in responses to everything. I truly understand and want to be there for her the best way I can, and I offered that support.
The guy I dated doesn’t ask about me as much anymore, and it saddens me. I let him know that I still miss him and hoped that everything was okay. I want to believe that he still cares for me like I do for him, but actions speak louder than words for me. And his actions as of lately are telling me that he’s too enthralled with his own affairs to reach out to me. And if that continues on, I’ll have no desire to get back with him in the future.
This bothers me so much because I’m also dealing with a lot of shit that they know about. I had to abruptly move back home to take care of my mother, who got her leg amputated below the knee. That meant having to move back in with my family, who (not including my mom) are mentally exhausting, lazy, and don’t care about anything. Dealing with that on top of being the primary caregiver for my mom, and taking care of household chores has not been fun. I have really busy days where I run around, yet I still manage to make time to talk to the important people in my life. Talking to them makes me feel better, yet lately when I reach out I’m just met with no response. And it’s not like I excessively text, but I try not to worry. Either way, I’ve now reached a breaking point, and I don’t care anymore.
I’m not going to over exert myself any further. I’m done reaching out. If they reach out they will, and if not, then it’s whatever, I’ll move on. I just don’t understand why it’s so hard for people to make the effort.

With anxiety, mental health, ADHD, and all that, I've left my dissertation to the last minute and secured extenuating circumstances. You can only apply a week at a time, and only for two weeks, so I've applied for my second week today - so it's due next Wednesday now. I have 7300 words out of 10k, but I just made the mistake of reading my first chapter and realising that it's a crock of sh*t with no coherent argument. I feel like it needs entirely rewriting. It's also a history dissertation, and I've barely any primary sources, as I never visited the archives, and just used only sources and historiography. I feel like I'm on the verge of a breakdown and have no idea how to power through and get this done. I just want to curl up into a ball.

Introduction

Pertaining to Taylor Swift, "Female Rage" has deviated from its intended meaning after Swift debuted a new performance of The Tortured Poets Department during the Eras Tour. Now, according to Swift's use of the phrase, female rage is interpreted as public backlash against Swift's dating choices rather than as a response to the broader injustices against women and women's rights. This post examines Taylor Swift's flawed feminism, philanthropy, branding, and the controversial trademark petition for the phrase "Female Rage: The Musical". Swift's background as an entertainer, indeterminate politics, and alignment with capitalism over feminism pervades her legacy, again threatening her public tolerance as not just an individual but as a brand.

Once Upon a Female Rage...

If you were cognizant in the early 2010's, you've heard countless jabs at Taylor Swift in the media. Magazines, radio, or online. Music critics did not take her seriously as a songwriter; parents put a woman on an unrealistic pedestal as the ideal role model for their children; she dated too much and used men as lyrical fodder. No matter the story, it inevitably spread, conjoined with everyone's respective opinions, and you'd be left to wonder, "Why does everyone hate this girl so much?"
Taylor's target demographic has always been young or adolescent girls, more so when Swift herself was one. She made music that spoke to the awkward misfit, cultivating a para-social relationship with fans on MySpace, then later twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, where Taylor posted relatable vlogs showcasing the life of a homegrown American girl. Taylor had a delayed public "growing up" and, compared to her female pop contemporaries, Swift never "gratuitously sexualized her image and seems pathologically averse to controversy" (and, apparently, never even had a sip of alcohol until she turned 21). She was more than happy to spin this narrative to allude to an inherent moral superiority above other women in the industry (Better Than Revenge, heard of it?), engaging in the very slut-shaming that she herself endured (the Madonna and Whore archetypes). The victim complex arose with the need to prove Taylor as a different type of pop girl. Based upon her holy and clean image, Swift had been dubbed "a feminist's nightmare", and that "[To Swift] other girls are obstacles; undeserving enemies who steal Taylor’s soulmates with their bewitching good looks and sexual availability." Feminism and Tennessee-Christian country values don't exactly mix, it seems.
Years later, Swift befriended Lena Dunham and thus experienced white feminism osmosis, where Dunham taught Swift that real feminists defend rapists, makes insensitive jokes about rape and abortion, and prioritize all-white casts. Swift then declared herself a feminist in 2014, saying,

"Becoming friends with Lena – without her preaching to me, but just seeing why she believes what she believes, why she says what she says, why she stands for what she stands for – has made me realize that I’ve been taking a feminist stance without actually saying so."

I suppose the male-centric songwriting subject that permeates Swift's discography contained covert feminism and that we just didn't see that. Perhaps, the "Bad Blood" song and music video were written only in jest and not about poor Katy Perry, for Swift, as a feminist, would "never make it a girl fight" or tear other women down (though all Katy did was date your terrible ex-boyfriend and allegedly steal three backup dancers from your tour). In 2013, Swift said, in response to Tina Fey and Amy Poehler's joke towards her serial dating, "There is a special place in hell for women who don't help other women."
There was that time in 2015 Taylor said that Nicki Minaj was "invited to any stage [she is] on" (as if Taylor expects to have access to every stage, award, and platform that Nicki might not otherwise have as a black female artist...yikes!) in response to Nicki's criticism of the white + thin VMA nominations. Later, Nicki responded with confusion, as Swift continued, "It’s unlike you to pit women against each other. Maybe one of the men took your slot..". Of course, this 'beef' was 'squashed' when Nicki performed with Taylor at the VMAs, with Nicki quite literally only having 38 seconds of stage time without Taylor. Maybe all that parading around with a legion of famous white women - similar to the way Taylor might've done with her numerous 1989-era handbags - was in fact a stance against gender inequality, and that this display of "girl power" should be enough to constitute Swift as a feminist icon.
Even while Swift says that Dunham informed her feminist outlook, she dances around the exact contents of those beliefs: "what she believes, what she says, what she stands for" is not exactly insightful towards what beliefs Swift might have inherited. Taylor never broaches women's rights topics such femicide, FGM, forced pregnancy & marriage, sex trafficking, women in slavery, women's financial and political oppression, women's educational rights, women's health, or women's autonomy, so we can assume she only gives a fuck about "girls supporting girls" (whatever that fucking means).
Despite some questionable (and sometimes vindictive) behavior, Taylor as a young woman did not deserve every media lashing that she received. We cannot deny that most headlines and criticisms perpetuated a misogynistic rhetoric which has plagued Swift for a majority of her career. Acknowledging events such as the development of her ED, her sexual assault trial, "Famous" lyric and MV depiction of Taylor, and the explicit Twitter deepfakes, for example, as both disgusting and unfortunate things that happened to a young woman in Hollywood does not negate the fact that Taylor is mostly a performative feminist.

Get Your Fucking Ass Up and Be a Philanthropist, It Seems Like Nobody Wants to Be a Philanthropist These Days

In 2013, Taylor Swift cut the ribbon at the grand opening of the Taylor Swift Education Center at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee. The donation amount - $4 million - was the largest individual artist gift ever donated to the Country Music Hall of Fame, which is, of course, mentioned on Swift's website. The two-story facility features three classrooms, an instrument room, and an interactive children's exhibit gallery. Swift also performed at "All for the Hall" charity shows and has donated numerous artifacts from her career (such as notable guitars, tour costumes, etc) to the museum.
This was over 11 years ago, and it is still the only notable philanthropic contribution Taylor Swift has made.
For a woman of her net worth and stature, and a woman who recognizes the difficulties for women in film and music, you would think that Taylor Swift might establish a scholarship program for women to study the arts or something. Perhaps Swift might even consider becoming a member of organizations that support female artists, or one that supports LGBTQ+ causes (since she is now proudly an ally), yet she remains superficial with her graces. Broader philanthropy, such as donating relief aid to Palestinian women or women impacted by violence and discrimination will probably never receive any financial support from Miss Swift because then she'd be using her money towards philanthropies involving anyone but white entertainers.
She even says herself in Miss Americana, "My entire moral code as a kid and now is a need to be thought of as 'good'." Well, she's certainly thought of as good, though her actions say otherwise. She's more than happy to do a vaguely altruistic song and dance for a clip-worthy interview quote and mass appeasement, then fuck off to one of her mansions on a 20 minute private jet flight, rather than actually contribute to anything pertaining to the causes she has endorsed. Yet, far too many people continue to give a woman such as her their money, time, and energy, and she hoards these resources to herself.

I Like Some of the Taylor's Songs, But What the Fuck Does She Know About Feminism?

Swift continued with her self-proclaimed feminist campaign, positioning herself as a political activist and LGBTQ+ ally in the Miss Americana documentary. The primary focus of the documentary consists of the sexual assault trial, Andrea Swift's cancer diagnosis, Taylor's ED and body dysmorphia, media scrutiny, and, largely, finally speaking up about her politics publicly, mostly her opposition to the 2018 Tennessee Republican senate candidate, Marsha Blackburn, and Blackburn's beliefs. Swift says, following a scene discussing her experience during the trial,

"I just couldn't really stop thinking about it. And I just thought to myself, next time there is any opportunity to change anything, you had better know what you stand for and what you want to say."

We must ask ourselves, though: when has Swift ever spoken up to change anything? Okay, pulling her entire catalogue from Spotify because they didn't pay their artists enough and similarly pulling her catalogue from Apple Music are changes that she leveraged due to her revenue potential and power, but they are not pertinent to the average woman's rights. Moreover, these are issues that directly impacted Taylor's income, which was enough reason for her to protest in the first place. Swift has sold the most units for a female artist in first week sales, is the first female artist with 100k monthly Spotify listeners, is the first female artist to win the Album of the Year Grammy 4 times, and is the first female artist to do X, Y, and Z, all while being inoffensive and family-friendly to boot. The actual Taylor Swift seems unwilling to compromise the brand of Taylor Swift by contributing in meaningful ways to feminist causes, especially if it is for women outside of America and Hollywood.
The reason political anthems such as "The Man" and "Only the Young" of the Lover era feel disingenuous and corporate is because, well, it is. Taylor has taken every opportunity to advance her career or public image at the expense of other women. What is truly genuine to Taylor's outlook on other women is vying for male attention, taking down female competition, and vocalizing feminist injustices only if they directly impact her and her money. Some will argue that it's satisfactory for a woman with such a huge platform to even TALK about feminism, but that just isn't enough. It's even less impressive when you candidly look at the scope of her feminist lens: "If I was the man, then I'd be THE MAN", or "I really resent the ‘Be careful, buddy, she’s going to write a song about you’ angle, because it trivialises what I do", and, of course, "We all got crowns". Feminism, but only when it happens to me. It gets worse when you look at Taylor's track record of copying other famous women and removing other female artists as potential threats to her pop prowess.
It's good for PR to align yourself with certain blanket feminist and political beliefs, therefore good for branding, therefore good for ticketing and merchandise sales, therefore good for business. And Taylor Swift is a business.
She's not a feminist. Taylor Swift is a capitalist.

I Can't Pay Those Sweatshop Workers a Livable Wage or Benefits! How Else Would I Make My Billions?

Recently, Taylor's team filed to trademark the phrase "Female Rage: The Musical" after Taylor said during Paris N1 of the Eras Tour,

"So you were the first ones to see The Tortured Poets at the Eras Tour...or as I like to call it, 'Female Rage: The Musical'."

This trademark petition was filed last week on Saturday, and news comes about just as numerous unofficial fan-made merch designs have cropped up with this phrase plastered on Fruit of the Loom basics. I'm of the opinion Swift's team motioned for a trademark so that they can send out cease & desists to all those that make knockoff merch, which disrupts potential sales for Bravado, UMG's choice merchandising company; however, since it was filed earlier, perhaps Swift has bigger plans with the bizarre use of the gendered phrase. One Swiftie referred to the phrase "female rage" as "a funny Eras Tour joke". Could it be a possible fourth version of the Eras Tour Movie? Whatever the reason, the motion to capitalize off of such a concept is disgusting, but not unsurprising, for a woman that profits on her vain feminism.
Swift, through her company, TAS Rights Managements, has also trademarked over 200 phrases, including "1989", where she owns the property rights to this calendar year on keychains, phone cases, sunglasses, stationary, bags, beverage ware, clothing, entertainment services, your subconscious, and, of course, Christmas ornaments.
The vapid consumerism in Swiftie culture is, frankly, disgusting. Bravado's sustainability statement is non-existent, the quality control is abysmal, and the materials they use are horrible. The materials, such as acrylic and polyester, are made from petrochemicals. This means they are non-renewable, shed microplastics, and are quite toxic in production. The manufacturing process to make all of those lazy-rushed Eras Tour logo graphic tees is a huge blow to environmental well-being. Apparently, though, Swifties don't give a fuck. They sell out products in seconds and either have to face the manufactured scarcity or buy from a scalper that resells for 200% of the already ridiculous retail price. This doesn't include the environmental impact of vinyl records, CD, and cassette production, of which Taylor produces many variants that sell unsustainable amounts.
If we're talking about women's rights violations, why is no one acknowledging the women that work in the inhumane sweatshop conditions that have to pump out fugly t-shirts and hats? The millions of plastic microfiber dander they are inhaling, or the toxic dyes that touch their bare skin? Are they being compensated fairly for their skilled labour and are they in safe working environments? Do these women have minimal bargaining power, and do they have authority over their worker's rights? Is Taylor Swift female raging at their injustices? Does Taylor Swift ever feels bad that her wealth was built on the backs of women of color, disadvantaged by the demands of the global economy and garment industry? Do you think she ever says a little white feminist prayer for them before she goes to sleep at night?
What's even crazier is not that Taylor herself doesn't care, it's that Swifties don't care. There CANNOT BE ethical billionaires. You only make a billion dollars if you are exploiting other human beings for capital gain. Based on public perception of the possible "Female Rage: The Musical" trademark, it seems like Swifties are already asking for merch with this phrase. "If Taylor made it, I'd buy it." Oh, cool. So not only do you champion Miss Swift's avarice and billionaire status, but you also are unashamed to admit to your blind consumption of her music and merchandise, no matter where they might originate in production or sincerity. Just as Swift takes and takes and takes, Swifties' consumerism of Taylor Swift cannot be quelled.
The tortured artist's most vulnerable and sincere poetry...available now in 21 different versions!

I Am Tortured Poet, Hear Me Whinge

Look - even if Taylor's intention is to characterize TTPD as more "tortured" and "angry", the main thread of the album is "I was ghosted by my decade-long situationship with a controversial indie boy and my fucking stupid fans wrote a 'Speak Up Now' open letter prompting me to drop him" anger, which is adequately expressed in the lyrics and performances. The extent of Taylor's "female rage" on TTPD is on tracks such as "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?", which contends with relentless media scrutiny; "But Daddy I Love Him", where Swift firmly states she'll date whoever she likes no matter how "Sarahs and Hannahs" may react; and "The Albatross", a track mythologizing her reputation and the consequences of dating her. Of course, these coincide with deep psychological wounds that formed during Swift's early years in the media, and so, from her feminist perspective, these subjects tackle the misogyny and double standards that she faced.
Yet Taylor Swift still has no grounds to be claiming that TTPD best exemplifies female rage and therefore she, in the context of this album, is female rage incarnate. As the daughter of a stock broker and mutual fund marketing executive, Taylor was born into wealth and allowed privileges like trips and subsequent relocation to Nashville all so that she might get a record deal. Her father even invested at least $120,000 into the then-fledgling label, Big Machine Records, which ensured Taylor's place with Borchetta after leaving her dead-end development deal with Sony. The fact that her parents were able to buy her a fucking brand new guitar for Christmas and pay for music lessons says so much about the financial security and safety of her childhood.
Money is privilege and protection, and despite Swift's experiences with misogyny and loser boyfriends, she does not know what female rage is.
Her rage is derived from her frustrations with her obsessive fans pulling the moral superiority card on Taylor in response to her rebound with Matty Healy. That's literally it. She's just pissed that the monster she created is no longer obediant, it's become a feral, sovereign entity that depletes the world of its natural resources and thinks it is more intelligent than it actually is because it's mommy has started to talk to it with big words. Apparently, 'illicit', 'elegy', 'nonchalant', and 'precocious' are considerably big words for the oafish monster, and I find it strange that this level of literacy is present in a group of fans that allegedly have GPAs of 3.5 or higher, but I digress.
Taylor Swift has never been one paycheck away from destitution. Taylor Swift has never experienced racial discrimination. She may have instances of gender discrimination, but she possesses the ideal white, blonde American beauty standard and therefore reaps the benefits of being a conventionally attractive woman. Taylor Swift has sufficient social capital. Taylor Swift is a billionaire woman prolonging her victimhood though she, as a woman, has mostly had control over her image and music (unlike her contemporaries). Taylor Swift is NOT entitled to be championed for her "female rage", nor should she be. Taylor Swift has never even been the struggling artist, for fuck's sake. I don't give a fuck if she's trying to fill the empty lunch tables of her past. Taylor Swift purporting herself, her unpolished album, and her lukewarm feminism as a musical bleeding with female rage is asinine.

Sigh Try and Come For My Job, Poors

Out there in the world right now is a 23-year-old woman, a recent college grad, who works as a barista. She has to wake up and get ready to go into a minimum wage job because she cannot get a job in her field. She doesn't have healthcare benefits or sick time, so she has to go into work no matter how she's feeling. All day long she is berated by vicious customers and creepy men, and, exhausted from being on her feet, she knows she has to go home to her shitty roommate that never does the dishes and her roommate's shitty dog. To comfort herself, she considers getting a treat, but thinks against it when she remembers that matcha lattes cost $15 and they taste like milky dirt. She knows that she needs to buy groceries this week, and so the woman resolves to go home, but notices that her gas tank is low. She goes to put gas in the car, but the pump stops at $27.86 because that's all that she has in her checking account. The woman, bereft and reeling, sinks into the driver's seat. "Well," she thinks, her head in her hands, "at least I don't have Taylor Swift's job. I just couldn't imagine."
Fame is somewhat of a choice. If at any moment Taylor feels that she is misunderstood, misconstrued, or overwhelmed by public opinion, she can LEAVE the public eye - Lord knows she has the retirement fund and residuals to do so. In "I Can Do It With a Broken Heart", the TTPD song about meeting the demands of your career-zenith mega-tour while in the relationship trenches, Taylor ends the song by rambling,

"You know you're good when you can even do it with a broken heart...you know you're good...and I'm good, cause I'm miserable, and no one even knows!...try and come for my job."

Yeah, obviously we wouldn't know, you recently passed the billionaire threshold and are the most famous and in-demand performer in the world right now. Taylor Swift makes an estimated $10 to $13 million dollars A NIGHT on the Eras Tour. Furthermore, the Eras Tour movie grossed $261.6 million globally, (which, as the producer, Taylor takes home 57% of the ticket sales) not counting the streaming revenue from Amazon Prime Video and the estimated $75 million deal that Disney paid to have it on Disney+. We're not even considering the income from cheap plastic popcorn buckets and drink cups plastered with colored squares in her Era-specific likeness.
It's funny. Taylor Swift often said that being famous wasn't hard, that she "isn't complaining". I'm sure it is difficult to always have to present in a good mood, else you'll end up misrepresented in the media, and I'm sure it's invasive to virtually have no privacy or semblance of anonymity. Still, Taylor Swift shows up each night of tour and performs. For a majority of her career, she has penned her sad songs while on the road. Most of "Red", her breakup album, was written in the thick of the Speak Now World tour. Now, some Swifties say they almost "feel bad" for attending the Eras Tour with Swift's revelations in this song, that they have had a 'dimmed experience' upon hearing Taylor's misery whilst performing. Despite the fact that Taylor said that "this was the happiest she's ever been" at Gilette Stadium in May, the lyrics "boohoo, woe is me, smile for the cameras and make the fans happy!!!" are jarring for Eras attendees.
While Taylor Swift was making double-digit millions a night in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and feeling miserable, Ana Clara Benevides Machado passed away due to heat exposure. The concert promoters, Time For Fun, are now the subject of a criminal investigation due to their lack of adequate hydration and safety. Taylor Swift cancelled the Sunday show that was to follow and offered VIP tent tickets to Benevides Marchado's family, which was a kind gesture, but perhaps incongruous to the incident of which they were offered as consolation. Everyone grieves differently, of course, but I'm not sure attending the very show at the very same venue that my daughter or sister passed away in two days prior, where the singer CONTINUED the show despite her death, would be healthy for closure.
There was no female rage at the show as Swift never saw Benevides Machado pass out. There was no female rage towards the disregard for fans as humans while Swift elected to proceed with her Brazil tour dates despite the country being in historic heatwaves (at risk of overheatting herself). If Taylor Swift was so shaken by touring with a broken heart or a fan's passing, she wouldn't have added an additional North American leg of Eras just two months after the Matty breakup. She's brokenhearted but willing to mend the cracks with your money and move onward with her worldwide female rage induced pillaging.
No matter what happens, even if you die at a Taylor Swift concert, Taylor collects a big fat check and flies away. She doesn't know you as anything other than a conversion rate or earning potential despite what her nearly 20-year long parasocial relationship with fans might otherwise indicate. She knows that, while some Swifties are without disposable income, they feel obligated to spend on a "48 Hours Only!" exclusive vinyl variant instead of necessities because they are so entrenched in Taylor Swift's intoxicating celebrity, they'll prioritize materialistic fandom before their needs. This is good enough for her because this means she can expand her real estate portfolio and finance her cat's lavish lifestyles. They're worth an estimated $100 million dollars. Her three cats could pool their net worth and solve world hunger.
While you and I might be denied bereavement leave and barely surviving the current political and economic climate, Taylor Swift has to, instead of gets to, perform for stadiums at full attendance for three nights in a row across the globe. You and I might be replaced by AI at our longtime jobs, but Taylor Swift is threatened with losing more and more money each time you listen to a "Stolen Version" of her songs. If we don't buy every variant of all of her albums, then who is going to pay for the fucking cats?
It is tone deaf to spend as she spends and lives as she lives in this economy, but this is her reality. She was able to donate $100,000 to all of her tour truck drivers, and that's wonderful, but it leads me to wonder about the ethos of the 2020s where one woman can hoard such life-changing amounts of money. Remember in 2014 when she gave a fan $90 ($120 in today's money) to get Chipotle because she had no fucking clue how much it cost? This is a 34-year-old woman who is increasingly out of touch with the reality for working class people and women in general. Normal everyday adults must wake up and go to their thankless jobs, and yet Taylor Swift, despite all her riches, incessantly references the lows of her life and career as a public figure and entertainer to farm sympathy and drive sales. And still, the corporate women have latched onto "I cry a lot, but I am so productive! It's an art!" as their cubicle battle cry.
Do you think that, from up in her private jet, Taylor Swift gazes at the world through her poetic, tortured eyes, and thinks, "All the little people, in their cars, walking, going about their lives...all those girls that don't support girls...do they know that I've made an album about female rage?"

Conclusion/TLDR

Thank you for reading. I would love to hear your critical insights towards this entire ordeal: TTPD, the trademark, the implications of it all.
TLDR: Taylor Swift is a bad feminist and is delusional to think that the TTPD eras set exemplifies female rage at women's injustice.

My ex has a boyfriend whom had an incident in 2021 of slapping, bruising and shouting at his step child. This isn't connected to my child but from his previous relationship, it went through CPS. He had to take a class on what is acceptable and not acceptable with regards to his children and wasn't allowed to see them for a period of time.
He also had a sexual assault allegations made against him which was then dropped by the participant but an internal investigation was taken out by his company and they concluded it did occur and subsequently fired him.
Current situation is that his children no longer wish to see or be around him however he is going to court over this to get access back.
That paints a very short picture of this man, I don't want this person around my son but he has been living with my ex for about 5 months. I haven't been comfortable about the situation and had recently found out that my ex's parents are really concerned as well.
Had they told me nice things about him and there opinion of him been good, I'd have been more at peace about the situation as beforehand I was taking her word for it which is obviously positive but the fact her parents are also concerned really has worried me.
Do I have a leg to stand on here? She's a good mum but I fear this man will have a negative impact on my child and at worse will do something physical. She's already lied to protect me/him from finding these things out but I'd carried out a Claire's law and Sarah's law where this information was disclosed to me.
Ideally I just want to be primary carer for my child and be the person who has control over his welfare and protection. It would make me feel 1000% better about the situation but I don't know if I have a case as it's not her I'm worried about, it's him!

It's been a while since I talked about this. I can not relate with most of my family when they want to know about depression. The way I describe it is just very basic. I tried explaining that for me it's always felt like nothing is there when I should be feeling some emotion. That's just the start though, sometimes it feels like a cup filled with water and if I have a spurt of angehappyness/sadness/ etc.. that all of a sudden the cup is empty. I've felt that way, the cup being empty, for weeks and sometimes even months at a time. I would occasionally feel "normal" but I always had the feeling it was not going to last. I had certain warnings that let me know when the next bout of depression was coming. I never had an exact idea but it was like watching a storm on the horizon. You can see the dark clouds start to move in and you know that it's going to be bad. I never felt like anyone could tell it was going to happen or that they noticed if I was different. Then one day my roommate and friend stopped me while I was heading out to work and asked me if I was ok. Honestly I was not, I said "no but I can manage" all the while I was stifling tears. It feels weird to be seen as not okay when you have spent so much time trying to convince others and yourself you are. My first visit with my primary doctor it had a questionnaire about depression and I filled it out. I was crying while thinking about just being open about having depression. So when I finally got to talk to my doctor I was a mess. The doctor helped me out immensely, they got me on medication and recommended a therapist to whom I have been talking to since. Honestly though I have been afraid that I am going to fall back into depression like I used to. It's the fear of that happening that keeps me accountable. My younger brother recently told me he had the same issues and he was afraid to talk to someone. My heart broke because I felt like I should have been the only person to suffer through that. I never want anyone to feel as helpless and lost as I did. I hope this makes it through. Sometimes I want to be heard.

Hi there,
Back story: I moved from MD to CA and sought medical care at a Sutter Health location. I have Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance, but am using their away from home care: Anthem Blue Cross while I’m living in CA. My step-mother is the primary insuresubscriber and actually works at Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Since January, Sutter has been billing my claims to the insurance company wrong and saying I have a primary and secondary insurance when I don’t. I have wrote to their customer service reps in their online portal, emailed, called, have even shown up in person (but they don’t have an in person billing dept.) and have called the insurance company numerous times to double check that I’m correct. I don’t know what to do at this point. I feel like I’ve tried everything.
Do I have a legal case or am I stuck paying this $2,000 bill?

Background information: I completed school in 2020 without taking my GCSE exams due to COVID-19. Consequently, I received teacher-assessed grades. Over the next three years, I pursued catering at college with the ambition of becoming a chef. During this time, I managed to attain my maths GCSE on my first attempt and my English GCSE on my second attempt, finally having the opportunity to sit the exams after two years of COVID-19 disruptions. However, in my final year, I became disenchanted with the idea of being a chef and discovered a passion for geology. To pursue geology at university, I needed a science GCSE and planned to take an access course to higher education.
Now, my dilemma: I am currently taking GCSE biology and have already completed the first exam, with preparations underway for the second. Recently, I underwent an interview for the access course, which required me to undergo English, maths, and science assessments. Due to a lack of preparation time, I performed poorly. Consequently, I received an email rejecting my application due to my assessment performance. This rejection left me feeling depressed and questioning the significance of my GCSEs, as they seemed invalidated by this assessment. I have lost motivation to revise for my GCSE paper 2 exam, feeling it is pointless. Additionally, I am unable to apply for a foundation year because I need a combined science GCSE, which I am not currently studying. It feels like hitting a dead end, and the prospect of waiting another year to start over is disheartening. I am overwhelmed with feelings of hopelessness and depression.
I don't want to waste another 3 years and be feel to old and feel defeated

This is gonna be a long one…
History in a nutshell: my mom(84) has been living with untreated anxiety and depression issues since she was a teen. It was difficult growing up with her (I believe she “loves” me, but it’s been clear she doesn’t like or respect me) and my dad was the “stable” one. Dad passed 11 years ago at 77, and since then, mom’s issues have just multiplied.
Brother, sister and I tried our best to be understanding of her challenges for the first couple years, but it became too much for any of us. On the third year, I basically told her that helping her deal with her grief, anxiety and depression was “above my pay grade,” and she REALLY needed to seek professional help. She did this for about a year and the. Was complaining that the medications they had her on made her “feel like a zombie,” so she stopped taking them and stopped seeing the therapist.
For my own mental health, I have had to disengage quite a bit from her and minimize and plan when I spend time with her.
Over this time, her one outlet (going to the gambling boats) disbanded mostly due to Covid and that the other folks on the trips were 5-10 years older than she is, so they all started dying off, too.
She hasn’t made any attempt at any other interests, except solitary ones like putting puzzles together, playing on her iPad or watching tv. For the past year, she rarely leaves her bed when she’s home. She has no real friends, because frankly she’s always been mean and overly judgemental with people, so she’s pushed most people (including her children) away.
Cut to this past month: in April, she fell (I suspect due to a lack of muscle strength and bone mass because she doesn’t really get out for ANY exercise) simply walking into the house when returning from the grocery store and broke her hip.
She had surgery over a month ago, spent 10 days at one rehab, where she made no progress, but had at least 2 panic attacks.
We ended up putting her in a DIFFERENT rehab for another two weeks where she seemed to be faring better.
They sent her home and we made it clear that once the doctor said her hip was healed, she should be fine (nursing home/assisted living are currently out of the question with her—she refuses to leave her house). Between my siblings and I, we have covered the last two weeks staying with her.
But this can’t be a permanent solution; all of us have our own homes and families.
My sister is there now until Friday and after that, we’ve said she’s got to decide what happens. She is PHYSICALLY okay with being alone. She has a walker and can get around and even manage the small number of stairs in Her house when she WANTS to. 90% or more of all of this is her emotional state. She works herself up into heaving, gagging crying attacks over the SMALLEST things (like asking her to make simple decisions or when she can’t find her tv remote).
It’s EXHAUSTING.
My brother (and I) thinks she’s trying to force once of us to move in with her and there is zero chance of that.
We could find her someone who could come in during the days, 5 days a week to help her with some things around the house or drive her to appointments and even (hopefully) encourage her to eat better, get some fresh air and just get out of bed during the day.
The only issue is that the decision about WHO That is has to be up to her, otherwise she will use it as an excuse why no one will be “good enough.”
TLDR: aging mother is putting her kids through the wringer with her emotional issues and we’re at our wits end after dealing with it for 11 years.

I just joined this sub trying to find more information about my eczema. I have had these patches of dry skin which turn to fissure and open wounds on my feet (majority of it on my right foot) for over a year now. My heels were especially bad when it started. I got deep fissures that would bleed and hurt more as they healed. Over time the cracks have reduced but have moved to the side of my foot. It heals and then gets worse and heals again, but it never goes away. Currently I am dealing with this and some new cracks have appeared right under my foot, on the arch. Current situation on my right foot
I spend most of my time just hobbling around and it is really difficult because I started a new job in January, teaching art in a primary school. It has started to affect my posture and most days I am just sucking it up and going on with my life. Most of my colleagues have cushy lives and a larger paycheck. They can afford better care and have help at home. I am still waiting for an approval from the ministry to become an official employee, so for now I don't get any benefits, just a monthly paycheck. I live with my folks in a household of 5 and most days I get home and have to pick up the load of cleaning and cooking. My feet are always extremely sore and they are completely tight and rigid when I wake up in the morning. I work hard at my job and I need the paycheck to save for a masters and also pay the bill at home, but I wish either my condition went away or I had some more time to let my feet rest and recuperate.
Over the course of this year that I have been dealing with this issue I had to hear so much crap about "not taking care of myself" from friends and family. I have always had dry skin, but after I crossed 25 my skin got drier. I also live in the middle East so it is extremely dry and hot throughout the year. I just brushed it off for the first few months as a bad case of dry skin but the fissures got bad enough to make me start thinking about getting treatment. I have low tolerance for heat and I hate applying weird creams to my feet. The fact that I am actually dealing with a real condition was accepted only after I got a diagnosis. Even then the random comments and unhelpful advice doesn't stop. I have tried vaseline and glycerine and cerave. They help to a extent but my skin just gets soft and cracks even more. The doctor's prescription didn't help much and I want to try to take low to no-medication way out of this.
I now wear closed shoes because it is difficult for me to stand for hours this these open wounds, but I completely loathe wearing them. I have always been an open footwear person unless the outfit or occasion needed it. I didn't know how much this really affects me emotionally until I started writing this post. After looking at the other posts about eczema on feet I finally feel like I am not the only person going through this and I don't have to be ashamed because it isn't my fault.
Any advice on managing this in a holistic manner would be much appreciated. I don't use any random creams or soaps, avoid scented items like the plague, my feet don't sweat-just burn like crazy when I put shoes on, socks make me want to kill myself. It's currently peak summer here and the temperatures cross 44°C in the day. Sorry for the long post and scary photos. Thank you for reading ❤️

hi everyone, I am a 25 year old female, and I weigh 376, 5’2. I have diagnosed hypothyroidism, PCOS, and insulin resistance. I have given metformin a try, and it has done literally nothing. I follow a strict Mediterranean diet, work out regularly, and still can’t lose weight. My thyroid function is now normal from my meds, as well. My doctor suggested a sema to me about a year ago, but after a lot of effort, we still can’t get it approved by my insurance since I’m not pre-diabetic or diabetic.
Has anyone tried buying sema through hers, ro, or another online site? I’m trying to gauge how much it will actually cost after the monthly subscription. Or, is it worth looking into a medical trial? I would love any advice from those who don’t get a sema from their primary care. We have tried and tried and my current option is out of pocket.
If I’m being honest, I’m feeling so defeated at this point. My body can’t maintain my weight, I’m hurting all the time, and something has to give. I’ll take any advice or options y’all have 😭😭

LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE

• Total budget (in local currency) and country of purchase. Please do not use USD unless purchasing in the US:
  • Budget $1800, USD
• Are you open to refurbs/used?
  • Yes
• How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life?
  • Durability is important, also cooling is important, others aren't a priority.
• How important is weight and thinness to you?
  • Not important, I'd rather it be sturdy, As I'll want to add an SSD.
• Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A.
  • 17.3 inches is pretty firm, but I'd take 15.6+ for an insane deal. 120hz or more is necessary.
• Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run.
  • Gaming + Discord is going to be its primary use.
• If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want?
  • Want to play any games at at least medium graphic settings, 120 frames is my biggest priority.
• Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)?
  • Touchpad needs to be able to be disabled. Need to be able to add SSD M2 storage. That's probably all.
• Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion.
  • Ideally I'd like a system that is reliably cool and can undervolt if needed, but not necessary. Stereo speakers, I guess, not sure that needs to be said. Uh, Windows OS only.

I know these things are running from massive high tech data centers, due to the resources required and the INSANE amount of people using them. The hardware is shared between users, though. But, what if it was just a single person accessing it from a single device locally? Even if it was slower, the lack of latency from cloud access could help it feel more snappy.
Can it even run on standard consumer grade hardware, or does it need special tech to even run at this level? For example, could a PC with 8TB NVMe storage space, 192GB of DDR5, a i9-14900KS and RTX 4090 run the model at a similar level, for a single user?

So I’ve had this best friend since 7th grade we were really close throughout juniohigh school. After graduation covid happened the year after and slowly it felt we just grew apart.
After graduation I noticed she began struggling with her mental health and functioning with school and work. She’s never really addressed these issues she’s the sweetest person ever but is the person that wants everyone to be happy and can’t handle conflict or anything unhappy.
We used to have a lot in common but over the years since highschool it feels like we don’t I can’t talk to her about my interests because she sometimes appears shocked or can’t believe tv makes violent shows etc.
Since 2020 we hang out once a month and have somehow fallen into a pattern of doing the same things every time we hang out eat at the same ice cream place go to target and then head home. I have tried to suggest other activities and she appears interested but never follows through.
I did try just ghosting her one summer because I didn’t know how to communicate I felt we had grown apart but she was persistent in messaging me and we eventually continued our monthly hang outs
It’s now 2024 and I am just ready to distance myself I still want to remain in contact because I do hold her dear to my heart but I don’t want to hang out much more since she’s become a shell of herself and won’t help herself and only wants to do the same thing every time.
How should I end this relationship?

So I’ve had this best friend since 7th grade we were really close throughout juniohigh school. After graduation covid happened the year after and slowly it felt we just grew apart.
After graduation I noticed she began struggling with her mental health and functioning with school and work. She’s never really addressed these issues she’s the sweetest person ever but is the person that wants everyone to be happy and can’t handle conflict or anything unhappy.
We used to have a lot in common but over the years since highschool it feels like we don’t I can’t talk to her about my interests because she sometimes appears shocked or can’t believe tv makes violent shows etc.
Since 2020 we hang out once a month and have somehow fallen into a pattern of doing the same things every time we hang out eat at the same ice cream place go to target and then head home. I have tried to suggest other activities and she appears interested but never follows through.
I did try just ghosting her one summer because I didn’t know how to communicate I felt we had grown apart but she was persistent in messaging me and we eventually continued our monthly hang outs
It’s now 2024 and I am just ready to distance myself I still want to remain in contact because I do hold her dear to my heart but I don’t want to hang out much more since she’s become a shell of herself and won’t help herself and only wants to do the same thing every time.
How should I end this relationship?

I have been on Wegovy for exactly 4 months. Started at 0.5mg and increased each month. Last dose was 1.7mg. Unfortunately, I no longer have any insurance to cover the medication.
I am wondering for those that have stopped it, how long before you started feeling really hungry again? I've read that's what happens and even my primary doctor told me to expect that to happen.