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Roe reversal is impacting how people are dating

2023-03-19 06:19:10 author：dointy.com

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The effects of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which shattered the precedent for both the right to privacy and abortion in the U.S., are still rippling months later. In addition to steering recent politics, it's also impacting interpersonal relationships — romantic and not.

Roe reversal is impacting how people are dating(图1)

In the latest Singles in America(Opens in a new tab) survey, an annual study of over 5,000 single people in the country conducted by Match, these effects are evident. Over 75 percent — 78, to be exact — of singles of reproductive age said that the overturning of Roe changed their sex life. This is understandable, considering the increased risk of a sexual encounter, and it's especially true for young people.

Here's a breakdown of how it's specifically impacting daters:

25 percent overall (28 percent of Gen Z) say they'll use or ask their partners to use condoms more often
20 percent overall (27 percent of Gen Z) are more hesitant to have sex
20 percent overall (27 percent of Gen Z) are more afraid of getting pregnant or getting someone pregnant

These fears translate into a change of dating habits. Some people, 13 percent according to Match, said the SCOTUS decision made them more hesitant to date.

Two out of three single women will not date a partner who has opposing views of abortion. Some, however, are tired of talking about it: A quarter of single women want to have less discussion about abortion attitudes with partners. That doesn't account for everyone, though; 18 percent want to have more discussion about abortion attitudes.

SEE ALSO: Feeling lost? Follow these reproductive justice accounts.

Whether someone wants to talk about abortion or not, apolitical views aren't wanted for about a third of people surveyed. Thirty-one percent of singles who said not having an opinion on key issues is a dealbreaker. For around the same number of singles, 31 percent, posting political views on social media is also a dealbreaker. These numbers are up from 16 percent and 11 percent in 2017 respectfully, an outcome of increasing political polarization

On the opposite side of the coin, 37 percent say that "having too strong an opinion is a dealbreaker."

Both two major parties have their detractors, though Republicans more so: 33 percent of singles say supporting the GOP is a dealbreaker. For Democrats, that number is 23 percent.

On top of this, the Roe decision is influencing platonic relationships: 17 percent of singles have lost friends due to their differing abortion opinions.

Singles in America breaks down other topics relevant to daters, as well, but it's clear that politics and Roe in general are at the top of some minds. As we continue to navigate a post-Roe world, we'll continue to see consequences, from the macro of elections impacted to the micro of one person's dating life.

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What are romance scams and how can you avoid them?
What are romance scams and how can you avoid them?
"I fell in love with him and he also claimed to feel the same way for me," said a victim of a romance scam, who requested anonymity. They met a man called "Bob" on Facebook, who claimed to be in South Africa working for the military.
After talking for some time, Bob said he wanted to visit the victim, who lives in the United States. Sure enough, he started asking for money: "He told me he had some trouble with his bank card not working in South Africa and couldn’t get funds to pay for his flight," anonymous said. "He asked if I could send the money to pay for his [flight] and other things."
The victim, like so many others, sent money to the grifter. Romance scams are a multimillion dollar problem, and it appears to be only getting worse. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), people reportedly lost $547 million from romance scams(Opens in a new tab) in 2021, an 80 percent jump from the year prior. But what exactly are romance scams, and how can you avoid them?
What are romance scams?
Romance scams(Opens in a new tab) are also called confidence scams because they require the scammer gaining the victim's trust. They're a form of social manipulation where scammers often create fake profiles on dating or social media platforms to start talking to victims and get them emotionally attached, said trial lawyer and partner at The Clark Law Office(Opens in a new tab) David Clark.
SEE ALSO: Match Group rolls out campaign to stop romance scams

Scammers often target people who are vulnerable — say if they're elderly or recently divorced or widowed. However, "it's important to remember that these scams can happen to anyone, regardless of their level of financial knowledge," said Tommy Gallagher, a former investment banker and the founder of Top Mobile Banks(Opens in a new tab), a site dedicated to digital banking.
Once they gain victims' trust, scammers will start asking for money. They'll come up with excuses like they have a medical emergency, or even that they want to visit the victim, just like Bob did. When the victim starts sending money, the scammer will demand more and more until they're financially drained, said Clark.
Unfortunately, that's what happened to the victim Mashable spoke to: "Every day, he [brought] up one issue or the other, demanding for more money that I ran out of money and went into debt," they said. "When he realized I had no money left, he stopped replying to my messages and stopped taking my calls." That's when it dawned on them that Bob was a scammer.
"It typically takes a significant loss of money before victims notice things to be wrong and resist."
"When it comes to matters of the heart, even the most rational of individuals can throw caution to the wind," said Gallagher.
People may fall for romance scams because grifters meet their emotional needs, commented licensed therapist and vice president of marketing at Divorce Answers(Opens in a new tab), Lauren Cook-McKay. Scammers master what victims want to hear: promises of love, compliments, messages of empathy and compassion.
Want more sex and dating stories in your inbox? Sign up for Mashable's new weekly After Dark newsletter.
"In fact, it typically takes a significant loss of money before victims notice things to be wrong and resist," Cook-McKay said. "This is because when our emotional needs are being met, we're willing to look past the negative in an attempt to preserve that source of emotional support."
There are multiple types of romance scams, according to Clark:
- Military scam, when the scammer pretends to be a member of the military — like Bob.
- Oil rig scam, when they pretend to work as an oil rigger.
- Exchanging intimate media, when the scammer gets the victim to send nude photo or video to use them for blackmail.
"But no matter what type of romance scam it is," Clark said, "the scammer will always make excuses to avoid their victim, such as they're too far away and can't meet with the victim or avoid video calls."
How can I avoid romance scams?
Be cautious when meeting online, and be skeptical of anyone who asks for personal information or money too soon, said Gallagher. Never give money to someone you haven't met in person, and never share details like bank account numbers or your Social Security number.
Some dating apps, like Tinder, have verification features where users can prove they are who they say they are. Tinder and other Match Group dating apps have even started rolling out features to help people sniff out scammers. In the UK, Match and OurTime partnered up for a similar campaign with the City of London Police and reporting center Action Fraud.
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If you're using a service without verification or your match is unverified, you can do a reverse image search. Clark recommends doing this on Google or a site called Social Catfish(Opens in a new tab).
You can also stop talking to someone who refuses to meet in-person or on video; it's a major red flag.
Ask questions pertaining to their identity, or ask for proof. If they say they're in the military, for example, ask to see their military ID card. "They can also ask the person what their MOS [military occupation specialty code] is. The MOS identifies the person's job title," Clark said. "They can also ask questions about the military culture, such as basic training or their favorite MRE [Meal, Ready-to-Eat] treat."
If you've already given a scammer money, contact your bank and credit card companies and let them know what happened, Gallagher said. You can report them to the dating site you met them on, and report them to the FTC(Opens in a new tab) as well.
Beyond researching your matches and calling out scammers, Cook-McKay said to "stop falling in love with being in love." Learn how to meet your own emotional needs and validate yourself, so you don't turn to others; seek out the help of a mental health professional if needed.
Most importantly, Gallagher said, don't be ashamed to reach out to friends and family for support. You're not alone. "By being aware of the dangers and taking the necessary precautions," he said, "we can all protect ourselves and our loved ones from the heartless actions of these scammers."
How hatewank videos became a tool for harassing women in the public eye
How hatewank videos became a tool for harassing women in the public eye
In March, one of British journalist Ash Sarkar's Twitter followers informed her there were "hatewank" videos featuring images of her on a porn website. One of the videos was titled "racist hatewank for Ash Sarkar" and it had been uploaded onto xHamster.
It was during a time when there was a particular uptick in racist online harassment targeting Sarkar, who's a prominent political journalist and broadcaster in the UK. As a Muslim woman, she is frequently subjected to racist, misogynistic, and highly sexualised abuse. "The racist hatewank was literally a guy masturbating to images of me," Sarkar told me over the phone. "After I'd read this tweet that it was out there, my partner was the one who looked it up to confirm that it was all there." Sarkar discovered that photographs of her wearing bikinis had been taken from her personal Instagram account and featured in this video.
You might not have heard of "hatewank pornography" before now, but a quick and inadvisable Google search will throw up scores of videos of men masturbating over photos of women in the public eye — often high-profile women of colour. In the videos, the person masturbating ejaculates on the image of the woman. Some videos are titled "racist hatewank," "racial hatewank," or "degrading hatewank." In my research, I discovered hatewank videos targeting journalists and TV presenters including BBC presenter Naga Munchetty, political editor of BBC News Laura Kuenssberg, TV presenter Holly Willoughby, and TV and radio presenter Kirsty Young. The videos also targeted public figures including Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle, UK Home Secretary Priti Patel, actor Maisie Williams, musician Ariana Grande, and actor Gal Gadot.
Sarkar's partner looked into how to get the video taken down and discovered that she could flag a copyright infringement with xHamster because the images were taken from her personal Instagram. "I sent them an email and, to their credit, very quickly, they took it down," Sarkar said.
SEE ALSO: The most harassed women online share why they’re not logging off

This wasn't the first time images from Sarkar's Instagram had been used in this way. Last year, she'd discovered that someone had created online galleries of "creepshots" of her — photos and screenshots that focus, in particular, on the cleavage and legs of women who are on television. Sarkar told me she's been aware for some time there was a corner of the internet that had a way of looking at women's bodies in a way that went beyond the simple "I fancy this famous person." She described these galleries as creepy and dehumanising in the way the photos zoomed right into women's cleavage, and assessed the sagginess or roundness of their breasts. "You're just like, this isn't what I signed up for," she told me. "But I never really gave it a great deal of thought."
The hatewank video managed to surpass the degradation that the creepshots galleries had tried to achieve. "It had even become somehow more disgusting and degrading than the cleavage shots because this was all about a way of expressing hatred and expressing disdain for someone," said Sarkar. "It has more in common with wanting to demean and degrade rather than an enjoyment of somebody's appearance or anything else."
"A manifestation of impotent rage"
Professor Clarissa Smith from Sunderland University — who specialises in research on sexually explicit media and pornography — told me hatewank porn is "a quite extreme form of trolling, amplifying expressions of dislike for an individual (often a celebrity, though of course not just limited to the famous)." Hatewank videos form part of a broader category of "tribute" videos, Smith said.
Tribute videos — also known as "cum tribute" videos — are similar in format to hatewank content. They feature someone masturbating over an image of someone famous and end with them ejaculating on the photo. Tribute videos, more broadly, are intended to "flatter the person who has 'inspired' the wanking session," Smith told me, whereas the intent behind hatewank videos is to insult the subject of the video. "The hatewank is a kind of spectacle, a manifestation of impotent rage," said Smith. "Its sensation relies on the idea that someone is so enraged by another that they would want to ejaculate on them and there’s a quite complex range of affective bodily responses being invoked here for viewers — of being 'shocked' and 'horrified' that someone is being 'defiled' in this way." In these videos, the act of ejaculating on the photo serves to demean and degrade. "Semen is a bodily fluid and when 'in the wrong place' is considered disgusting so you can see how the hatewank functions as an expression of putting someone down," said Smith.
"Visually, tribute videos — whether of the celebratory or hateful kind — really only work if there is the ejaculation shot so, of course, gender has a role," explained Smith. But she caveats that not all videos feature women "on the receiving end of the wank or the tribute" — "there are plenty of videos which feature male recipients and a whole genre of inanimate objects in receipt of the 'tribute.'" Smith does, however, think women are more likely to feature in these types of video.
These videos belong to a longstanding "tradition of raging against women" who are outspoken and opinionated.
These videos belong to a longstanding "tradition of raging against women" who are outspoken and opinionated. "There are long histories of the use of sex, sexual innuendo, and insults to silence women and some of these videos take their place in that form of bringing women down," said Smith. "There are connections to the ways in which the fastest means of insulting a woman is to suggest she isn’t chaste, that she is a slut. And the intersections with race and class are certainly there too."
In hatewank videos, racism and misogyny unite to sexualise the subject as a means of silencing and degrading them. "The majority of the racist abuse that I get online has a microscopic attention to my body," said Sarkar. "Lots of it is about whether or not I have facial hair, hairy legs, hairy arms or anything else. And then there's the stuff speculating on the colour of my genitals and anus." Sarkar added that Diane Abbott, the UK's longest-serving Black female MP, has been subjected to racist, sexualised abuse that aims to "position her as non-feminine, animalistic, and disgusting."
"And that's not something which is new for Black women and women of colour throughout history." Sarkar said the internet has amplified "the way in which Black and Brown women's bodies are traduced and denigrated in mainstream culture".
So, what legal chance have you got?
While Sarkar succeeded in using copyright infringement as a means of getting the content removed from xHamster, one law firm told me there are very few legal avenues that lead to the removal of such content. "Women in public life who are the target of hatewank pornography — either of their own images or deepfakes— will find that their legal options are limited, and often ineffective," said Emily McFadden from the abuse department at Bolt Burdon Kemp(Opens in a new tab). "This is due to its nature, its accessibility, the perpetrators’ anonymity online, and that perpetrators often post images/videos on multiple sites. Practically, it’s almost impossible to completely remove media once it’s been posted online.
"The police can investigate and prosecute those who disclose private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress," added McFadden. "However, in order to be considered a 'private sexual photo' and therefore an offence, an image or film has to be capturing something 'not ordinarily seen in public.' Therefore, if for example, footage of a woman being interviewed has been tampered with to make it appear sexually provocative, the offence does not apply."
McFadden added that some actions may be covered by malicious or false communications offences, depending on the circumstances. "If the victim created the image or footage themselves and posted it on social media only for it to have been re-purposed as 'hatewank' pornography, they may also be able to use copyright laws to have the edited sexualised media removed from the hosting site," said McFadden. "Legal action may be possible for civil and criminal cases to be brought against perpetrators for harassment if the posting of these images has been part of a 'course of conduct.'"
Asked if she has any advice for someone on the receiving end of this type of harassment, Sarkar offered some wise words. "The really, really important thing is to have people around you who really, really love you, who would also perhaps be the ones to take it upon themselves to look at it," she said. "That was something that was really helpful that my boyfriend did."
Heres why everyone is calling hot men breedable this summer
Heres why everyone is calling hot men breedable this summer
Summer is an undeniably horny season and, in these months of newly vaccinated debauchery after a year and a half of isolation, compliments are fittingly depraved. Thanks to a series of copypastas circulating on TikTok, Twitter, and Tumblr, this summer's motto is "breedable."
There is no hidden meaning in this phrasing. This isn't youthful slang that older generations will have to Google to understand(Opens in a new tab), though the word's explicit nature may incite another round of fear-mongering articles failing to decode what teens are texting each other(Opens in a new tab). When people refer to themselves or others as breedable, they literally mean so hot; they'd like to procreate.
The word breedable is ingrained in misogyny both online and offline, but a complex one in fanfiction circles, which are largely populated by queer writers and readers.
The phrase "submissive and breedable" stems from a June tweet that reads, "normalize platonically telling your bros they look submissive and breedable," per Know Your Meme(Opens in a new tab).
Tweet may have been deleted (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab)

Though the term breedable has been used in fandom circles for years — particularly in the Omegaverse genre of fics — the tweet's viral reach directly contributed to bringing breedable to more mainstream vernacular. Google searches for "breedable" skyrocketed after Twitter user @T4RIG encouraged complimenting other men as "submissive and breedable." The tag #breedable has 1.8 million views on TikTok as of Tuesday.

Upon the tweet's viral success, Twitter users — particularly in reference to male Twitter users — began referring to themselves and each other as "breedable," "fertile," or "submissive" as a tongue-in-cheek acknowledgement of desirability.
Online, people will pair a steamy thirst trap with a caption calling themselves breedable, or point out a (real or fictional) man's attractiveness by commenting on their "fertile" qualities. The lighthearted degradation is inherently sexual.
Tweet may have been deleted (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab)

Tweet may have been deleted (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab)

The phrase "submissive and breedable" comes from another copypasta, which circulated online after a TikTok user captioned their video, "feelin petite right now maybe a lil vulnerable in this cardigan, perhaps breedable." The now-deleted TikTok, which appears to be from a deactivated account that went by the name yeahthataintme, was posted as early as March 2021.
Tweet may have been deleted (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab)

The copypasta was especially popular in stan communities(Opens in a new tab), in which fans would describe photos of their favorite K-pop idols, anime characters, and other hot men as "petite and fertile, perhaps breedable." The phrase was also used for beautiful inanimate objects, like the new line of colorful iMacs.

https://therewillbeblood2007.tumblr.com/post/6526248/lord-the-men-you-put-on-this-earth-to-build(Opens in a new tab)

https://emergency-broadcast-system.tumblr.com/post/6523008/new-imac-designed-to-look-petite-and-fertile(Opens in a new tab)

Sophi, a 21-year-old TikTok user who posts under the name i_am_a_toad, referenced both copypastas in a recent video. Recording herself in the mirror, Sophi said, "Feeling submissive and perhaps, even breedable, on this fine summer eve." Her video's sound has been used in videos by other TikTok users fawning over attractive anime characters.

@i_am_a_toad_(Opens in a new tab)
who want me
♬ original sound - a toad(Opens in a new tab)

For an inordinate majority of human history, "breedable" has been used to describe female herd animals. When applied to women, it's either misogynistic, kinky, or both. The NSFW subreddits r/BreedingMaterial and r/KnockMeUp are dedicated to lewd photos of buxom women posting for those with breeding or pregnancy fetishes. Anonymous forum site 4chan is abundant with breeding kink art and debates on a woman's worth based on her assumed ability to procreate. Unlike the kink subreddits, where users consensually post their own photos to engage with those who share their fetish, many of these 4chan discussions are explicitly misogynistic and border on pedophilic; in one 2016 thread discussing the age of consent, some users claimed that once teenage girls begin menstruating, they're "old enough to breed."
With access to reproductive healthcare and abortions threatened in the U.S. by restrictive conservative measures, morality and medical care are inextricably linked in pop culture. The Handmaid's Tale's red cloaks and starched white bonnets — distinguishing the show's protagonists as enslaved women who were forced to bear children for the aristocracy — are now symbols of resistance against policies restricting birth control and abortion access. The show, based on Margaret Atwood's novel of the same name, take the concept of "breedability" to a horrifying, dystopian extreme.
Referring to non-consenting women as breedable is offensive to its core. But in this iteration of the descriptor, it's predominantly men who are lauded as breedable, not women. Though some women online have self-identified with the phrases "breedable," "fertile," and "submissive" in line with the copypasta's kink references, the bulk of its uses are applied to both real and fictional cis men.
Tweet may have been deleted (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab)

The colloquial rise of breedable may have happened in conjunction with TikTok's brief but spectacular obsession with the Omegaverse. The alternate universe known as the Omegaverse is a speculative erotic fiction genre that revolves around a lupine mating hierarchy that classifies characters as "Alphas," "Betas," and "Omegas." Under the rules of this fictional universe, Alphas are dominant, sexually aggressive beings who can impregnate others and not be impregnated themselves, and Omegas are submissive characters who are subject to either consensual or nonconsensual impregnation during their fertile cycle known as "heat." Betas occupy the middle of the hierarchy, but are typically left out of stories altogether. Breeding, fertility, and relationship power dynamics are at the center of these fictional stories — many revolve around characters' insatiable need to mate and produce offspring.
SEE ALSO: What the hell is the Omegaverse, and why is it all over TikTok?

Tweet may have been deleted (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab)

Regardless of cisgender biological functions, a character of any gender character can be categorized as Alpha, Beta, or Omega. The trope often crosses over with "mpreg," another online subculture that imagines a universe in which male characters experience menstrual-like cycles, pregnancy, and childbirth(Opens in a new tab). A majority of Omegaverse works are slash fics, which are fanfiction that focuses on same-sex romantic or sexual relationships.
Fanfiction overall revolves around male-male relationships, as University of California, Berkeley, student Yvonne Gonzales, who researches fandom and fanfiction as literature, has found. The undergrad senior analyzed data from the popular fic site Archive of Our Own(Opens in a new tab) (AO3) and concluded that an overwhelming majority of fanfictions posted to the site focus on male-male relationships, which she refers to as M/M.

Works on Archive of Our Own are overwhelmingly tagged for male-male relationships. Credit: Courtesy of Yvonne Gonzales

Using an algorithm designed by Sarah Sterman and Jingyi Li(Opens in a new tab), students at University of California, Berkeley and Stanford University, Gonzales scraped the top 3,500 works across all fandoms sorted by "kudos," or AO3's version of likes, and the top 500 most recent works in four major fandoms as of June 23, 2021. She found that more than 70 percent of fics categorized as "popular" were tagged as M/M. In comparison, just over 10 percent of "popular" fics were about female-male relationships, and roughly 5 percent were tagged for female-female relationships.
And while many Omegaverse fanfictions revolve around cis men falling in love with other cis men, most fanfiction overall is not written by cis men. Modern fandom culture was born from female (Opens in a new tab)Star Trek(Opens in a new tab) fans(Opens in a new tab), and is now carried by queer fan bases. In a 2018 Masters in Sociology thesis presented to Humboldt State University(Opens in a new tab), Lindsay Mixer analyzed how fanfiction influenced sexual development in young adults. Of Mixer's 1,368 survey respondents who identified as "fanfiction participants," 73.9 percent identified as female, 6.5 percent identified as male, and 16.9 percent identified as nonbinary. Only 17.2 percent of fanfiction participants identified as heterosexual.
"The freedom given to participants of reading or writing any gender identity, sexual orientation, or sexual act that they wish, without worrying about the real-world consequences of such actions, is a powerful draw," Mixer concluded. "While it is beyond the scope of this study to state whether this form of sexually explicit material is or is not harmful, the data suggest that many young adults, queer or not, find themselves in it."
"When queer women write M/M fanfic, they're allowing an expression of queer desire for romance, but without all the messy politics that come with writing women having sex."
While data alone can't explain why M/M relationships are so popular, Gonzales theorizes it's because the majority of fanfiction participants are queer women. The fetishization of M/M relationships in fandom circles is a complex issue, but it can't be fairly equated to the way heterosexual men fetishize lesbian porn.
"Women aren't allowed to accept their own desires for sex, and that's even more stark when you're looking at women who are also not heterosexual," Gonzales added in an email to Mashable. "Women aren't allowed to be horny. When queer women write M/M fanfic, they're allowing an expression of queer desire for romance, but without all the messy politics that come with writing women having sex. It's self expression without the weight of self reflection."
The breedable meme is often applied to cis men in the way that queer fanfiction participants express their attraction to men. When the trend began in early spring, it was typically used by fan accounts lusting for fictional men or real life celebrities. The men first described as breedable rarely embody aspects of traditional masculinity; they appeared gentle and unthreatening. Like idealized versions of M/M relationships, these men are so popular among queer fans because they aren't what heterosexual women are expected to be attracted to. And while the word has taken on a broader, more feral meaning to encompass any hot person, its original context is still deeply queer.
Tweet may have been deleted (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab)

The Omegaverse fanfiction that catalyzed the spread of "breedable" as a meme provides platforms to discuss consent and power dynamics within relationships. In a 2017 paper written for the Digital Cultures Research Center at the University of West England(Opens in a new tab), Milena Popova analyzed three Omegaverse fics to exemplify the ways partners with innately less power may communicate (or not communicate) their non-consent to sexual activity, and the discussions that followed the fics' publications. Popova wrote that the fics "clearly problematize issues of power and consent" and more importantly, "offer ways of negotiating meaningful, consensual intimate relationships within wider abusive social structures."
Despite Omegaverse and mpreg fics opening the door for larger discussions of consent, the meme itself, out of context, also makes way for non-consensual interactions online.
Fanfiction is celebrated as an outlet for exploring one's sexuality and gender expression, but the "breedable" trope also exposes people to harassment from those who don't understand the context, particularly those who aren’t cis men. In very online fandom circles, referring to men as breedable is a subversive acknowledgment of their physical appeal. When applied to women, and taken out of context, it's fodder for unwelcome interactions because of the word’s misogynistic associations.
Sonj, a TikTok user known as shishkabubba, described herself as "3'11 and breedable" in a now-deleted TikTok. Her original video parodied a TikTok trend in which adult women infantilized themselves by filming from a high angle so they appeared smaller, and dancing to a song from the Disney short (Opens in a new tab)Small Potatoes(Opens in a new tab). The song is meant for children, and sung by children.
In a Twitter DM, Sonj explained that her parody was meant to criticize the straight men who fetishize childlike qualities and the women catering to that by sexualizing themselves when they participated in this trend.
The first wave of TikTok users who watched Sonj's video understood the trend she was trying to critique, as well as the trope she referenced. The second wave, however, did not, and used it to justify harassing her under the pretext of kink.

@shishkabubba(Opens in a new tab)
pls ##AsSceneOnTubi(Opens in a new tab) ##PrimeDayDealsDance(Opens in a new tab) ##TubiTaughtMe(Opens in a new tab) ##fyp(Opens in a new tab)
♬ original sound - sonj(Opens in a new tab)

"I'm honestly not sure it was the best way to do it but because the sound was used by girls infantilizing themselves, I thought saying 'I'm 3'11 and breedable' was kind of an exaggeration of what they were doing," Sonj told Mashable in a Twitter DM. "Specifically because the men in their comments were finding it really cute — sexualizing childlike qualities, almost."
Sonj ultimately took it down because of the "huge inflow of men being extremely inappropriate." Without the context of the word's popularity in fandom circles, some viewers though Sonj was using breedable either in its traditionally derogatory sense, or as an invitation to those with breeding kinks.
Even as the word is taking off as internet vernacular, breedable is still associated with uncomfortable values. If you're going to openly thirst online, brace yourself for the potential wave of unsavory comments. Regardless of the word's history, though, you're likely to see "submissive and breedable" hornyposting(Opens in a new tab) throughout the rest of the summer, thanks to fandom circles and their unrelenting affection for slash ships(Opens in a new tab).
The history of the single positivity movement goes back further than you think
The history of the single positivity movement goes back further than you think
In Party for One, Mashable explores single life in 2020, from Carly Rae Jepsen’s iconic single anthems, to the beauty of alone time, and the fascinating history behind the single positivity movement.
History is important.
I come from a long line of independent women who've quietly shrugged off the mantle of convention. My great grandmother was a teenager working in service when she became pregnant, and subsequently cast out by her employer when her "condition" was discovered. Her name was Ellen Mathilda, and the baby she bore was my grandmother, Annie. Unwed in Ireland in 1915, Ellen singlehandedly raised her daughter in challenging circumstances.
Tales of the quiet dignity and resilience of these two women were regaled to me as a child, and I grew up in awe of both of them. Their lives were not easy, though — both women were poor, vulnerable, and alone in the world. I often wonder how different their lives would have been had they been born a century later and, crucially, if they'd had more financial stability.
One century on, the state of being single has evolved greatly in many respects. Gone are the days of being looked upon as a spinster, blue stocking, fallen woman, or social pariah for breaking with convention — intentionally or otherwise. We now find ourselves living through the age of single positivity, a movement that garnered much discussion when Emma Watson coined the term "self-partnered" as a euphemism for single in late 2019. Around that time, articles began to discuss the "the sudden, surprising rise" of the single positivity movement.
Here's the thing, though: the single positivity movement is neither new, nor sudden or surprising. In fact, the history of the single positivity movement dates back to the late 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Let's not forget that Watson is not the first woman in history to have ever made a public statement declaring her singledom — for one, in 1558 Queen Elizabeth I batted away parliament's entreaties to marry, stating, "I have long since made choice of a husband, the kingdom of England." And I'll wager that she certainly won't be the last.
The New Woman ideal
In the late 19th century, the New Woman ideal emerged. The New Woman was educated, earning money, independent, political, sexually liberated, and, naturally, met with fear and criticism. The term, which was first used by Irish writer Sarah Grand in 1894 to describe independent women yearning for a culture change. The trope went on to be popularised by Henry James through his writing — the eponymous heroine of Daisy Miller and Isabel Archer in Portrait of a Lady both embodied the traits of the New Woman. This new version of womanhood came just 20 years after Susan B. Anthony, one of the leaders of the American suffrage movement, predicted "an epoch of single women" in 1877, stating, "if women will not accept marriage with subjugation, nor men proffer it without, there is, there can be, no alternative. The woman who will not be ruled must live without marriage."
When the 20th century arrived, so too did big change. As author Rebecca Traister notes in her book All The Single Ladies, the 1920s saw a drop in rates of singlehood and the marriage age following a backlash against the New Woman. But the seed for rejecting marriage had been planted. "In 1924 the Yale Review posthumously published a piece by the sociologist William Sumner, who argued that the industrial age's new opportunities for women had 'dislodged marriage from its supreme place in their interest and life plan,'" writes Traister.
Live alone and like it
In 1936, a book was published that proved so popular it sparked a movement. Marjorie Hillis wrote Live Alone and Like It: A Guide for the Extra Woman, an advice book that became a bestseller and turned the idea of women living alone — and all the social attitudes that came along with it — on its head. Joanna Scutts, author of The Extra Woman: How Marjorie Hillis Led a Generation of Women to Live Alone and Like It, tells me Hillis likely would not have seen herself as part of a movement, but "she did urge women to call themselves 'Live Aloners' rather than spinsters or single—she wanted them to define themselves by what they’d chosen, rather than what they lacked."
"She did urge women to call themselves 'Live Aloners' rather than spinsters or single."
"A minister’s daughter turned Vogue editor turned self-help guru for single women like herself," according to Scutts, Hillis was born in 1889 and grew up in Brooklyn. Hillis "fully expected to get married at a young age, but although she had a few 'beaux' it never happened." But what she did discover was that she really loved working. "At Vogue, she became close friends with the magazine’s longtime editor, Edna Woolman Chase, who was divorced," says Scutts. "By the time she was in her late 40s, both her parents had passed away, and she was living in an apartment in Manhattan from which she could walk to her office next to Grand Central Station."
Hillis had the perfect set-up for her life thanks to some careful arrangements she'd made. "In particular, she was at a safe distance from her siblings and their children, so she couldn’t be roped in as a maiden aunt/on-call babysitter," says Scutts. "She went to the theater often, loved fashion and travel, and had a wide circle of friends, many of whom lived much as she did." She turned her own stories — and that of her friends — into anonymised case studies for the book.
The book was "a runaway hit, which took everyone by surprise, including the publisher—they sold 100,000 copies before the end of the year." Scutts says The Depression was "the heyday of self-help publishing in America" but most books didn't speak to women, and definitely not single women. "The book found readers beyond that demographic, though: First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was a fan, and the president was spotted reading a copy on his yacht over the summer," says Scutts. "It even inspired a spoof (Wake Up Alone and Like It) and its title became a catchphrase."
So, did Marjorie Hillis pave the way for future feminist and single empowerment movements? "One thing she certainly did was make single women visible in the culture in a way they hadn’t been since the suffrage movement, but she was less interested in advancing the collective political status of women than in encouraging them to choose and live the lives they individually wanted," says Scutts.
A taste of economic independence
The Depression and World War II brought further change by bringing big numbers of women into the workforce. This was a new thing for privileged middle class white women who'd never worked before. "For the many Black women who had always worked, the opportunity for skilled jobs, albeit for less money than their white counterparts, expanded," writes Traister. As Scutts says, "during the Depression, marriage rates went down and thousands more single women joined the workforce, and got a taste of economic independence. Then with the arrival of World War II, that number vastly increased, and included married women as well."
After the war, however, there was a drive toward domesticity and marriage. In the 1950s, singlehood becomes an undesirable state to be avoided at all costs. These movements and their roles in shifting attitudes towards marriage and singleness were centred upon white privileged women who had more freedom and choice over their paths in life at that time. "Of course it’s important to note that this narrative of advance and retreat, of career versus family, and of feminist 'waves,' is very much a white narrative," notes Scutts. "In the U.S., Black women have never historically had the choice of whether or not to work, and mostly have not had access to the kinds of professional careers that could bring privileged women like Marjorie Hillis genuine autonomy, security, and fulfillment."
Hillis ended up getting married in 1939 and, per Scutts, "the newspapers had a field day with the news, although she tried to insist that she’d never said the single life was preferable, just that it could be enjoyable when it came, as it inevitably would." Hillis' husband passed away after 10 years together, so she entered the 1950s as a single woman. "She wrote two more books encouraging widows and divorcees to hold onto their independence and forge happy single lives — but her message was a lot less popular in the postwar conservative era."
The ebb and flow of movements
The single positivity movement did not spring forth suddenly from the ether. Since the 19th century there has been an ebb and flow of movements, trends, and ideas which have evolved how we view the state of being single. Historically, past movements for single women have not been intersectional or inclusive. So, if we're to learn something from the past, let it be that a movement about single women should be for all single women no matter her race, class, sexuality, or disability.
"I think we always want our movements to be new, and there’s nothing wrong with that — newness is exciting!" says Scutts. "Plus I know that there are historians of the 19th century who would point to the huge importance of single women to political activism, so it’s not like Marjorie Hillis herself was coming out of nowhere." Rebecca Traister's book explores this topic in great depth.
"But what I think is still really important about her work is the way she championed pleasure and self-indulgence in a really upfront way, which I think is still radical and subversive for women to do," adds Scutts. "She doesn’t believe you can buy your way to happiness, but she certainly argues that surrounding yourself with beautiful objects, dressing well, and taking the time and energy to treat yourself well, even if nobody is watching, are vital and valuable."
SEE ALSO: The weirdest year of my life made me fall in love with alone time

As someone who lives alone and likes it (see what I did there), the moniker Live Aloner is certainly one I'll be adopting henceforth. Another fun fact about Hillis, per Scutts: "She was a big believer in fancy pajamas and breakfast in bed!" That's certainly a belief I can get on board with.
TikTok is screaming, crying over Red (Taylors Version)
TikTok is screaming, crying over Red (Taylors Version)
This week, TikTok had it all — reactions to Red (Taylor's Version), women being too stunned to speak, and the return of "No Nuance November."
TikTok remembers it "All Too Well"
In case you are somehow unaware, on Friday, Nov. 12, Taylor Swift released Red (Taylor’s Version). By the morning, the tag "redtaylorsversion" had over 430 million views, and over 30,000 videos had been made to the 10-minute version of "All Too Well," aka the most anticipated song of the album.
"All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" is just as devastating as Swifties expected it to be, and it contains many more details about her soured 2010 romance with actor Jake Gyllenhaal than the original.
Sure enough, TikTok users have a lot of feelings about the song and man with the "fuck the patriarchy" keychain.
In one video, TikTokker @ewwnotausername(Opens in a new tab) hangs up a "fuck you jack gyllenhaall" sign and scratches out his eyes while a snippet of the10-minute version of "All Too Well" plays. In another video, @its.maddie.c(Opens in a new tab) says, "Jake buddy you really should have gone to that birthday party, so sorry about your murder."
Even The Washington Post hopped on the trend and made a video pretending to be Gyllenhaal's publicist(Opens in a new tab).

One of the many reactions to the ten-minute version of "All Too Well." Credit: TikTok / ewwnotausername

The responses to Red (Taylor’s Version) on the app don’t end with "All Too Well." TikTok user @oatmilkleader posted an emotional, ALL-CAPS reaction(Opens in a new tab) to one of the tracks from the vault, "Nothing New (feat. Phoebe Bridgers)." The video is captioned, "PHEOBE BRIDGERS AND TAYLOR SWIFT YALL GOING TO JAIL FOR THIS LINE WHO SHARED MY DIARY WITH YALL."

The reactions are in to "Nothing New (feat Phoebe Bridgers)." Credit: TikTok / oatmilkleader

Screaming, crying because the woman was too stunned to speak
If there is one thing TikTok users love to do, it’s share something embarrassing that happened to them. The more relatable it is, the more viral the video goes. The app is a place of collective commiseration.
The two trends that have taken up the most space this week are "screaming, crying" and "the woman was too stunned to speak."
You've definitely heard the people of the internet use the phrase "screaming, crying, throwing up” in response to everything. This week, that phrase became a viral TikTok sound. Some genius made an edit of "Blank Space" by Taylor Swift and isolated the lyrics "screaming, crying," turning it into a perfect response for every unfortunate, unlucky situation. So far, over 31,000 videos have been made to the sound, and they're all hilarious.
A highlight of the trend is @drewkadto's video(Opens in a new tab), which reads, "Suppose to be mounting my TV but im too lazy and wanna watch tv in my room. So im using it like a giant ipad." The video has garnered over 200,000 likes. Another popular example is a TikTok posted by @lifewithimna(Opens in a new tab), which laments, “me when i have to do work for the major i picked at the university i chose to attend." The video has over 90,000 likes.

Innovation that excites. Credit: TikTok / drewkadto

It’s only fitting that a Taylor Swift song has gone viral twice on TikTok during the week of Red (Taylor’s Version)'s release.
Meanwhile, "the woman was too stunned to speak" sound finds users sharing experiences that left them speechless. The dramatic sound, which bluntly declares, "the woman was too stunned to speak," in an almost monotone voice, was first posted by @_dominikxcx on Oct. 31(Opens in a new tab) and now has accumulated over 500,000 videos.
A great example of this trend is @tinkerbella728's video(Opens in a new tab), in which she uses the sound over the text "when a couple I have no connection to deletes all their insta posts."
But it's not all fun and memes. Some of these clips could be considered more depressing than funny, like @loserzzzzzz's video(Opens in a new tab) that reads, "when my acne went away&she cried that she wasn’t the pretty friend anymore." People using TikTok to process their buried trauma? Consider us too stunned to speak.
No Nuance November
In case you forgot, it’s November, meaning "No Nuance November" is back on TikTok.
For the uninitiated, No Nuance November is when TikTokkers post their most controversial opinions without any explanation. (Yes, it's as dangerous as it sounds.)
The trend was huge last November, so it's not surprising that it would return to wreak more havoc on our FYPs — in a fun way, of course. The tag currently has 3.5 billion views, so consider this your sign to post your hottest takes.
False YouTube copyright claim takes down Lofi Girls years-long livestream
False YouTube copyright claim takes down Lofi Girls years-long livestream
It's the bane of every YouTuber's existence: False copyright claims.
And one of the internet's most beloved YouTube music channels, Lofi Girl(Opens in a new tab), was just hit with one of these false strikes. Now, as a result, the channel's livestreams have been taken down, including a stream that has subsequently been running nonstop(Opens in a new tab) for two years, four months, and 18-and-a-half days.
You've probably come across Lofi Girl's YouTube streams, even if you're unfamiliar with the name. The livestream features a looping animation of a girl studying at her desk listening to music through headphones while her cat serenely looks out the window behind her. Chill lofi "beats to relax/study to" play throughout the livestream for viewers to...work or study alongside.
With more than 10.7 million subscribers, Lofi Girl was a very popular YouTube channel. Yet, that didn't stop a false copyright strike from taking it all down.
YouTube Creators know just how frustrating the video platform's copyright system can be. Any copyright troll with access to YouTube's Content ID system can file a claim on anyone's content. In doing so, they can stop a creator from monetizing their videos, collect that creator's ad revenue for themselves, and even end up demonetizing a creator's entire YouTube channel.
Sure, YouTubers can dispute these bad faith claims and YouTube will, supposedly, take action against those who abuse the Content ID system. Yet, these very instances continue to occur over and over again.
SEE ALSO: YouTube let Warner Bros. copyright strike my content before it even existed

On Sunday, Lofi Girls' two livestreams, including that previously mentioned stream that has been running since Feb. 22, 2020, suddenly ended. Lofi Girl took to its Twitter account to explain what happened.
"The lofi radios have been taken down because of false copyright strikes, hopefully @YouTubeCreators @YouTube will sort this quickly…," tweeted Lofi Girl, along with a screenshot of the copyright strike notice from YouTube.
Tweet may have been deleted (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab)

According to the screenshot, the false copyright strike was issued by a music label based out of Malaysia called FMC Music Sdn Bhd Malaysia.
YouTube replied on Monday morning apologizing for the takedowns and confirmed that the copyright claims were falsely made. YouTube also claimed that it had "terminated" the copyright troll's account.
Tweet may have been deleted (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab)

"confirmed the takedown requests were abusive & terminated the claimants account 😔 we've resolved the strikes + reinstated your vids – it can sometimes take 24-48 hours for everything to be back to normal! so sorry this happened & thx for your patience as we sorted it out ❤️‍🩹," tweeted the TeamYouTube account in reply to Lofi Girl's tweet.
Related Stories
- YouTube reversed my bogus copyright strike after I threatened to write this
- Technoblade, 'Minecraft' YouTube creator, dies aged 23
- Wonka bars and ghost kitchens: How food became the next frontier for YouTubers
- YouTube Shorts says it has 1.5 billion monthly users. Those are TikTok-like numbers.
- YouTube rolls out new content-specific creator analytics for YouTube Shorts, livestreams
It's good that the copyright strikes have been removed, as these inhibit the Lofi Girl channel from livestreaming and monetizing its videos. However, YouTube's Twitter account seemed a bit confused about reinstating the videos. Livestreams that are more than 12 hours long are not archived for replay, regardless if it was ended intentionally by the creator or not. So, no, there will not be a reinstated, nearly two-and-a-half-year long Lofi Girl livestream for viewers to re-watch.
This isn't the first time Lofi Girl has had its livestream removed due to YouTube copyright issues. Back in February 2020, right before the latest livestream went live, YouTube randomly shut down the whole Lofi Girl channel. At the time, YouTube said it was a "mistake on their side."
SEE ALSO: Bogus copyright claims aren't just a YouTube problem either...

However, there is one interesting nugget to come out of this latest false copyright takedown. Once a livestream ends, users can see how many total views the video has received. Otherwise, YouTube only shows the number of concurrent live viewers when a livestream is active.
So, how many times has Lofi Girl's marathon of a livestream been viewed since February 2020? More than 668 million times.
With that aside, though, it's incredible just how much of a problem copyright trolls and false claims are becoming on YouTube. And if a popular YouTube channel with more than 10 million subscribers isn't safe from these copyright strikes, then who is?
WFH in comfort with these fashionably functional picks
WFH in comfort with these fashionably functional picks
You Got This is a series that spotlights the gear you need to improve one area of your life. If you buy something from this post, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Working from home doesn't have to be drab, and joggers aren't just for jogging. It's 2020 and there are no rules, so you can wear comfortable, quality clothes throughout your workday, whether you break a sweat or not.
Prepare to fill your virtual cart with the best from Lululemon(Opens in a new tab), and never work in pajamas again.
Shut out the shivers with a sherpa
This plush fleece sherpa pullover is everything you need to weather the winter. With a cozy oversized fit, this piece comes in four assorted colors.

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Credit: LuLuLemon

Cozy up with the Warm Restore Sherpa Pullover for $154 (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab)

Dress like it's business (casual) as usual
Sometimes you just want to look the part without playing it. These breathable, stretchy joggers are perfect for a full day in the office-chair, or a session of squats in between video calls.

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Credit: LuLuLemon

Dress the part with the City Sweat Jogger 29" French Terry for $118 (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab)

Keep a hoodie at arms length
Ready at a moment's notice, this innovative and fashionable zip-up hoodie is easy to throw on and go. It's windproof, water-repellent, and it comes with a secret media pocket.

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Credit: LuLuLemon

Always be prepared with the Down For It All Hoodie for $198 (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab)

Stay hydrated (or caffeinated)
Limit your trips to the microwave and keep your coffee hot with an ergonomic, insulated bottle.

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Credit: LuLuLemon

Drink up with the Stay Hot Keep Cold Bottle for $48 (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab)

Warm your hands with fingerless gloves
If your words-per-minute drops when the temperature does, a pair of fingerless gloves will help keep your typing in tip-top shape.

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Credit: LuLuLemon

Type faster with Crazy Cozy Fingerless Gloves for $52 (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab)

Seize the day and put on real pants
Catch this online exclusive while you can. These 5-pocket pants will make you feel like a real adult, ready for another nine-to-five.

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Credit: LuLuLemon

Change from pj's into ABC Pant Classic pants for $128 (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab)

Stay light, stretchy, and free
These high-rise joggers have everything: zippers, cinches, sweat wicking fabric, and ruching detail at the bottom that adds fashionable flair to the functional design.

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Credit: LuLuLemon

Combine fashion and function with the Beyond the Studio Jogger for $118-$128 (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab)

Brighten the frame with an oversized sweater
100% cotton, 100% comfortable, and most importantly, long enough to cover the bum. This classic sweater comes in over a dozen colors. Choose wisely.

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Credit: Lululemon

Channel confidence and comfort in a Perfectly Oversized Crew for $108 (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab) (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab)
Hey Elon, please just take my Twitter checkmark away
Hey Elon, please just take my Twitter checkmark away
The fun’s over, folks.
I’ve had a verified checkmark on Twitter for approximately six years. Theoretically, it’s because I’m a journalist. In reality, it’s because you used to be able to openly apply for one, and I did that while I was just an intern at another website. I didn’t expect to get it, but I did, and I’ve been laughing about it ever since.
In the aftermath of Elon Musk’s takeover of the bird site, I don’t want the stupid thing anymore. Whatever meaning it may have once had (if not for me, then for other people), it’s been rendered meaningless by Musk’s hare-brained new policies.
SEE ALSO: Can an $8 Twitter subscription bail out Elon Musk? Let's look at the numbers.

Even if I initially got it as a joke, having a checkmark now makes you the punchline. I don’t want any part of that.
Man without a plan
In case you’ve been living under a rock (or you just don’t use Twitter, in which case I commend you), one of Musk’s early initiatives as owner of the site has been to “democratize” the blue checkmark. He did so by allowing anyone to get one if they paid $8/mo for a Twitter Blue subscription.
Because nothing is as democratic as gating access to something behind a paywall, I guess.
Anyway, the net result has been nothing short of disastrous. Musk apparently went into this without any sort of plan, so accounts that already had checkmarks like major public figures or institutions instead got a little “Official” badge on their page. This is, of course, very dumb, and produced outcomes like Kanye West having an “Official” badge while Joe Biden didn’t.
Musk killed that within a day.
Then, as everyone on the site predicted, people started paying $8 for a checkmark, changing their avatars and display names to mirror those of major media figures or companies, and posting fake news or vulgar content. Again, anyone could’ve seen that coming.
Tweet may have been deleted (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab)

Not a status symbol
The core problem with all of this, something that Musk doesn’t seem to understand despite spending a lot of time on Twitter, is that the checkmark was never meant to be a status symbol. It was simply meant to denote that someone is who they say they are. By making it as simple as spending $8 to get one (with no ID verification), he’s rendered it completely meaningless.
And maybe it was always meaningless to an extent. After all, in my own case, it was a bit from the beginning. People have also been using other methods (emojis that sort of look like the checkmark at a glance, for example) to impersonate big accounts for years. The system has always been subvertible, but now subverting it is part of the business plan.
Related Stories
- If Mastodon wants to replace Twitter, we'll have to ruin it first
- People started spreading fake news on Twitter the instant they could buy a blue check
- If you buy a blue checkmark, Twitter will tell on you
- Can an $8 Twitter subscription bail out Elon Musk? Let's look at the numbers.
- Elon Musk can't tweet his way out of this
If that’s the case, I want out. It’s not clear when, or if, already-verified people like me who elect not to pay will lose their checkmarks, but I’d like for it to happen ASAP. Elon, buddy, if you’re reading this: Take that little badge off of Twitter user @Yelix’s page. It’s no longer of any use to me.
If I continue to have a checkmark, it’ll only result in derision and ridicule (beyond what I already get for my terrible posts) because people will think I’ve paid for it. It doesn’t matter that you can hover over the badge to see if someone paid for it or not; people on Twitter don’t even read news stories before commenting on them. That’s a useless dead end.
If the equation for verification is "people who are important or people who pay money," I no longer qualify for either. I’m just a guy who filled out a form in 2016, thinking it wouldn’t go anywhere. And I’m fully aware that I can do it myself by changing my @ handle, but I don’t want to do it that way. I want it taken from me. I want to be a martyr for the cause.
Let’s make it happen, my guy. I'm ready to be a man of the people again.
Quordle today: Here are the answers and hints for November 6
Quordle today: Here are the answers and hints for November 6
It's Sunday once again, and it's also tough Quordle day.
If Quordle is a little too challenging today, you've come to the right place for hints. There aren't just hints here, but the whole Quordle solution. Scroll to the bottom of this page, and there it is. But are you sure you need all four answers? Maybe you just need a strategy guide. Either way, scroll down, and you'll get what you need.
What is Quordle?
Quordle is a five-letter word guessing game similar to Wordle, except each guess applies letters to four words at the same time. You get nine guesses instead of six to correctly guess all four words. It looks like playing four Wordle games at the same time, and that is essentially what it is. But it's not nearly as intimidating as it sounds.
Is Quordle harder than Wordle?
Yes, though not diabolically so.
Where did Quordle come from?
Amid the Wordle boom of late 2021 and early 2022, when everyone was learning to love free, in-browser, once-a-day word guessing games, creator Freddie Meyer says he took inspiration from one of the first big Wordle variations, Dordle — the one where you essentially play two Wordles at once. He took things up a notch, and released Quordle on January 30(Opens in a new tab). Meyer's creation was covered in The Guardian(Opens in a new tab) six days later, and now, according to Meyer, it attracts millions of daily users. Today, Meyer earns modest revenue(Opens in a new tab) from Patreon, where dedicated Quordle fans can donate to keep their favorite puzzle game running.
How is Quordle pronounced?
“Kwordle.” It should rhyme with “Wordle,” and definitely should not be pronounced exactly like "curdle.”
Is Quordle strategy different from Wordle?
Yes and no.
Your starting strategy should be the same as with Wordle. In fact, if you have a favorite Wordle opening word, there’s no reason to change that here. We suggest something rich in vowels, featuring common letters like C, R, and N. But you do you.
After your first guess, however, you’ll notice things getting out of control if you play Quordle exactly like Wordle.
What should I do in Quordle that I don’t do in Wordle?
Solving a Wordle puzzle can famously come down to a series of single letter-change variations. If you’ve narrowed it down to “-IGHT,” you could guess “MIGHT” “NIGHT” “LIGHT” and “SIGHT” and one of those will probably be the solution — though this is also a famous way to end up losing in Wordle, particularly if you play on “hard mode.” In Quordle, however, this sort of single-letter winnowing is a deadly trap, and it hints at the important strategic difference between Wordle and Quordle: In Quordle, you can't afford to waste guesses unless you're eliminating as many letters as possible at all times.
Guessing a completely random word that you already know isn't the solution, just to eliminate three or four possible letters you haven’t tried yet, is thought of as a desperate, latch-ditch move in Wordle. In Quordle, however, it's a normal part of the player's strategic toolset.
Is there a way to get the answer faster?
In my experience Quordle can be a slow game, sometimes dragging out longer than it would take to play Wordle four times. But a sort of blunt-force guessing approach can speed things up. The following strategy also works with Wordle if you only want the solution, and don’t care about having the fewest possible guesses:
Try starting with a series of words that puts all the vowels (including Y) on the board, along with some other common letters. We've had good luck with the three words: “NOTES,” “ACRID,” and “LUMPY.” YouTuber DougMansLand(Opens in a new tab) suggests four words: “CANOE,” “SKIRT,” “PLUMB,” and “FUDGY.”
Most of the alphabet is now eliminated, and you’ll only have the ability to make one or two wrong guesses if you use this strategy. But in most cases you’ll have all the information you need to guess the remaining words without any wrong guesses.
If strategy isn't helping, and you're still stumped, here are some hints:
Are there any double or triple letters in today’s Quordle words?
One word has a letter that occurs twice.
Are any rare letters being used in today’s Quordle like Q or Z?
J is pretty rare, and that's in there.
What do today’s Quordle words start with?
J, R, T, and S.
What are the answers for today’s Quordle?
Are you sure you want to know?
There’s still time to turn back.
OK, you asked for it. The answers are:
1. JOINT
2. REFIT
3. TESTY
4. STEIN
Diabetes patients DIY solutions are still the standard of care
Diabetes patients DIY solutions are still the standard of care
Paging Dr. Internet, we need a diagnosis. In this series, Mashable examines the online world's influence on our health and prescribes new ways forward.
For 33 years, Orla Wilson managed her Type 1 diabetes well. "I always had reasonable control," she says. "I didn't really think too much about it."
But when her seven-year-old daughter Polly received the same diagnosis in 2014, she and her husband began losing sleep. They were taking turns waking up every three hours in the night to check Polly's continuous glucose monitor (CGM), ensuring her blood sugar didn't drop dangerously low in her sleep. Wilson, an associate professor of materials science and engineering at Johns Hopkins University, decided to search online diabetes forums for advice. That's when she learned she could program a machine to take the night shift.
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For Wilson and her daughter, living with Type 1 diabetes requires around-the-clock maintenance. Since their bodies don't produce enough insulin, the hormone that fuels cells in the bloodstream with glucose, they need to inject it. Without the right amounts of insulin, glucose builds up in a diabetic's bloodstream, unable to be absorbed by cells that need it to function, and their blood sugar can rise. Insulin is like the key that opens up the door, or membrane, of the cell. "Without that key, you can't get the energy inside the cells, effectively starving them," says Dr. Michael Haller, a pediatric endocrinology professor at the University of Florida Health.
Wilson, after hearing conversations about ongoing diabetes projects in the local Facebook group "Baltimore Parents of Kids with Type 1 Diabetes," stumbled on a manual with step-by-step instructions to build a device that could administer her and her daughter's insulin automatically—the Open Artificial Pancreas System, or OpenAPS(Opens in a new tab). The project, created by patient inventor Dana Lewis and software engineers Scott Leibrand and Ben West in 2015, was the first open-source effort to create an artificial pancreas, coming together two years ahead of the first commercial system, Medtronic's MiniMed 670G in 2017. In early 2016, Wilson began building her own OpenAPS, joining a growing number of DIYers who elect to build their own artificial pancreas, either because the diabetes device industry does not offer what they need or because what is offered is not affordable.
In order to keep their blood sugars at a safe level, "Type 1 patients have to do traditional doctor-level thinking processes multiple times a day," Haller says, carefully weighing how everyday activities like eating, exercising, and sleeping will affect them. With more than 42 factors influencing glucose levels though, including stress, illness, even the time of day, "it's nearly impossible to tease out all these factors," says Dr. Laurel Messer, a clinical scientist at the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes and the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
If they knocked at my front door, I wouldn't know who they were, but they were always just so willing to help.
Starting in May 2016, Wilson entered hundreds of lines of code into the open-source software platform, Ubuntu, following the OpenAPS instruction manual. When she had to troubleshoot, she turned to an OpenAPS space on Gitter, a messaging platform for developers, to ask for "tech support." It was a relief "how quickly responses would come from people all over the world. If they knocked at my front door, I wouldn't know who they were," she says, "but they were always just so willing to help."

Late in October that year, she got the device working in her Baltimore home office. "I just sat there watching my computer screen," she says, "absolutely amazed by what it was doing." On her computer screen, lines of information were stacking up as the system she built went through "loops." She had reverse-engineered an old Medtronic insulin pump through trial-and-error. Now it was hooked up to a small credit-card sized computer called a Raspberry Pi, in which she programmed an algorithm to tell the pump how much insulin to give her automatically. The Raspberry Pi, or "rig," was downloading her blood glucose data every five minutes from her CGM, a patch she wears on her arm. She could see this data on her screen now, too. If the data showed that her glucose levels are rising, the rig told the insulin pump to dispense more insulin to her subcutaneously. If her glucose levels were going down, the rig told the insulin pump to preemptively dispense less insulin. This communication between the devices is called a "hybrid closed loop" or, in action, "looping."
"For a long time, I never questioned why the CGM and insulin pump didn't communicate with each other," Wilson says. She had been using both for four years, checking her CGM nearly every hour in a day, doing the mental calculations for insulin, and then manually entering into the insulin pump what adjustments to make to her insulin levels. Now there was a rig to do this for her. "It's running in the background all the time," she says. "I have to tell it when I eat but it does everything else."

Wilson’s first Open Artificial Pancreas System created in October 2016. Top to bottom: Dexcom receiver (displays blood glucose levels sent from the monitor on her arm), CareLink USB stick (communicates between the Raspberry Pi minicomputer and insulin pump) next to the Raspberry Pi, a battery, and Medtronic insulin pump. Credit: Orla Wilson

After using the system safely for a few months, Wilson was able to convince her husband that it was safe enough for Polly to try one and she started on another OpenAPS. "Maybe once a month we have to do something in the middle of the night for her now," Orla says. Once they were comfortable with Polly using it, they could sleep easy knowing it was watching her blood sugar ."It probably didn't make a huge difference for me," Wilson reflects,"but for our daughter, it made a very significant difference."
A lot of assessments of closed loop systems leave out this variable of sleep, notes Joyce Lee, a pediatrics professor specializing in diabetes at the University of Michigan. She believes patients and caregivers using these systems are sleeping much better. Like Wilson and her husband, "they're not doing corrections or dealing with insulin loads at night—the machine's doing it," Lee says. "The value is in the reduced amount of work and intervention."
In fact, hybrid closed loop systems "allow more patients to achieve glycemic targets than anything else right now," Haller says. Their glucose levels tend to be more stable, and they have fewer incidents of going too high or low. Current guidelines from the American Diabetes Associations suggest that individuals with Type 1 diabetes have an A1C, or average glucose levels, at 7 percent or less, where a lower percentage means a lower average. (For people living without diabetes, a normal A1C level is below 5.7 percent.) Time in range is another factor measuring how much time an individual spends within an ideal glucose range, usually 70 to 180 mg/dl.
My system is looking out for me.
Kyle Rose, a user of another DIY closed loop system called Loop for iPhone, in southern California, reported that once he began using his, he woke up for the first time in 25 years of having diabetes at his target of 100 mg/dl five days in a row. "My system is looking out for me," he said.

A look at Orla Wilson's Loop app, which she uses to control the amount of insulin that is delivered. Credit: screenshot: Loop

According to Messer, adults using hybrid closed loops can achieve an A1C of about 7 percent, spending around 70 percent of their time in range."This is very difficult to achieve without diabetes technologies," she says. "To have the majority of individuals trying these devices be able to obtain glucose levels like that is quite a breakthrough. We've never had anything that effective in the past."
The hybrid closed loop system is one innovation born out of a larger online movement, #WeAreNotWaiting, which appeared on Twitter first in 2013. The hashtag represents a deep undertaking by diabetes patients and caregivers with software expertise to overhaul diabetes technologies and make them widely accessible when device companies could not deliver solutions fast enough.
All these people in the diabetes community just took a piece of the problem and said, 'I'm going to go figure that out.'
The group of DIYers and entrepreneurs "has driven companies to have better products much faster," Haller says. Frustrated with the usability of device interfaces and with the industry's proprietary software and data restrictions, they developed a host of platforms, apps, hardware, and cloud-based and solutions to improve their health outcomes.

Wilson’s Loop system that she and her daughter Polly have used for three years now. Left to right: Omnipod tubeless insulin pump, RileyLink (open-source hardware device) and battery contained in a 3D-printed case. The RileyLink bridges the differing radio frequencies of the Omnipod pump and her iPhone (not pictured) to communicate between them. Credit: Orla wilson

"All these people in the diabetes community just took a piece of the problem and said, 'I'm going to go figure that out,'" says Howard Look, founder and CEO of Tidepool, a nonprofit organization dedicated to making diabetes data more accessible. When his daughter was diagnosed with Type 1, he couldn't view the data from her different devices on one platform and decided to write software to integrate those data streams. "The #WeAreNotWaiting movement is the leading edge of technical innovation," he says. "They are looking ahead, asking what's possible with the technology available to us, and doing the innovation themselves, releasing it freely and paying it forward."
Wilson's daughter Polly had a brief stint with a commercial system, a Control-IQ, but at the time, it could only respond to her blood sugar going low. They have since switched from OpenAPS to Loop, another DIY system that, instead of using a rig to control the insulin pump, uses an iPhone app. Look and his team at Tidepool are now in the process of receiving FDA approval for Loop to appear in the App Store. "If all our rigs fell apart, I would use [the Control-IQ]," Wilson says, "but for now, I'm quite happy with what I have."
Jayne Williamson-Lee is a health and technology writer based in Denver. You can find her work on j-writer.com(Opens in a new tab).
UPDATE: Oct. 22, 2021, 10:05 a.m. EDT A previous version of this story referred to the Control-IQ as the the Tandem T:slim.
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