Anna Faris didn’t audition for Scary Movie expecting to become a star. She didn’t expect to become anything, really. In the summer of 1999, she was a fresh college graduate from Seattle who had moved to Los Angeles to follow a guy. She’d never done comedy in her life. She waited tables, then recorded an audition tape from her childhood home and sent it in just to see what would happen.

That tape changed everything.

Scary Movie became a blockbuster. It made $278 million on a $19 million budget. And it launched Anna Faris onto the A-list, or at least close enough that Hollywood noticed her. But as she looks back now, 26 years later, returning to that franchise for Scary Movie 6, Faris has had to confront something she’s been too polite to say out loud for a very long time: Hollywood systematically undervalued her when she was the one making them money.

Anna Faris Was Number One on the Call Sheet. Yet, She Wasn’t on the Poster

In 2011, Vulture ran a profile asking whether Anna Faris would finally make the leap to genuine A-list status. She was on the verge, they said. She’d had The House Bunny, a lead role she produced herself. She was in talks for major films. But even then, the reporting made clear what Hollywood’s gatekeepers really thought: Faris straddled two worlds and properly occupied neither. She was almost, but not quite, in the same tier as Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Katherine Heigl.

What the 2011 analysis didn’t address was something Faris herself didn’t say publicly. She had already been systematically underpaid and undervalued in the very franchise that made her famous. She was the star of Scary Movie, number one on the call sheet, and the character everyone remembered. But she wasn’t in the first poster. And while the films were making massive money, she wasn’t being paid like a star.

“I was number one on the call sheet but wasn’t in the first poster and wasn’t paid anywhere near the most,” she revealed in an interview on Josh Horowitz’s podcast this year. “It was a humbling start.”

That word—humbling—encapsulates everything she didn’t say for 25 years. Yes, she was grateful. She knew she’d gotten lucky. She was a long shot. But she was also being exploited à la Hollywood, meaning, when the person being exploited starts to believe they deserve it.

Then They Cut Her Out Entirely

For Scary Movie 3 and 4, Faris stayed on. The Wayans brothers, who created and starred in the franchise, weren’t asked back after the second film. But Faris was contractually obligated. As the professional she is, she showed up. She did the work. And then, in 2013, when Scary Movie 5 came around, she wasn’t invited. Nobody called. The franchise that had defined her career simply moved forward without her.

For 20 years, she didn’t speak to Marlon Wayans. When her agent called every few years to suggest maybe new executives would bring the series back, maybe there’d be another opportunity, she’d say no. She felt undervalued financially. After all, she had other work. She had moved on, or at least she pretended to.

But here’s the thing: the Wayans brothers fought to get their franchise back. They went to war with the studios. Marlon Wayans has repeatedly said they had the franchise “taken from them,” and he directly named Harvey Weinstein and his brother Bob as instrumental in losing those rights. There was a contractual dispute and a negotiation. A pissing contest, if you will.

For her part, Anna Faris was just replaced. She wasn’t fighting because she felt she wasn’t in a position to fight. She was one woman who had been underpaid from the jump. And when Hollywood decided to move on, she stayed quiet and gracious.

The Pratt Years: Visibility Doesn’t Mean Agency

In 2009, Anna Faris married Chris Pratt. From the outside, this looked like a power move. Pratt was rising, and she was established. Together, they were a Hollywood couple. But, as it’s often the case, over the next nine years, Faris’s individual identity merged into “Chris Pratt’s wife.”

She had a successful career in the industry. She appeared in Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain and Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation. These were roles that should have confirmed her as a serious actress, not just a comedienne. But the industry had already decided what she was. A 2011 agent quoted in Vulture said, “There’s not a lot of girls like her who do ‘hot’ and ‘funny.’” The implicit perception was that she couldn’t do anything else.

When Lost in Translation came out, people assumed her role was a dig at Cameron Diaz. That assumption followed her for years. In 2026, she finally addressed it on a podcast: “It felt like it took a little something away from my flavor, and because I had auditioned for it and earned it as that performance. I always felt, like, ‘No, I’m not part of some grand, weird sabotage.’” She had, once again, to defend the legitimacy of her own work.

During those Pratt years, Faris had visibility, though not agency. She was visible because of her marriage, yet she wasn’t being courted for roles; casting directors saw her as “Chris Pratt’s wife.” And when the marriage ended in 2018, she was left with something worse than being underpaid in a blockbuster franchise. She was left with the wreckage of being publicly associated with a man whose career only went up, and the subliminal accusation of “maybe you did something wrong.”

The Gendered Math That Hollywood Won’t Admit

Let’s break it down: Two groups of people built Scary Movie’s massive success. The Wayans brothers and Anna Faris with Regina Hall. The Wayans negotiated power, got cut out, fought back, and won their franchise back. Faris and Hall got cut out and stayed cut out. One way or another, they became background elements in a story about the Wayans taking back their creation.

This is the same old Hollywood story where men have leverage and agents who fight for them, and women must be grateful, pleasant, and available if the industry decides to use them again.

That’s why, when Faris was asked to return for Scary Movie 6, she had “complicated feelings,” as she’s described them. She said she always imagined that if she came back, “it would be a concession of my soul. Because I imagined I would be a cameo and get paid a lot of money, but not enough. Not enough for my pride.” Talk about systemic undervaluation.

Anna Faris’s Return Is Not Going Unnoticed

When Marlon Wayans called in February 2025 to tell her they got the franchise back, something changed. Faris came back for Scary Movie 6. And for the first time in 25 years, she felt what she described as genuine valuation.

“I felt valued in a way that I never thought the franchise would give me,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “It felt very, very, very meaningful and powerful to me to be able to look at Marlon in particular and be like, ‘Dude, I love you. Your family gave me something huge. And I’m beloved by association.’”

While Faris was genuinely thanking him for valuing her, we cannot help but notice that she’s still performing gratitude for being treated fairly.

In The End, The Question Isn’t Whether Hollywood Did Her Dirty. It’s Why She Had to Be So Nice About It.

Anna Faris is an adored comedienne and part of the life of an entire generation. She’s had a long career, working with major directors. By any measure, she’s had success.

But the question isn’t whether she made it. It’s what she lost along the way by being too polite to fight back. It’s what her career would have looked like if she’d had the same leverage, the same institutional support, the same assumption of power that the men around her had. It’s what happens when a woman is told she’s lucky to be there, so many times, that she starts to believe it’s true.

Today, when Faris talks about her role in Primetime, a small dramatic part opposite Robert Pattinson, she describes it as “incredible.” Yeah, the movie might be great, but she’s still conditioned to be gracious. That’s what happens when you spend 25 years in an industry that’s convinced you that being paid less than you’re worth is actually a gift.

This summer, women of all ages are wearing swimwear that would have felt scandalous five years ago. And they are doing so unapologetically.

The skimpy bikini boom is real. And it’s not about exposure.

The skimpy swimwear trend—from thong bikinis to micro cuts to strategic cutouts—is a quiet revolt happening in plain sight. Women are saying, “This is my body. I’m comfortable in it. I’m going to wear what makes me feel good.” And we want in.

The Shift From “Flattering” to “I Feel Good”

For decades, women were told that certain bodies could wear certain things. The constant argument was to prioritize looking “flattering,” which really meant minimizing your flaws, hiding your “problem areas,” and making yourself smaller.

Fortunately, that word is basically dead now, and we owe it all to Gen Z.

We’ve moved into what Shaun Cole, an associate professor of fashion at the University of Southampton, calls “another age of body consciousness—a much more expressive moment.” People are saying, as he puts it: “It’s my body, and I can show it off in ways that I choose to.”

This is to say, instead of conforming to one ideal, we are collectively rejecting the idea that there’s only one ideal in the first place.

Women of all shapes and sizes are embracing bolder cuts with real confidence, bypassing the marketing brainwashing and throwing other people’s opinions out the window.

What Changed, Exactly?

Three things, to be exact.

First, the fitness obsession with glutes shifted the cultural conversation about bodies. For years, the fitness industry sold flat abs and thin thighs. Now it’s sculpting, building, and celebrating the posterior. So when women went to the gym and built the bodies they wanted, the image in their heads finally matched the one in the mirror.

Second, Gen Z arrived and refused to play the game. This generation is fundamentally less interested in the concept of being “flattering.” They’re not interested in dieting their bodies into clothes but in finding clothes—or wearing no clothes—that celebrate who they actually are. The phrase “that’s not flattering” will earn you a side-eye, and rightfully so. Because the response is basically: “So what? I like how I look anyway.”

Third, the internet finally did something right when it comes to body standards. Social media gave women a way to see other women wearing bold swimwear. Not models. Real women. Women with stretch marks and cellulite, and bodies that don’t fit into the narrow bandwidth of magazines that are still stuck on the ultra-skinny model. When you see 500 women on TikTok confidently wearing a thong bikini, it stops feeling scandalous and starts feeling normal.

Add e-commerce into the mix, and suddenly you could actually buy these things without explaining yourself to a store clerk, if that’s your pet peeve. You could try them at home, read reviews from real bodies like yours, and make a choice based on what you really want.

The Trend Itself: What’s Actually Happening

The skimpy summer aesthetic has several key silhouettes, and the important thing to understand is that none of them are new. What’s new is that they’re now being featured side by side, as a beautiful spectrum of choices.

The micro bikini—the one that’s basically string and triangles—has been around since the 1960s, influenced by Brazilian beachwear. However, for decades, it was considered extreme, reserved for celebrities and people with specific body types. Now it’s mainstream, showing up everywhere from Miami Swim Week runways to ecommerce platforms.

The thong bikini (or what’s sometimes called the cheeky cut or dental floss style) used to be the ultimate goal for many, if and when you achieved that body. Now, you see it on everybody and every brand. From high-street retailers to luxury brands, fashion insiders note that thong styles are being marketed more diversely than ever before. Women of all shapes and sizes are leaning into this cut, and the industry is finally catching up.

Then there’s the ‘90s minimalist wave—sleek, clean-lined one-pieces and two-pieces in neutral colors like mocha, black, and white that feel almost like shapewear with contoured lines. This one is interesting because it bridges the gap between “revealing” and “elevated.” You can look like you walked off a runway and also feel completely yourself.

The cutout situation deserves its own mention. Strategic cutouts on bikinis and one-pieces—asymmetrical, at the sides, on the back, defining the waist—are everywhere.

The Shift Is About Comfort and Self-Determination

When you wear a swimsuit you actually like—one that fits your body, celebrates it, makes you feel confident—you wear it more. You walk from the towel to the shore with an unknown yet liberating confidence. You’re simply not spending mental energy worrying about coverage or how you look from certain angles. And, God, does that feel good!

For decades, women’s relationship to their bodies in public was mediated by shame, the male gaze, and respectability politics. The idea that showing your body meant you were asking for something or deserving something. And we are finally free.

Body positivity—the real version, not the Instagram version—is about the radical acceptance that all bodies are worthy of taking up space, of comfort. All bodies deserve clothes that fit them, celebrate them, and make them feel good.

According to research on India’s fashion ecommerce market, which is expanding rapidly and seeing significant growth in inclusive sizing options, curve-friendly fashion has exploded as women realized they didn’t have to wait for permission. They could just buy a swimsuit that worked for them.

The shift toward extended sizing, diverse marketing, and designs that work with bodies rather than against them is evidence of what would happen if marketing actually paid attention to what people want, not to what certain powerful interests want to see out there.

And we are here for it.

If you’re like me, you probably have piles of unread books scattered all over your house. After all, there’s no such thing as too many books. However, one of my favorite times to buy books is right at the start of summer.

Every year, tons of new books come out just in time for summer, hoping readers will have a chance to enjoy them. I’ve already put together my own list, and I’m excited to share it with you.
Here are some books by Latino authors that are perfect to pack for your summer adventures.

When You Want to Disappear Into Someone Else’s Life

“Last Night in Brooklyn” by Xochitl Gonzalez swallows you whole.

Set in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, in 2007, the story follows 26-year-old Alicia Canales Forten as she questions her life and gets caught up with her glamorous neighbor La Garza, a fashion designer, and her wealthy cousin, a Wall Street banker. The backdrop is a looming financial crisis and a presidential election. Critics are calling Gonzalez’s novel a modern-day Great Gatsby that explores class, ambition, gentrification, and the tough choices people of color face as they chase the American Dream. If you want to escape into someone else’s luxurious but risky world, this is the book for you.

“The Sun and All the Other Stars” by Karla Montalván is a sweeping literary romance that spans centuries and cultures.

Marisol Varela, a Cuban American muralist living in Madrid, is trying to move on from a broken engagement and a family history that seems to doom the women in her family to heartbreak. Through past-life regression therapy, she experiences three former lives: a rebellious painter in 1482 Florence, a clever woman caught up in espionage during the Spanish Inquisition, and a gay man facing love and loss in 1980s SoHo during the AIDS crisis. In each life, she meets Dario, an Italian poet whose bond with Marisol lasts through the ages. The novel explores whether love is shaped by fate, choice, or something else entirely. Available in both English and Spanish, it brings together themes of immigration, gender, queerness, and art as a form of survival.

When You Want Your Brain Engaged

“The Mystery of the Stolen World Cup Trophy” by Angela Cervantes is perfect if you’re traveling with kids, or if you just want something that moves fast and keeps you guessing.

Twelve-year-old detective Diez Espada, named after Lionel Messi, has to find the stolen World Cup trophy at a Miami party before the big game. He joins forces with his crush, Rio, and a well-known detective to crack the case. Cervantes mixes soccer with a classic mystery, adding quirky suspects, clues, and themes of friendship, family, and redemption, along with real-life soccer details.

“Muñeca” by Cynthia Gómez should be first on your list.

This vivid, surreal Gothic novel is set in 1968 Oakland and follows Natalia Fuentes, a queer, Latine, working-class witch. She’s determined to save Violeta Miramontes, a beautiful heiress paralyzed by a strange illness that Nati believes is caused by dark magic. Hoping to break the spell and earn a reward, Nati becomes Violeta’s caretaker. As their romance grows, Nati becomes more reckless and must confront her own past. This debut feels like the work of a seasoned writer, exploring how far someone will go to save the person they love, even at great personal cost.

“Electric Shamans at the Festival of the Sun” by Mónica Ojeda is hypnotic and disorienting in the best way.

Translated by Sarah Booker and coming out in May 2026, this novel follows best friends Noa and Nicole as they travel from Guayaquil to the Solar Noise Festival, a retro-futuristic event near a volcano. Along the way, they encounter drugs, wild parties, and strange rituals. Noa searches for her missing father and struggles with sleepwalking, while Nicole witnesses the dark changes happening around them. Ojeda mixes techno-shamanic rituals with themes of girlhood, trauma, and violence. The story is trippy and unforgettable, exploring both personal and societal breakdown in a way that lingers long after you finish reading.

When You Want to Remember What It Felt Like to Be Young

“Tangled Roots & Wild Dreams” by Angela Velez is hilarious and moving in equal measure.

The story centers on Ezzie Ramos, who’s great at keeping secrets. Her smart professor mom and curious abuelita have no idea about her daily trips to the art museum, her blank college applications, or her summer plans. What they really don’t know is that she’s interning at Sprout, the urban garden her father started just weeks before he died. With seven weeks to learn who her dad really was, Ezzie follows every clue, even if it means dealing with Gabe McCalister, Sprout’s star volunteer, who’s both off-limits and hard to ignore. The book is funny and heartfelt, showing how growing up means learning that secrets, like seeds, eventually come to light.

“The Chismosas Only Book Club” by Laekan Zea Kemp and Heidi Moreno tells the story of four best friends whose bond is tested when they enter high school.

This book follows four best friends—Cat, Sofia, Ana, and Mari—whose bond seems unbreakable. When Cat’s mom calls them chismosas for laughing too loudly at the bookstore, the nickname sticks, and Cat starts the Chismosas Only Book Club to help them stay close as they start high school. Ninth grade isn’t easy, and even their favorite snacks and laughter at Milagro’s Books, founded by Cat’s ancestor, can’t always fix the cracks in their friendship. Maybe the spirit of Milagro herself can help. Full of whimsy and heart, and featuring black-and-white graphic novel chapters, this charming book celebrates friendship, family, and the power of stories to bring people together.

When You Want Something That Shakes You

“Medea Sang Me a Corrido” by Dahlia de la Cerda reimagines Medea as a deity with punk-rock flair, equal parts midwife and gravedigger.

Set in the mythic yet familiar country of Aztlán, where cartel and military violence blur together, Medea helps a trophy girlfriend through an abortion, supports a mother searching for her missing son in the desert, and comforts victims of the state and its wars. De la Cerda’s writing is powerful and introduces a captivating new take on a mythological figure in a harsh world.

By Joan Wallace.

Whenever we think of fashion, our minds go to the usual suspects: Giorgio Armani, Karl Lagerfeld, or Alexander McQueen. However, the Latino community has had a long tradition of fashion geniuses. Think Carolina Herrera, Oscar de la Renta, or more contemporary ones like Willy Chavarria, Alejandra Alonso Rojas, and Johanna Hernandez.

But nowadays, the U.S. fashion industry is among the most difficult to break into, especially for Latinos. That’s why Colombiamoda Miami is changing the game for designers who want to showcase their art in the American fashion scene.

Since its beginnings in Medellin in 1990, they have broken the status quo, embracing diversity and providing a platform for creatives from all walks of life, including members of the LGBTQ+ community. Designers like Esteban Cortazar and Hernan Zajar graced their runways, carving out their own paths in Latin America before entering the U.S. market, where success did not come overnight.

Years have passed, and the platform has become a front-row witness to the evolution of countless fashion businesses, helping nurture their talent, creativity, and ambition.

According to Sebastian Diez, President of Inexmoda, “The first edition of Colombiamoda Miami exceeded our expectations. Seeing brands interact with buyers, media, and industry leaders was incredibly rewarding. We came back home inspired and determined to do even more to support the international growth of Colombian fashion.”

For the last three years, the platform’s focus has been on showcasing brands and making them shine over three days, exposing their creative strength to diverse audiences in Miami’s up-and-coming arts district: Wynwood.

“We wanted to create a platform where talent, creativity, and business opportunities could come together in one of the most important gateways to the U.S. market,” Diez explained.

From Local to Global

This year, 35 brands took center stage at the event. Among them was La Oculta, which participated in last year’s edition and has successfully expanded its international reach, building a strong, growing customer base in the United States and Africa.

The brand is led by Sofía and Catalina, two Colombian creatives and cousins from the coffee-growing region of Pereira. United by a shared passion for fashion, they have transformed a family legacy—one passed down through generations—into a contemporary brand that celebrates Colombian craftsmanship and design.

Their story reflects a broader trend seen throughout the event. Many brands, including accessory labels, handbag manufacturers, and footwear brands, have leveraged this platform as a launchpad for growth. What starts as a local undertaking can quickly become an international opportunity, exposing designers to new audiences, business contacts, and markets worldwide.

How You Can Be Part Of It

For the Colombiamoda Miami exhibition, the application process begins on Colombiamoda.com. Since participation is selective, you need to submit your brand portfolio for either showroom participation or the Colombiamoda Selection pop-up. The program specializes in categories like resort wear, swimwear, casual and urban fashion, accessories, handbags, footwear, and jewelry, giving emerging and established brands an opportunity to connect with international buyers and expand their global reach.

“Our goal is to accompany brands throughout their internationalization journey, helping them develop the competitive advantages that make Colombian fashion unique and relevant around the world,” Diez shared.

Growing Beyond Borders

The platform has been an incubator for the next generation of fashion entrepreneurs and for Miami’s Latino community.

The event also contributes to the economic development of Miami’s Latino community by creating new business opportunities, strengthening trade connections, and attracting international buyers and entrepreneurs to the city.

As a link between Latin America and the United States, Miami offers the ideal platform for Colombian and Latin American brands to expand their presence, drive sales, and enter into strategic partnerships. The platform supports commerce and strengthens Miami’s role as a leading hub for Latin American entrepreneurship and creativity in the U.S.

At a time like this, Karol G’s recognition at the American Music Awards is an unmistakable sign.

The United States of 2026 is not the same as it used to be. Today, the definition of who is “American” looms large in everyday conversations, at least for a minority that has to raise its voice louder and louder to be heard. And I’m not talking about Latinos. After all, we have more than proven that we are no longer a minority—neither demographically, culturally, nor economically. I’m talking about the other side of the aisle.

That’s why Karol G’s performance and recognition at the 2026 AMAs are so important.

Following her successful appearance as the first Latina headliner at the Coachella festival, the Colombian star performed “Ivonny Bonita” from her album Tropicoqueta on stage.

Without backup dancers, Karol G commanded the circular stage, with a sheer curtain as her only accompaniment. And while English-language headlines tried to describe her—“sensual,” “provocative,” “seductive”—Karol G was speaking to the iconic status of the Latina woman. And she forgave the journalists, since it’s well known that they don’t translate song lyrics very well. But believe me when I say, Karol G wasn’t seducing anyone. She was celebrating femininity.

Regarding the song, the singer has called it “probably the most important song on Tropicoqueta.” “The song truly expresses what I would like women to feel about themselves when they listen to each song on the album,” Karol told Rolling Stone last year. “I want them to feel confident.”

The best came later... almost.

The gala, which celebrates “American music,” couldn’t overlook Karol G’s power. Immediately after her performance, John Legend presented the superstar with the Award for Excellence as an International Artist. It was the industry’s way of recognizing her enormous global impact on music and culture.

To put things in context, the last star to receive this award was Whitney Houston in 2009. “Like millions of fans everywhere, I think the world of Karol G,” Legend remarked. “There are artists who make hits, and then there are artists who make history.”

For her part, and still in her performance costume, Karol commented that she felt honored to receive the award. She called it a “legendary moment in my career,” giving a nod to the surname of the person presenting her with the award. But more importantly, Karol said that this past year has reminded her of her life’s purpose: music.

“I’m just happy that I can perform … and I can say things in my songs and become a voice for a lot of people, a healing place, a safe place.” She continued: “I just think that my life is meaningful because of my music, and to help others through it.”

However, in what reminded many of us of the infamous red carpet moment at the 2026 Critics’ Choice Awards, Legend took the opportunity to present Karol G with another award: Best Latin Album. It was the same rushed format of recognition that almost, almost feels like “just to get it over with.”

But you know what? It doesn’t matter. What is undeniable is that the talent of Latinos, especially Latina women, cannot be overlooked.

Debi Nova is the most successful artist in Costa Rica’s history. She’s a Grammy nominee and the first from her country to reach that stage. Still, when you talk to her, she focuses more on what music has let her experience than on her achievements.

She started out singing backup for Gandhi, Costa Rica’s biggest rock band. Later, she performed with Ricky Martin, Sergio Mendes, and even Britney Spears. She worked with the Black Eyed Peas, wrote songs for RBD, and explored many genres and countries. Along the way, she realized something the industry still finds hard to grasp: there’s a difference between being visible and truly being seen.

For Debi Nova, understanding that difference has shaped her six albums, her Grammy nomination, and her choice not to follow every trend. Most importantly, it’s helped her answer a question many women in Latin music face: how to stay true to yourself when the industry pulls you in different directions.

For Debi Nova, songwriting is how she gets through tough times.

Debi Nova wrote her first song at fourteen. She didn’t realize then that songwriting would become something that saved her life, not just once, but many times.

“Songwriting has always been my way of processing emotions and experiences,” she says. “I think that moment marked the beginning of something I’ve relied on over and over again.”

In a fast-moving industry that always wants something new, songwriting became her anchor.

Her most recent album, Todo Puede Convertirse en Canción (Everything Can Become a Song), clearly shows this belief. She turned toxic and even painful experiences—professional betrayals and personal wounds—into music, transforming them in the process. When asked if songwriting helped her survive those chapters, understand them, or reclaim them. “It’s been that way since I was a teenager. I feel incredibly grateful for that.”

Staying grounded takes work.

Debi Nova has learned that resilience doesn’t look like one big moment of success. For her, it’s something she works on every day, and it’s what has kept her going for over twenty years.

“There are so many external expectations, comparisons, and pressures that can easily pull you away from your center,” she explains. “The most important thing I’ve learned is that I have to be good with myself.”

She says being good with herself means taking care of her mental health, her body, and her relationships. It also means treating her time as precious and not comparing her journey to anyone else’s.

“When I’m able to put myself first and not compare my path to anyone else’s, it becomes much easier to navigate the harder days,” she says. “And the only way I can access that clearly is by staying open—open-minded, open-hearted—and committed to living in a healthy, balanced way.”

A career focused on depth.

Over the years, Latin pop has changed quickly. Trends come and go, and record labels often focus on what’s popular online.

Despite all this, Debi Nova has chosen to go deeper with her music.

She has built a career—six albums, a growing audience, international recognition—by following the songs that felt honest to her. Not the songs that would chart fastest, but the ones that she felt in her body and resonated through her whole being.

“It’s been a challenging path, choosing to build a career without chasing the latest trends,” she acknowledges. “But at the same time, I feel incredibly grateful because I have built a career. I’ve been able to make six albums and grow an audience song by song, through music that is truly mine.”

This choice is almost radical. While the industry values speed, she chose to focus on lasting work. Instead of always changing, she decided to stay true to herself.

“At this point, what fulfills me the most isn’t what I get in return, it’s the act of creating itself,” she says. “The doing. That’s the prize. I get to make music, and that, to me, is amazing.”

What she learns from young artists

Working with others helps Debi Nova learn more about herself and those around her.

Recently, she worked with young artists like Kendall Peña and J Noa on deluxe versions of her album. She was surprised to see that they were still finding their own voices and figuring out their paths in music.

“There’s something so refreshing and inspiring about that,” she says. “Getting to witness how they interpret the songs, what they connect to, what they bring into them… it really expands the music.”

It’s not just about what she gives them. It’s also about what they give back to her.

Kendall Peña made “Noticia de Ayer” his own. J Noa brought a verse to “Épico” that was “incredibly poignant and powerful,” expanding the song’s message about women’s empowerment.

“In a way, they helped me say things that maybe I couldn’t have said alone, or at least not in the same way,” Debi Nova explains.

The challenge of visibility

Debi Nova is the most successful Costa Rican artist in history. She is also, by her own assessment, still not fully seen by the industry.

When she looks at Latin music today, she sees more women creating unique and interesting work from all over the region. But she also notices that the industry still doesn’t fully support or make space for all that diversity.

“I see more women doing interesting, unique work from all across the region,” she says. “But it still feels like that diversity doesn’t fully have a place within the industry.”

You can see this in the awards. She points out that the Grammys usually nominate more women and show more diversity than the Latin music awards. This shows that the Latin music industry still hasn’t made enough room for women in all their complexity.

“The Latin music industry is still a bit behind when it comes to expanding opportunities for women,” she states. “It often feels like Latina artists are still expected to fit into certain stereotypes—both in the kind of music they make and in how they present themselves.”

“I think there’s still a lot of work to be done—both as an industry and as a collective—to create more visibility for Latina artists in the full scope of who they are and what they bring.”

How long can a song last

For Debi Nova, the unavoidable truth is: a song can last much longer than any trend. Sometimes, a song even outlives the moment that inspired it.s or chart positions. It is something you feel and, therefore, your audience feels, too.

“There’s something magical that happens when I sing a song that I truly feel in my heart,” she says. “It’s something that resonates through my whole body. That’s what I respond to.”

She has built her career by believing in that magic. She trusts that being authentic lasts longer than chasing trends. She believes that an audience will slowly grow around music that comes from the heart, not from a formula.

And honestly, that belief has paid off. Debi Nova can look back and know she’s built something real that makes her happy.

A song made from truth never really fades. It waits for the next person who needs it. For Debi Nova, that’s the real reward.

If you haven’t heard the phrase “hot divorcee summer” floating around the internet yet, get ready, because it’s about to be everywhere. And honestly? We’re obsessed.

This isn’t about actually getting divorced (though if you are, congrats on your freedom, bestie). This is about energy. A vibe. A whole spiritual movement wrapped in wide-brimmed hats, flowing linen, and the kind of “I don’t care what you think” confidence that somehow makes you look the best you’ve ever looked.

Think Jennifer Coolidge in The White Lotus. Think Goldie Hawn in Overboard and First Wives Club. Think Diane Lane in Under the Tuscan Sun. Think Joan Collins casually declaring “M&S rosé season” like she didn’t just marry her fifth husband. That’s hot divorcee energy.

But wait—what exactly IS hot divorcee summer?

According to everyone talking about it right now (The Guardian, Metro, TikTok, your aunt who finally left her husband), hot divorcee summer is the antidote to last year’s “brat summer.” Where brat was disheveled, messy, “I woke up in yesterday’s makeup” energy, divorcee is the complete opposite: high glam, high effort, and high conviction that you look absolutely stunning.

“Divorcee is high glam. It’s wide-brimmed hats and full-length skirts,” explained comedian Tatty Macleod (who, for the record, has a very supportive boyfriend—and yes, you don’t have to be actually divorced for this). “It’s for the people who were always 40-year-old women in waiting, who were never ‘girls’.”

The core of hot divorcee energy? Unvarnished devil-may-care spirit. Not in a reckless way. In a way that says: I spent enough time worrying about what other people thought, and now I’m just going to wear the outfit I want, say no to things that don’t serve me, and look absolutely fabulous while doing it.

The glow-up is real.

One of the wildest things about hot divorcee summer is that people actually look noticeably better. Like, botox-level better—except it’s not botox; it’s just happiness, Korean skincare, and finally, finally prioritizing yourself.

It’s the intentional self-care, the therapy, the breaking free from drudgery that men don’t typically experience. It’s knowing what you want, probably for the first time in your adult life. And—here’s the thing nobody talks about—it’s menopause energy. Literally, when you’re in perimenopause or through menopause, you stop having the “caring hormones,” which means you stop giving a rat’s ass what people think. And that’s when the magic happens.

The aesthetic: Big energy, bigger hats.

So how do you actually dress like a hot divorcee? The silhouette is what fashion people are calling the “lampshade”—a statement hat (and we mean statement—go big or go home) paired with something melodramatic and floor-length. Think melodramatic, think theatrical, think “I’m about to get on a yacht, and everyone should know it.”

The key is this: it’s not minimizing. You’re not trying to disappear. You’re trying to take up space and look incredible while doing it.

The pieces you need:

Polka dots are having a MOMENT. Google searches for polka dots hit an all-time high in 2026, and honestly, it makes sense. There’s something inherently playful and retro about them—very divorcee. Whether it’s a polka dot sundress for the day or a polka dot tankini for the beach, commit to the print.

Lace, lace, and more lace. This is the divorcee fabric of the year. Lace midi skirts hit a 10-year high, and for good reason. There’s something inherently glamorous about lace—it says “I’m making an effort,” which is literally the whole point. Layer a lace camisole, or go full divorcee and wear a lace midi skirt solo.

Capris and cropped pants. If polka dots are the print of summer, capris are the silhouette. They’re retro, they’re a tiny bit cheeky, and they work with literally everything. The divorcee vibe? Pair them with a silk camisole, and you’re already there.

The shoes, because, of course:

Forget sky-high heels that make you miserable. Hot divorcee summer is about comfort, meeting glamour. Ballet flats are at a five-year high (and they’re cute), but kitten heels are absolutely having their moment—especially in mesh. If you want to feel elegant without sacrificing your feet, kitten heels are your new best friend.

Mary Jane shoes are also trending, and they have serious divorcee energy—a little bit schoolgirl, a little bit “I do what I want.”

The accessories:

This is where hot divorcee summer gets really fun. You’re going for a statement, not subtle.

Statement jewelry: Chunky necklaces hit an all-time high in search interest. Cuff bracelets, too. The divorcee doesn’t do delicate—she does bold. Stack your bangles, wear multiple rings, let people hear you coming from three blocks away.

Bags: Barrel bags and east-west bags are trending hard (90s energy, very divorcee). If you want something that screams “I have somewhere fabulous to be,” a barrel bag or east-west style is it.

Silk scarves: Searches for silk scarves hit an all-time high. A silk scarf tied around your neck, in your hair, or around your waist is peak divorcee. It’s elegant, it’s effortless, and it says, “I have traveled extensively and also have excellent taste.”

Hair and makeup, the vibe builders:

Modern shag haircuts and Italian bobs are trending (short, a little bit messy, very chic). Birkin bangs are a breakout search—because apparently, we’re all channeling quiet luxury meets vintage cinema.

For makeup, we’re talking bright—blue mascara, coral lipstick, polka dot nails (yes, really). The divorcee doesn’t do neutral and boring. She does color, texture, and “what if I just felt like wearing bright blue mascara to the grocery store?”

French tips are at an all-time high, by the way. Almond shape, orange accents—these tiny decisions are adding up to a whole mood.

The hat, obviously:

We’ve been dancing around this, but let’s be clear: you need a hat. A big one. Wide-brimmed. The bigger, the better. It can be straw, it can be felt, it can be whatever—but it needs to be LARGE. This is not a subtle accessory. This is a statement. This is you telling the world: “I’m about to have an excellent summer and I’m going to look good while doing it.”

The most important thing? You don’t have to be divorced.

Hot divorcee summer is an energy. Tatty Macleod has a boyfriend. The people wearing the big hats? Some are divorced, some are married, some are single, some are “introducing my husband as my first husband” as a bit. The point isn’t your marital status. The point is the vibe.

Remember: you’re done apologizing. You’re done shrinking. You’re done wearing beige because you thought it was “safe.” You’re wearing the outfit. You’re getting the good underwear. You’re ordering the wine. You’re taking up space and looking fabulous while you do it.

And that, amiga, is hot divorcee summer.

So go forth. Get the hat, the lace, AND the silk scarf. And remember: you don’t have to justify it to anyone, ever.

Welcome to summer 2026. We’re so glad you’re here.

More than one of us has lived with a diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and if you grew up in Latin America, you were likely diagnosed at a very young age.

It’s a condition that affects one in eight women—about 170 million women worldwide. While symptoms vary, the most common include irregular or absent periods, increased facial and body hair, severe acne, weight gain, and dark skin patches.

Why the name was misleading

However, when male doctors first named the condition in 1935, they were convinced it was a disease of the ovaries. Over the years, research revealed that PCOS is actually caused by a hormonal imbalance, particularly involving insulin, which controls how the body manages all its fuels (sugars, proteins, and fats), and androgen hormones.

As The Guardian explained, the imbalance of these hormones affects multiple body systems, including metabolic, mental, skin, and reproductive health, as well as the risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Now, endocrinologists worldwide want to set the record straight.

The push to rename PCOS

For several years, researchers have debated renaming the condition. In 2012, a forum on PCOS organized by the U.S. National Institutes of Health recommended changing the name.

In a guidance document, the group explained that the name was “inaccurate” because it did not fully reflect the condition’s metabolic and endocrine characteristics, including the likelihood that it affects men as well.

Now, it’s official. The condition will henceforth be called Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS)

The name change was published in The Lancet and announced at the European Congress of Endocrinology in Prague, following 14 years of collaboration between international societies and patient groups across six continents.

The renaming was spearheaded by endocrinologist Prof. Helena Teede, director of Melbourne’s Monash Center for Health Research and Implementation. For too long, experts, including Teede, say the misleading nature of the term “polycystic” in PCOS contributed to delayed diagnosis and inadequate medical care.

Announcing the new name at the congress, Teede said the term PCOS didn’t capture the “multi-system burden that people with this condition have suffered,” and that it “directs attention to only one organ.”

PMOS is hoped to better reflect the condition’s complex nature, which affects not only the reproductive system in people assigned female at birth but also metabolism and the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

As Teede told The Guardian, the new name “moves away from the incorrect focus on cysts … to recognizing this is a much broader condition.” The effects of PMOS on the body “are virtually all endocrine—hormonal,” she says.

How patients drove the change

Teede says patients instigated the name change.

“They wanted it fixed,” she says. “They know how much they have suffered because of the name, and they were really passionate. And that was what enabled us to pursue it.”

Many people go undiagnosed or are misdiagnosed, while many more are dissatisfied with their medical care and suffer severe stigma, the authors write. Even so, the effort to revise the term for the condition has stalled and restarted many times over the past two decades.

It’s taken more than a decade to bring it about, Teede says, adding: “The efforts here are unprecedented. We want this to stick and not just be an idea from a few experts, as it used to be. We used to never consider patient perspectives when we changed the name.”

Now the researchers hope that the name change will spur new studies on the syndrome, including its genetic components and potential treatments.

Teede explains that they “had to get everybody on board.” This meant significant involvement from 56 medical and patient societies in every region across all relevant disciplines, because so many different groups care for the condition.

Teede says: “We needed all those groups involved because we want every one of those groups and societies to own it in all regions of the world, and to actually drive the change. Otherwise, they don’t get the benefit.”

“While ‘reproductive’ may be a more accurate term to cover all the abnormalities in the ovary, as well as in the endometrium and in reproductive health during pregnancy, it also carries a very significant stigma,” Teede said.

What PCOS patients need to know

“There are parts of the world where labeling a woman as having a reproductive condition is directly linked to her value and worth in society, and the cultural implications were enormous,” Teede added.

“For that reason, we spent a great deal of time on this, both in the surveys and in the workshops. The agreed terms were polyendocrine, metabolic, and ovarian. The next step was to bring them together under a new name.”

“There was a lot of underlying concern about changing the name of the condition because it has been so neglected, so poorly diagnosed, so poorly researched, and so underfunded for so long that, quite rightly, patients and consumers were quite up in arms about the fact that they just wanted to get this right,” Teede says.

After a transition period, the new name will be fully implemented in the next update to international guidelines for managing the condition, to be published in 2028.

For years, Lena Dardelet has moved through Caribbean rhythms, Dominican folk traditions, the romantization of love á la française, and singer-songwriter intimacy. She is trilingual, a multi-instrumentalist, and has performed alongside everyone from Vicente García to iLe to Monsieur Periné. And through it all, she has antagonized the narrative that artistry should fold.

Instead, she has become an artist who loves her home while also being implicated in the forces changing it.

Now, with her recent work—songs and collaborations that move from Dominican folk tribute to bachata celebration to urban Latin experimentation, culminating in the seductive collaboration “Y Qué” with Martox—Lena is ready to show the world the product of her personal journey.

While her music has always been personal, and yes, political, she insists, without apology, that these things belong together.

The Thing About Coming From Everywhere.

Lena Dardelet was born into a peculiar position: rooted in privilege but also shaped by movement. French and Dominican. A child of multiple worlds who grew up in a beach town, which is to say, in a place constantly remade by forces larger than herself.

Her family’s background—connected to development—means she has spent her life aware of the cost of her own existence. The beaches she loves and the communities she comes from exist, in part, because of decisions her family made. Decisions that displaced people, that concentrated wealth, that transformed ecosystems.

She does not look away from this.

“Coming to terms with how different things can coexist,” she says carefully, “means understanding that I am on the privileged side of things and that as an adult I can choose to do things differently and take responsibility to care and do better.”

Far from self-flagellation, Lena’s reflection focuses on seeing one’s own implication without using that clarity as an excuse to do nothing.

And it has shaped not just her politics but her sound. The sensuality of her music—the way rhythm moves through her work—comes from the Caribbean. But the critical distance she maintains, the refusal to make that sensuality into eroticized fantasy, comes from knowing that the Caribbean is not a performative scenario. Nor is her experience.

“I do think inevitably art becomes referential and representative to the audience that consumes it. I think it all comes down to understanding the layers and complexities of these cultures and how places evolve with time. Although I have voiced some of the problems, I definitely tend to romanticize island life in my music,” she admits, “because I think that is part of the beauty as well. The Caribbean is often depicted and consumed as fantasy, and in my art, I like to include its various colors and try to see things as they are instead of categorizing them as ‘good’ or ‘bad’.”

What Stays Constant.

If you listen to Lena’s catalog—and it is genuinely wide and diverse—there is a paradox at its center.

“I believe the fusion of Dominican rhythms and/or narrative always resurfaces in some way,” she says. “The simplicity in my writing. And the overall sensual sound.”

The simplicity she mentions is its own kind of sophistication. Listen to her early work—Caja sin Oxígeno, for example—and you hear the beating heart of Latin Pop, a massive genre that has survived decades.

Then, you listen to her most recent work, “PA’ QUE BAILEMOS,” and you feel DR pouring through her veins.

“I think my eclectic music invites people to embrace the richness and layers of Caribbean music,” she explains, “as well as invites people to see the world with more softness, while also [embracing] the strength of a feminine perspective.

The Personal and the Political Cannot Be Separated.

Lena has been outspoken about catcalling, environmental destruction, and gentrification. She has used her voice to advocate for women’s rights, to challenge violence, and to insist that the world can be different from what it is.

However, she lives inside a contradiction: she is also implicated in the very systems she critiques. Her family built the infrastructure that transformed the Dominican coast. Ergo, she grew up with the privilege that the development she now questions brought.

“What my music is arguing for right now,” she says, “is inviting people to embrace the richness and layers of Caribbean music.”

What An Artist Becomes When She Refuses to Simplify Herself.

When asked about where her writing comes from, Lena describes an interwoven process.

“I feel like each song begins from a different place. Every creative experience pulls from different threads. Sometimes it’s a melody. Sometimes it’s lyrics. Sometimes it’s a concept. In terms of making sense of myself, I try to be true to where I’m at and what moves me in that present moment.”

Her collaboration with Martox on “Y Qué” is a good example. With the softness of the morning sea, the song calls for the simplicity of life, the one that comes after the storm. It is her saying: I can be soft and strong. I can love this place and question it at the same time. As they sing, no es tan complicado.

This is what happens when an artist turns her gaze inward and outward at the same time. When she understands that the only way to honor a place is to see it clearly.

The 2026 Met Gala gave us sculptural gowns, anatomical references, couture-level drama, and enough “Fashion Is Art” discourse to keep the group chats alive for weeks.

But one of the night’s most quietly striking moments of beauty did not scream for attention. It elegantly braided itself into the conversation.

Argentinian-Spanish model, entrepreneur, influencer, and social media personality Georgina Rodríguez arrived on the red carpet, bringing Old World glamour we loved. It gave angelic energy with enough undone texture to keep it from feeling precious.

And according to celebrity hairstylist Glen Oropeza, that was exactly the point.

Oropeza, who created Rodríguez’s Met Gala hair, spoke with FIERCE about the references, last-minute creative pivots, and exact products behind the style. The final result looked effortless, but the process involved secrecy, trust, Monica Bellucci references, and the secret touch: Latino taste.

Georgina Rodríguez’s Met Gala hair started with secrecy and a romantic pivot.

For Oropeza, a night like the Met Gala carries unique pressure because the image travels instantly and lasts forever.

Working with Rodríguez and designer Ludovic de Saint Sernin made the process even more layered.

“Working with a new client and designer always makes the Met feel different,” Oropeza told us. “With Georgina and Ludovic, everything was secretive — I didn’t see the dress until a couple of days before.”

That secrecy shaped the creative process from the start. The hair could not overpower the look, but it also could not fade into the background. It had to speak the same language as the styling without competing for attention.

“We tried a few directions but ultimately landed on something more romantic,” Oropeza said. “We channeled angelic energy, inspired by references like the Virgin of Fátima, and I wanted the look to feel soft, feminine, and elevated the moment she stepped out.”

The Met Gala look honored Georgina Rodríguez’s confidence.

Many celebrity beauty moments aim to create a persona through hair and makeup.

Oropeza saw the opposite with Rodríguez.

“One thing I’ve learned about Georgina is that her confidence leads the process,” he said. “She doesn’t rely on hair or makeup to feel her best — she already has it.”

That explains why the final look did not need to be aggressively styled to feel expensive.

“When she has a strong point of view, it translates into the final look,” Oropeza said. “This was about honoring her natural glamour while leaning into something softer and more romantic than people might expect.”

Monica Bellucci helped shape Georgina Rodríguez’s Met Gala hair.

“At first, I was only given one reference: ‘Monica Bellucci,’” Oropeza said.

That makes sense. Bellucci has long represented a very specific kind of beauty: sensual, cinematic, womanly, polished, and never overly eager. For Rodríguez, who carries a similar public aura of glamour and self-possession, the reference gave Oropeza a strong foundation.

“From there, I built a mood board around iconic Monica hairstyles since she defines a timeless European standard of beauty that Georgina also embodies,” he said.

Before the Met Gala, Oropeza and Rodríguez tested a few directions during a shoot. These included “a middle-parted bun and a classic blowout,” he said, and they initially believed they had found the final look.

Then the day of the event arrived. And Rodríguez changed the direction.

“But on the day, Georgina wanted to pivot to something more relaxed and romantic,” Oropeza said. “We collaborated in real time, pulling references and refining the idea, and landed on a soft, loose braid.”

That kind of pivot can look casual from the outside. In reality, it requires what great red carpet beauty depends on: trust. The stylist must quickly understand the client’s instinct, translate it into a durable look, and ensure it photographs well from every angle under unforgiving lighting.

“That flexibility and trust in the moment is something people don’t always see behind the scenes,” Oropeza said.

Georgina Rodríguez’s braid worked because it looked lived-in, not careless.

The success of this look came down to balance.

Too polished, the braid could have looked bridal or overly literal against the angelic reference. Too undone, it could have clashed with the scale of the Met Gala. Oropeza landed in the middle: textured, soft, loose, but still intentional.

The braid needed movement but not frizz. Volume but not heaviness. Pieces pulled out around the face, but not random flyaways. Texture that felt romantic rather than messy, and a structure that could last all night without making the hair stiff.

That is the hidden labor Latinos know well. When a look appears effortless, someone worked hard to make it that way.

The exact products behind Georgina Rodríguez’s Met Gala hair

Oropeza built the look with Nexxus products designed to prep, smooth, texturize, and hold the final shape.

He began with damp hair, using Nexxus Keraphix Liquid Crystallizer Treatment and Nexxus MVP Styler Multitasking Cream. Then he used the Sutra Infrared Blow Dryer to rough-dry the roots and mid-lengths.

Then came the smoothing step.

Oropeza used the Arachne ShineBoost brush with the Sutra dryer to create a smooth finish, then switched to the Sutra Interchangeable Spring Curler Set with the one-inch barrel to add texture and volume.

That curl foundation mattered because the braid needed body before it could look soft. A loose braid without prep falls flat quickly. A loose braid with texture has shape, dimension, and movement.

To build airy texture, Oropeza applied Nexxus Air Shape Workable Hold Texture Spray, adding volume, texture, and hold. Then he created the soft, loose braid, pulled out loose pieces, curled them, and finished with Nexxus Maximum Finish Firm Hold Hairspray.

How to get Georgina Rodríguez’s Met Gala hair at home

The key is to avoid making the braid too perfect.

Start with damp hair and apply a repairing treatment or smoothing cream through the lengths to achieve a polished, not dry texture. Rough-dry the roots first, then smooth the hair with a brush and dryer to create a clean base.

Next, use a one-inch curling iron or wand to add loose bends through the hair. The goal is not perfect curls but movement. The braid needs something to hold onto, and those bends help create the soft, romantic texture that made Rodríguez’s look work.

After curling, apply workable texture spray for volume and grip. Then create a loose braid, keeping tension relaxed. Pull out a few face-framing pieces and curl them lightly to feel intentional. Finish with strong-hold hairspray, but keep your hand light. The look should hold but still feel touchable.

That is the difference between “I braided my hair quickly” and “I am channeling Met Gala Georgina with angelic Monica Bellucci energy.”

Glen Oropeza’s path to the Met Gala started by accident.

Oropeza’s own story adds another layer to the look, as his path into celebrity hair did not begin with a perfectly mapped-out Hollywood plan.

“I actually got into hair by accident,” he said. “I was working at a salon during my third year of college and became really curious about everything — asking nonstop questions about techniques and decisions.”

That curiosity led him to enroll at the Aveda Institute in Philadelphia. Around the same time, reality television helped him realize celebrity hairstyling could become a real career path.

“I was watching Keeping Up with the Kardashians and saw celebrity hairstylists being credited on screen — that was a turning point where I realized that was the path I wanted,” he said.

After about six years working in salons, Oropeza moved into celebrity styling full-time. His first major client came through a referral from Jen Atkin to Chrissy Teigen, a connection he said helped launch his career.

“Over time, I refined my aesthetic, and now I’m known for polished, refined hair that enhances the natural beauty of my clients,” he said.

That aesthetic came through clearly in Rodríguez’s Met Gala look. The braid did not try to turn her into someone else. It enhanced what was already there, then softened it through romance, texture, and reference.

The 2026 Met Gala asked a very big question: Is fashion art?

Women of color answered: “Let me show you what art really is.”

Because of all the discourse, all the billionaire controversy, all the “Fashion Is Art” analysis, the clearest argument on those museum steps came through the bodies, silhouettes, references, and risk-taking of women who understood the importance of showing up.

Tyla came in dripping with peacock-colored drama. Beyoncé returned after nearly a decade and turned anatomy into royalty with her daughter by her side. SZA looked like a golden myth built from memory, nature, and fabric. Doechii made burgundy feel dangerous, ceremonial, and completely her own. Cardi B showed up sick, with a fever, and still gave the carpet a Marc Jacobs fever dream.

So yes, the theme had everyone talking. But, as is often the case, women of color did the actual work.

The Met Gala asked if fashion is art, and women of color brought the evidence.

This year’s Met Gala centered on the Costume Institute exhibition “Costume Art,” with the dress code “Fashion Is Art.” According to CBS News, the gala’s co-chairs were Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour, with Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos serving as honorary chairs. CBS also reported that the theme drew from the Met’s “Costume Art” exhibit, while the dress code asked guests to interpret “Fashion is Art.”

That context gave celebrities a wide brief. Some could treat fashion as painting if they felt like that was a good approach. Some could treat it as a sculpture. Some could treat it as a performance. Some could treat the body itself as a museum object.

According to Vogue, the exhibit’s focus gave attendees room to explore the classical body, anatomical references, naked dressing, drapery, and the dressed body as a concept. The publication wrote that Beyoncé “shut the red carpet down” in Olivier Rousteing, wearing a body-conscious dress with a skin-tone mesh base and a diamond skeleton that ran down to her fingers.

That was a good way of putting it. Women of color took the moment and rewrote it.

In other words, they made fashion speak volumes.

Beyoncé’s Met Gala return was anatomy, royalty, and total control.

Beyoncé’s return was a symbol in itself.

According to MadameNoire, this was Beyoncé’s first Met Gala appearance in nearly 10 years, and she served as an official co-chair alongside Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour. The outlet also noted that Venus Williams served as co-chair for the first time, while the host committee included Teyana Taylor, Zoë Kravitz, A’ja Wilson, and Misty Copeland.

This means women of color were also behind the scenes, and the evidence was there for everyone to see.

Beyoncé wore a custom Olivier Rousteing sculptural skeleton dress with a cream-and-dust-blue feathered train, finished with a diamond crown. AP reported that she posed on the Met steps with Blue Ivy, also hinting that black women are setting the standard for the next generation.

E! News added another layer to the look through Beyoncé’s hair. Celebrity colorist Rita Hazan told E! that the initial vision was to bring Beyoncé back to the early 1990s with “more honey, chocolatey with some sunny highlights,” a color she called “a Manhattan blonde.” Hazan also said she wanted the look to communicate that Beyoncé, as a co-chair, “is actually all about art and fashion and she’s not afraid to change her look ever.”

After years of Cowboy Carter’s visual language, the warmer hair also served as a deliberate shift from one era to another.

Rihanna reminded the Met Gala arrival is its own art form

According to Vogue, she arrived in a custom sculptural Maison Margiela look by Glenn Martens, complete with an Art Deco-style headpiece. The gown drew from the label’s Artisanal 2025 collection and used a draped column silhouette inspired by the medieval architecture of Flanders. Vogue reported that the striking gown was sculpted by hand in duchess woven silk, with recycled metal threads typically used for computer wiring, while the corseted bodice featured more than 115,000 crystal beads, antique jewels, and chains. The embroidery alone took 1,380 hours. That level of construction made the look feel less like an outfit and more like a relic excavated from some future cathedral.

Tyla gave the Met Gala another reminder that she understands spectacle.

Tyla has already built a Met Gala reputation most artists would spend a decade chasing.

InStyle published a video of the South African singer making her way from The Mark Hotel to the 2026 Met Gala, a detail that now feels like part of the ritual because Tyla has become one of the red carpet’s most reliable spectacle-makers.

According to Vogue, this year marked Tyla’s third Met Gala appearance, and she wore a custom Valentino look designed by Alessandro Michele. The outfit featured a satin “bleu paon” skirt with a deep slit and an embroidered silver-rhinestone waistline. The tulle top featured long sleeves, a deep V neckline, fringe, and silver sequins. Vogue described the look as “very much giving body,” a fitting choice for an exhibition focused on how fashion interacts with the human form.

Peacock blue can easily become costume territory, but the styling kept the look in the realm of controlled fantasy. She looked like a pop star who also understands that the Met steps are crucial for representation.

SZA turned fabric, insects, flowers, and mythology into a golden vision

For her part, SZA took a different route.

According to ELLE, SZA attended the 2026 Met Gala in a golden yellow dress designed by Emily Adams Bode Aujla of Bode. The look included a corset dress with a tiered embroidered skirt, made with 100 yards of material sourced from eBay. On the carpet, SZA extended her arms to reveal a sheer butterfly-inspired cape held up by beaded bracelets, with swirling patterns and symmetrical floral details.

The accessories carried the same world-building. SZA wore a matching headpiece decorated with pincushion protea, moth orchids, calla lilies, cowrie shells, and champagne-colored jewels. The designer told Vogue, according to ELLE, that they worked with a vintage dealer who sourced “over a hundred yards of yellow fabrics” in tulle, taffeta, silk faille, and beadwork on lace, and that SZA’s affinity for moths, butterflies, insects, world travels, and specific deities shaped the final look.

Doechii made the Met Gala feel dark, feminine, and fully intentional.

Doechii has become one of those artists whose fashion never disappoints.

At the 2026 Met Gala, she leaned into that reputation. According to Vogue, Doechii made her second Met Gala appearance in a burgundy Marc Jacobs wrap dress, styled by Sam Woolf. Makeup artist Chelsea Uchenna told Vogue she knew the glam would be a “dark, feminine look,” which aligned with Doechii’s “very bohemian, very goddess vibes.”

The details did the rest.

Vogue reported that Uchenna used deep smoky tones and earthy jewel tones, with luminous skin meant to complement the outfit rather than overpower it. Hairstylist Matthew Jean-Pierre told Vogue that Marc Jacobs created the accompanying headpiece, explaining, “It’s actually a hat. I knew the headpiece was gonna be the star of the show, so we didn’t want to do a wig that was too complicated.”

That headpiece became a crown in its symbolism.

Even her nails extended the concept. Nail artist Rachel Sun told Vogue that she originally planned “a simple burgundy cat-eye nail,” but “could not leave it at that for such an iconic person and event.” Sun said the final nail look drew from naturally forming crystal clusters and added, “Art doesn’t demand practicality, and neither should nails.”

Chase Infiniti turned the Met Gala naked body theme into artful control

According to Vanity Fair, the One Battle After Another breakout star attended her first Met Gala as a guest of Thom Browne, wearing a trompe-l’oeil nude-illusion dress inspired by the Venus de Milo. Browne dressed each of his guests as an embodiment of sections from the “Costume Art” exhibition, and Infiniti represented the naked body.

But the look pushed far beyond classical reference.

Vanity Fair reported that the dress was fully embroidered with paint-stroke motifs, using more than 1.5 million stacked sequins paired with tiered silk fringe in over 600 different colors, layered to mimic brushstrokes. Infiniti told the outlet, “I love a [red] carpet so much, because I love getting to walk while literally wearing art.” She also said, “I like that it’s really not shying away from the naked body, while still not exposing myself,” adding that the dress was “artistic and tasteful.”

Cardi B showed up sick and still gave the Met Gala a full Marc Jacobs theater.

Then there was Cardi B.

Because, of course, Cardi B would arrive battling a fever and still understand that the 2026 Met Gala requested everyone to say “no matter what, we are here.”

According to People, Cardi told reporters on the red carpet, “You wanna know a secret? I’m actually sick, and I have a fever.” People reported that she attended in a custom Marc Jacobs gown from his fall 2025 collection, featuring head-to-toe lace, two large masses around her shoulders and at the bottom of the dress, and colors including purple, pink, orange, and nude, with light pink gloves and black leaf stitching.

CBS News simply reported that Cardi wore Marc Jacobs and noted the exaggerated silhouette. MadameNoire went further, describing the look as sheer black lace with exaggerated puff sleeves, sculptural detailing, a dramatic train, a body-hugging silhouette, pink and purple undergarments, sleek black hair, glowing glam, and a bright smile.

The inspiration made the look even stranger and more compelling. People reported that, according to Vogue, the silhouette took inspiration from German artist Hans Bellmer, known for life-sized female dolls.

Naomi Osaka made the Met Gala feel like the Grand Slam of fashion

Naomi Osaka also belongs in that conversation because her Robert Wun look was simply perfect. According to Vogue, Osaka returned to the Met steps for the first time since co-chairing the event in 2021, wearing a custom two-piece set by Robert Wun. The designer described the look as a “two-part act” that began with “a sculpted ivory coat, with open seams exposing red crystals from within,” before revealing a fitted red crystallized gown underneath.

Wun told Vogue the gown featured more than 659,000 stitches of embroidery, took over 3,280 hours of handiwork, and used thousands of Swarovski crystals in four shades of red to illustrate human anatomy “needle by needle, crystal by crystal.”

For her part, Osaka made clear she understands the symbolic value of the carpet, telling Vogue, “Obviously, a lot of people know me for my tennis outfits, and the Met Gala is the Grand Slam of fashion.”

Teyana Taylor’s Met Gala look blurred the line between body and art

Teyana Taylor, meanwhile, made the body feel like something constantly appearing and disappearing in motion. According to People, Taylor, who served on the 2026 Met Gala host committee, wore a silver fringed Tom Ford gown with a matching fringed headdress draped over half her face. Ahead of the event, she told Vogue, “The outfit is always very, very important to me,” adding, “It looks like it’s melting as I move. I like to think of it as the ‘ghost of a body,’ it appears and disappears, appears and disappears as I’m moving.”

The best Met Gala looks understood fashion as power, not decoration.

The strongest looks of the night did something many red carpets fail to do: they made the body political without feeding the controversy.

For the past few weeks, social media users have called for a boycott of the honorary co-chairs, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos, linking the backlash to income inequality, Amazon’s business dealings, and big tech’s role in funding the fashion industry. Similarly, activist groups posted calls to boycott around Manhattan over Amazon’s alleged mistreatment of workers and ties to ICE.

But in the hands of women of color, that context did not disappear once the carpet started. It sat underneath the glamour.

So when women of color dominated the visual conversation, the moment carried a sharper charge. The Met Gala remains one of fashion’s most elite spaces, one tied to money, access, hierarchy, and institutional power. And yet, so much of the night’s actual cultural electricity came from Black women and women of color who transformed that space.

There are certain literary characters who live in the margins of a story and still refuse to let go of you. Férula Trueba is one of them.

In The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende gave Latin American literature one of its great family epics, a novel thick with ghosts, class violence, political fracture, desire, and memory. Yet inside that vast architecture, Férula has always occupied a stranger room. She is neither the obvious heroine nor the grand matriarch. She moves through the house as a woman shaped by duty, repression, devotion, resentment, and a hunger to be seen. For many readers, including me, she embodies the female discomfort. Then, with time, she becomes something much sadder and much more profound.

That is exactly the version Fernanda Castillo understands.

Speaking about playing Férula in the new adaptation of The House of the Spirits, Castillo does not approach the character as a secondary figure orbiting the larger drama. She speaks about her as if she were carrying one of the book’s deepest emotional truths. And once she begins describing her, it becomes clear why.

Férula, in Castillo’s telling, is a woman who has lived under all the demands history made of women like her. She is dutiful, silent, pious, self-erasing. She has no control over her life, no real power over her future, no freedom to choose whom to love or how to exist. Then Clara looks at her, truly looks at her, and the entire meaning of her life shifts.

That is the version of Férula Castillo wanted to defend.

The role she knew she had to chase

Castillo came to the project the way many actors do, through casting. But the route to Férula was not accidental.

She already knew Allende’s novel. She had read it before. She had also seen the 1990s film adaptation with its Hollywood cast. What struck her this time was the scale of the opportunity. Here was an adaptation of a foundational Latin American novel, in Spanish, filmed in Chile, and featuring an international cast assembled to tell a story that unmistakably belongs to the region.

Her first audition, she tells me, was for Clara. Then, the moment she left, she knew she needed to ask for something else.

“I remember my first audition was for Clara, and immediately after leaving the casting, I said, ‘Would there be a way for me to audition for Férula, because she is the character I am in love with.’”

Castillo describes the role as “a very beautiful journey,” then explains why the character took hold of her so strongly. “She is a character who seems complex to me, tragic in some way,” she says. “She represents all of us, doesn’t she? We all want to be seen. We all want to exist. And many times, it is the gaze of another that gives us a place, that lets us know we exist, that lets us know we are seen, that we are taken into account.”

That, for Castillo, is the emotional key to the whole role.

Férula is invisible inside her own family. She embodies exactly what her era expected of a woman. She is obedient, silent. She is deprived of agency so thoroughly that even her inner life seems forced underground. And then, through Clara, something opens.

“This woman, through her bond with another woman, through Clara’s eyes, discovers herself,” Castillo says. “And there comes a moment in her life when she is grateful to have been seen by this other woman, because that gave her reasons to live.”

A woman touched for the first time

One of the most striking aspects of the way Castillo discusses Férula is her insistence on fragility. Not the one that translates into weakness but the one that turns vulnerability into depth. The trembling human fact of a woman who, deep into adulthood, is recognized intimately for the first time.

“She is a woman who is seen for the first time,” Castillo says. “And we can see it in the novel, and we also see it in the series. This woman is touched for the first time. That moment of fragility and vulnerability seemed very, very beautiful to me to be able to tell.”

For years, Férula has often been remembered in harsher outlines. Severe, rigid, and even bitter. In the older cinematic imagination, it is even masculinized. Castillo knows how easily the character can be read as forbidding, austere, and emotionally closed. But that was precisely the trap she and the creative team did not want to fall into.

When I point out that many readers discover Férula in different ways as they age, Castillo immediately understands what I mean. There are books one reads at twelve and then reads again as an adult, only to realize an entirely different woman had been waiting inside them all along. Férula is one of those women.

Castillo says she and the directors, showrunners Fernanda Urrejola and Francisca Alegría, along with Andrés Wood, spoke directly about that risk. If they leaned too heavily on the character’s darkness, they would lose her humanity. Worse, they might end up telling the wrong story altogether.

“It was very easy for new audiences too,” she says, “for her to become very stiff and very dark, in a way that would not let us look at her from another place, a more human place.”

So they made a different choice.

“Where they asked me to place the emphasis, very much, was in the tenderness of this character. In finding the tenderness in her.”

This is one of the most beautiful things the audience will discover in this new adaptation of Allende’s masterpiece. Férula’s love for Clara becomes not a coded eccentricity, nor a Gothic shadow hanging over the household, but one of the story’s clearest emotional revelations.

The answer is love, whatever form it takes

Castillo is exquisitely careful when she speaks about the relationship between Clara and Férula. She doesn’t reduce it to a trope, nor does she sensationalize it. She understands, better than most, that part of what makes that bond endure is that it exceeds easy classification.

She points out that Allende herself has said she was not necessarily imagining a sexual relationship between the two women in the explicit sense people might now impose upon it. But Castillo does not use that as a way to retreat from the intensity of the bond. Quite the opposite. She uses it to enlarge it.

“For me, what this character tells us is that love is love,” she says. “Because this woman, even with all her religious burden, with all the burden of being a woman born into a place where she has no choice over anything, the only certainty she has at the end of the story is love.”

She continues, and her voice sharpens with conviction.

“The only thing she does not regret is this enormous love she has felt for Clara, and that is the only thing that gave her a reason to live.”

That is a startling way to understand Férula Trueba. And it also feels exactly right.

Castillo calls the character visionary for that reason. “For me, she is super visionary,” she says. “Because she says something very powerfully: the answer is love. Whatever form it takes.”

Strength made room for vulnerability

Castillo has spent much of her career embodying powerful women. Women audiences read as strong, defiant, commanding, and difficult to break. She knows that. She knows many viewers connect to her through that energy. So I ask her what kind of craft work it took to communicate someone as delicate, interior, and emotionally transparent as this Férula.

Her answer is one of the most revealing moments of the conversation.

She says it would have been impossible for her to play this degree of vulnerability had she not already encountered its opposite inside herself.

“I am used to playing very strong characters,” she says. “And to women connecting a lot with those very strong characters. But I think I could not speak about the fragility Férula has, or as an actress, put myself in that very vulnerable place, if I did not know that this binomial exists in women.”

“This strength I know we have, and that I have explored in other characters, also gives me the internal space to say, and now I can be vulnerable. Because that is what we are.”

She talks about watching this with her mother as she grew older. Then later, once she became a mother herself, she saw it again in other women. The image she reaches for is precise: A lioness defending her cub with absolute ferocity, and at the same time a being capable of immense delicacy, breakability, even tenderness bordering on crystal.

“That binomial fascinates me,” she says. “It electrifies me, the idea that we can be all of that.”

Sisterhood on set, and the spirit of Allende’s world

As the conversation continues, something beautiful begins to unfold. Castillo stops speaking only about performance and begins discussing the atmosphere around the production of The House of Spirits. What moved her, clearly, was not only the character or the text, but the collective ethic that formed around making it.

She talks about how rare it was to be on a project where so many people from different countries, generations, and backgrounds came together with one shared seriousness of purpose. Actors and creatives alike. People from Chile and beyond. Women and men. Different sensibilities, different histories. Yet inside the work, she says, what mattered was telling the story with “depth” and “complete surrender.”

There is a palpable gratitude in the way she remembers it.

“I could not believe the people I had beside me,” she says. “As actors and as creatives. I would say, wow, this is a project where this person is here, and it felt astonishing.”

Then she tells me a story she clearly treasures.

At some point during production in Chile, actress Chiara Parravicini had her hair dyed green for her role as Rosa Del Valle. She worried, quite reasonably, about whether the color would come out once filming ended. Green hair may be perfect for a role. It is less useful when you are trying to keep working. The dye turned stubborn. And Parravicini began to worry.

What happened next stayed with Castillo.

“All the women who were there in Chile at that moment gathered together to go be with her through that difficult moment,” she says. “And I swear I remember it, and I get emotional, because I thought, this is what life is about. Truly. This is what it is about.”

They ended up together in the salon, drinking wine, celebrating that the green finally washed out. But for Castillo, the importance of the moment had nothing to do with hair.

“What mattered was that the only thing happening there was the pain you were having, the difficulty, the struggle you were having. And how do I accompany you in that?”

It is impossible not to hear Isabel Allende in that story. Not as the omniscient author, but as the underlying theme of women witnessing one another. Women holding one another through fear and absurdity.

When I ask her whether it would be fair to say that spirit seemed to seep into the pores of the experience itself, she does not hesitate.

“Completely,” she says.

A character who still speaks from the house

Near the end of our conversation, I asked whether there was anything she wished she could say about her experience as Férula that no one had asked her yet.

What followed is not a forgotten production anecdote or a technical note about the role. It is something much more intimate. Castillo says what she feels grateful for is that, while making this series, the people involved kept returning to a shared commitment larger than any one performance. They were not there simply to adapt a beloved book. They were there to honor a history of struggles, especially those carried by women across Latin America, and to do so with seriousness, empathy, and mutual attention.

“If we did things more like that,” she says, “without thinking, you are from this place, and I am from that place, and this is what makes us different from one another, if we thought more in terms of a common good, things would be different in the world.”

Later, when I mention how strongly this resonates with Allende’s literature, Castillo expands the thought. Feminism, for her, is also about empathy. About listening. About vulnerability in front of others. About being willing to recognize another person’s struggle as equal to your own. She says that from the first day, the creative team made that mission legible to everyone involved.

“We were all very proud to tell this because it mattered to us,” she says. “And for it to matter means honoring those who came before, the women who came before, our struggles as Latin America, as women, as human beings who want to be heard.”

The House of the Spirits will premiere worldwide on Prime Video on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. And you won’t want to miss it.

Endometriosis has spent decades being treated like a medical mystery women were simply supposed to endure.

Endometriosis is a chronic, often painful disease where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus, frequently on pelvic tissues, ovaries, and fallopian tubes. These implants respond to hormones, leading to inflammation, scar tissue, and symptoms like severe pelvic pain and infertility. There is no known cure, but management includes pain relief, hormones, and surgery.

For years, the dominant explanation for endometriosis has centered on retrograde menstruation, the idea that menstrual blood flows backward through the fallopian tubes and into the pelvic cavity. The problem, as researchers have kept pointing out, is that retrograde menstruation happens in most women, while endometriosis affects about 10% of women of reproductive age. That gap has never fully made sense.

Now, a growing body of research is asking a more unsettling question: what if the missing piece is not just hormones, genetics, or inflammation, but bacteria?

A 2023 review published in iScience argues that bacterial factors are emerging as an important frontier in understanding the pathogenesis of endometriosis. The authors write that the disease is shaped by a complex interplay of classical theories, hormonal dependence, immune dysregulation, and what they describe as the “emergence of bacterial factors associated with endometriosis.”

In plain language, the science is moving toward a broader view of the disease, one that treats endometriosis less like a single-cause disorder and more like a biological chain reaction.

For years, the old explanation never fully answered the biggest question

According to the iScience review, Sampson’s retrograde menstruation theory remains the most widely accepted explanation for how endometrial-like tissue reaches places outside the uterus. And that theory still explains a great deal. But it cannot explain everything.

The authors argue that retrograde menstruation is observed in almost all women, except those with fallopian tube obstruction. Yet endometriosis affects roughly 10% of reproductive-age women. In other words, the mechanism may be common, but the disease is not.

That is why researchers have kept returning to other theories. Some have focused on coelomic metaplasia, the idea that certain cells transform into endometrial-like cells. Others have examined stem or progenitor cells, which may help explain how a small subset of menstrual tissue becomes especially capable of implantation, proliferation, and survival outside the uterus. The iScience review notes that endometrial side population cells account for about 2% of endometrial cells, which could partially explain why the disease is far less common than retrograde menstruation itself.

Still, none of those theories alone has settled the question. So the field kept moving.

The new endometriosis findings are pointing toward bacteria, and that changes the conversation

According to the iScience review, advances in next-generation sequencing have enabled the detection of bacteria in areas once assumed sterile, including the uterus. That means the evidence suggests that crosstalk between the genital microbiota may be involved in the pathogenesis of endometriosis.

The review describes a growing body of work around what earlier researchers called the “bacterial contamination hypothesis.” In that model, bacteria-contaminated menstrual blood could carry endotoxins into the pelvic cavity via retrograde menstruation. Those endotoxins, especially lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from Gram-negative bacteria, may then activate macrophages and trigger inflammation via Toll-like receptor 4 signaling.

Then, while endometriosis is already understood as an inflammatory disease, if bacteria are helping create or intensify that inflammatory environment, they may be doing far more than simply coexisting with the condition. They may be helping shape it.

The authors write that these bacterial factors can alter the microenvironment in the early stages of endometriosis development, leading to lesion formation. That is a major shift in perspective. It suggests the disease may begin to take shape earlier and involve more biological players than the older models could fully account for.

One bacterium keeps showing up in the endometrium of patients with endometriosis

Among the most striking findings is the growing attention around Fusobacterium.

According to the iScience review, researchers found that 64% of patients with endometriosis were positive for Fusobacterium in the endometrium. The review describes this as a potentially important clue, because the bacterium may induce a phenotypic transition in endometrial fibroblasts, transforming the local tissue environment in ways that help lesions form.

In the endometrium, bacterial presence appears to attract macrophages. Those macrophages then shift into an M2 state and produce transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β). In that TGF-rich environment, endometrial fibroblasts can transform into myofibroblasts. According to the review, those transformed cells are better able to adhere, migrate, and proliferate at ectopic sites, which helps drive lesion development.

A 2024 Human Reproduction opinion piece takes that finding seriously, even as it urges caution. It calls the 2023 Muraoka study a report that “raises the possibility that bacterial infection, especially those of the genus Fusobacterium, may be the cause of endometriosis, at least in certain women.” It also says the study offered “a seemingly plausible explanation” for the gap between the widespread occurrence of retrograde menstruation and the much lower prevalence of disease.

Still, the same paper also refuses to oversimplify the science. Its authors ask the obvious questions: Is Fusobacterium a cause of endometriosis, or a consequence of it, or both? Is the infection triggering disease, or is endometriosis creating an environment where the bacterium can thrive? Those questions remain unresolved.

Hormones and immunity still sit at the center of the disease

The bacterial research does not replace what doctors and researchers already know about hormones and immune dysfunction. It adds another layer.

According to the iScience review, endometriosis remains an estrogen-dependent disease. Endometriotic lesions often exhibit abnormal aromatase expression and an imbalance in estrogen receptor signaling, particularly ERβ, which promotes inflammation. At the same time, progesterone receptor expression is often suppressed, producing what researchers describe as a progesterone-resistant state.

Progesterone usually helps counterbalance estrogen’s proliferative effects. When progesterone signaling weakens, that balance breaks down.

Then there is the immune system. The review describes endometriosis as a disease in which immune dysregulation facilitates the adherence, infiltration, and proliferation of ectopic endometrial cells. M2 macrophages, fewer cytotoxic natural killer cells, and T-cell imbalances all seem to help create a permissive inflammatory environment rather than shutting down lesion growth.

So when researchers bring bacteria into the picture, they are not tossing out the older science. They are trying to understand how these systems talk to each other. Hormones, immunity, inflammation, and microbiota may all be acting together.

The antibiotic question is where things get hopeful and complicated

According to the iScience review, several animal studies suggest that antibiotics may reduce lesion growth in endometriosis models. The Muraoka team’s work also found that antibiotic treatment aimed at Fusobacterium reduced lesions in mice. The 2024 Human Reproduction piece describes that result as a “tantalizing possibility” for new non-hormonal therapies, especially in a field where drug development has been slow and frustrating.

That hope is real. Current treatment options for endometriosis remain limited. The iScience review notes that surgery can reduce ovarian reserve, hormonal therapies can carry adverse effects, and many options are not viable for patients trying to get pregnant. The prospect of a non-hormonal treatment targeting a specific stage of the disease process would be a major breakthrough.

But the same papers also warn against getting carried away.

The Human Reproduction article is especially careful here. It notes that broad-spectrum antibiotics kill bacteria indiscriminately, potentially eliminating microbes that are neutral or even protective. It also raises questions about whether antibiotic effects seen in mouse models will translate cleanly to human endometriosis, especially in more advanced disease. The authors write that “many issues are still unresolved,” and they are right to say so.

So yes, antibiotics are part of the conversation now. No, they are not a magic bullet.

The new diagnosis conversation is changing too, even as delays remain brutal

The science is shifting, but patients are still living with the consequences of a medical culture that has taken their pain far too lightly for far too long.

According to KY3, new endometriosis guidelines have created hope for faster diagnosis and expanded treatment options. The report notes that many patients wait an average of 10 to 14 years without a diagnosis. One patient interviewed said she had symptoms from age 15 and spent nearly two decades suspecting endometriosis before receiving a proper diagnosis.

That aligns with the larger pattern. Diagnosis still takes an average of 8 to 12 years. It also points to a familiar problem: menstrual pain remains normalized by families, culture, and sometimes physicians themselves. Severe pain gets psychologized, minimized, or rerouted into other diagnoses before endometriosis is ever seriously considered.

New imaging methods may help, but they still miss some forms of the disease, especially at later stages. So while it is true that science is moving forward, it is also true that patients are still paying for decades of dismissal.

For Latinas, the problem is often worse

Latinas in the United States have lower reported diagnosis rates for endometriosis than non-Hispanic white women. In some studies, prevalence among Hispanic women ranges from about 2.7% to 7.4%, compared with 11.1% to 17.0% in non-Hispanic white women. But that lower diagnosis rate does not necessarily mean lower disease burden. It may instead reflect underdiagnosis, delayed access to care, and structural inequality.

Latinas are often diagnosed at an older age, on average about 3.8 years later than non-Hispanic white women. Some research further suggests Hispanic patients are more likely to present with advanced Stage III or IV disease, which is exactly what you would expect in a system that keeps delaying diagnosis.

So when new science opens fresh paths to understanding endometriosis, that progress is key for Latina patients. A disease that already takes years to diagnose becomes even harder to catch when healthcare access is unequal, when symptoms are normalized, and when people are less likely to be heard early.

If you’re not a girl’s girl in 2026, then it’s time to get with the program, amiga. I think by now we’re all in agreement that your amigas are chosen family, your crew, and those people who are always by your side, no matter what.

Even Shakira agrees.

Just when we thought we couldn’t love Shaki more, she dished on the “10 Loba Commandments” during an interview on Henar Álvarez’s show “Al Cielo con Ella.”

And let me tell you—it proves that beyond Shakira’s musical genius, she’s also out on a mission to empower women and their friendships.

The commandments start with an ode to friendship and protection of the “pack”

Shakira’s Loba Commandments are an exclusive perk that audience members experience during her world tour for Las mujeres ya no lloran. Lucky for us, she shared them with Álvarez when the reporter asked her what she thought about how women had been pitted against each other for centuries.

The commandment says: “You will take care of your pack above all else.”

Not your boyfriend.

Not your husband.

Not the guy you matched with on Bumble.

Shakira is reminding us that while guys go out of style, our friends are the MVP’s of our lives. She’s changing the narrative from the competitiveness many Latinas grew up with, the belief that other women are our competition, to one that lets us embrace our amigas in all their glory.

After all, when things get really tough, the ones that are always there to pick up the pieces, the phone, and sometimes even the takeout are always your pack. Protecting your group of amigas isn’t only about performative friendships; it’s about truly showing up for other women, supporting them, and showing the world that women no longer stand against each other, but together.

“A she-wolf does not compete with others of her kind…”

Many Latinas grew up under the idea that other women were our competition, not our allies. The “Soltera” singer is telling us to put our claws down and meditate on where this idea even comes from.

“I make great emphasis on these 10 Loba Commandments, on these two points especially. The first is on self-love, which is so important,” she said. “Secondly, on the love for your pack. On not competing, helping each other, and supporting each other. Between women even more.”

In fact, during her interview, she quoted the famous Madeline Albright expression, “There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.”

And honestly, I agree. It’s time to release the old ideas that other women are our competition and start working together to build a better world. Not just because it sounds corny or utopian, but because when women work together, the world thrives. For so long, it has been us against each other, and for what? These competitive notions only keep us small. Your amiga is your ally, not your enemy or your competitor. When she wins, you win, and vice versa.

Plus, tell me there’s any bigger joy than seeing your friends succeed?

And to that note, she-wolves don’t take what’s not theirs

We all know Shakira is no stranger to being betrayed by other women, so she’s reminding us not to usurp on another’s possessions.

The commandment goes as follows: “A she-wolf will not covet the possessions of others.”

And yeah, girl. Nothing isolates you more from the pack than not respecting what another woman has cultivated with love, respect, and honor. Especially when those possessions belong to women of your pack. That’s not only limited to partners; it also applies to jobs, ideas, projects, and even their clothes.

Imagine being that woman who takes from other women without creating her own light. Is that who you want to be? Probably not.

So, shine and share the sunshine. The era of stealing someone else’s spotlight is over.

The commandments also speak of a pivotal piece in friendship and life: self-love

It sounds cliché, but self-love really is the key that opens the doors to everything else—even our friendships. When you cultivate self-love, then you can fill your own cup and someone else’s as well. When we love ourselves, we can grow, build, support, and be better friends, partners, and family members.

One way in which Shakira’s self-love has manifested is her astronomical success after her life imploded in 2022, when she split from Gerard Piqué. We’re still looking for a better comeback, actually. From betrayal, loss, and a whole lot of heartbreak, she became a 14-time Guinness World Record holder, won a Grammy, three Latin Grammys, and the inaugural Billboard Latin Women of the Year award. Oh, and did we mention she also set the Guinness World Record for the highest-grossing tour by a Latino artist?

It makes sense that six of her ten commandments relate to loving yourself above all else. From not asking permission to be who you are, dancing and singing when you need to heal, and not repressing your wild nature, Shaki says be the loba you were born to be.

Here are the 10 Loba Commandments:

1. Protect and care for your pack above all else.

2. Do not ask for permission to be yourself.

3. Dance and sing whenever you need to heal.

4. Howl, for no one can silence you.

5. A she-wolf does not attack; she defends herself.

6. A she-wolf does not compete with other she-wolves; they help one another.

7. Do not repress your wild nature.

8. You will choose your own path without anyone imposing it on you.

9. A she-wolf will not covet the possessions of others.

10. A she-wolf is a she-wolf forever.

Every few years, Coachella sells the same fantasy: a desert weekend where music and fashion meet “culture.” Everyone pretends the festival is bigger than the industries that bankroll it.

But in 2026, Karol G arrived and redefined the fantasy.

Because what Karol did on that stage went beyond a headliner set. It was a masterclass in Latin culture and the power of a Latina woman who knows her history, her audience, and what it means to take up space in a country that insists our presence is optional.

Karol G became the first Latina to headline Coachella. She did it after decades of Latin artists and groups pushed their way into the lineup. She honored that lineage through a clear symbol: a tapestry of flags from all Latin American countries. These appeared in festival activations and during her performance.

Karol G’s masterclass was in session last Sunday

The anticipation was palpable for Coachella 2026. The lineup balanced legacy names and return-to-the-stage moments, including Sabrina Carpenter and Justin Bieber. But even beyond Latino audiences, Karol G was the main draw.

And when she finally spoke to the crowd, she did so with the authority of someone naming the stakes.

“I’m Carolina Giraldo, from Medellín, Colombia, and today I’m the first Latina woman to headline Coachella,” she said. The audience looked like a sea of flags from across Latin America. “I’m very happy and very proud,” she added. But “at the same time, I feel like it’s coming late. This festival has been going on for 27 years. Before me, there were many great Latin artists who paved the way for this opportunity.”

Then she widened the frame beyond her career. “Latinos have been facing difficulties in this country lately,” she continued. “We support you. I’m proud that this brings out the best in us: unity, resilience, a strong spirit. We want everyone to feel welcome to our culture, our roots, our music. I want everyone to feel proud of their origins.”

If you grew up in this community, you know exactly what that message implied.

The takeover of “Karolchella”

Fans dubbed the Sunday-night set “Karolchella,” and the energy earned the name. The main stage’s intricate design included a three-story stone cave structure, likely nodding to the depths of the jungle in her native Colombia, and its construction reportedly took longer than expected.

While the final touches delayed her start by about 25 minutes, the crowd did not drift. They chanted “bichota” and “Karol,” waving flags from across Latin America and the Caribbean like they were holding up proof of life.

Then the show began with a story narrated by Karol in Spanish, projected in English on the screens. It was about a girl who had to break free from social expectations to find her voice, and who used that strength to create light, water, fire, and valleys. When the story ended, jets of fire shot up. Karol and her dancers launched into “Latina Foreva.”

A jungle, a cave, and a road that looked like a warning

As part of her latest album Tropicoqueta, Karol offered a retrospective of Latin American women’s musical history. She emerged from the stage surrounded by symbols of indigenous cosmogony, including jaguars and a visual connection to the earth.

The stage also featured a cracked asphalt road, cutting through the jungle and caves, like a visual argument about movement, about the journey, about what this country keeps calling “civilization” while denying the cultures that built it.

In that setting, she performed songs like “Papasito,” “Son de la Negra,” and “Ese Hombre es Malo.” She did more than sing: from there, she built bridges—toward mariachi and reggaetón pioneers, into rock, and to the women watching and those onstage.

The set was huge, and the choices precise

Over 90 minutes, Karol delivered 20 of her own songs, including “TQG” and “Amargura.” She moved through six costume changes, from caveman-inspired outfits to tropical-chic looks, across four distinct stage setups. Parris Goebel’s choreography drove the performance, with Rolling Stone describing the movement as aggressive yet sensual.

She covered Gloria Estefan’s “Mi Tierra.” Reggaetón pioneer Wisin delivered a four-song mini-concert. Mariachi Reyna de Los Ángeles, the first all-female professional mariachi group in the United States, appeared as part of the show.

Mariah Angeliq joined Karol for “El Makinon.” Becky G took the stage for a mariachi version of “Mamii.” Greg Gonzales of Cigarettes After Sex joined for “Después de Ti.” Cuban-American jazz musician Arturo Sandoval played trumpet during “Ivonny Bonita.”

It was a powerful ecosystem on stage.

The not-so-subtle female focus

Male dancers appeared at times, but the deliberate focus on women shaped the show’s atmosphere. Even the audience near the stage looked like a statement: Young Miko, Lizzo, Camila Cabello, and Becky G watched intently from close range.

Amid it all, the performance moved with overt sensuality: hip-shaking, twerking, and elaborate, skimpy outfits. The night’s indulgent center was a small, shallow stone-carved pool lit like quartz. There, Karol and her dancers became water goddesses in tiny silver bikinis.

This was intentional sensuality for the female gaze, directly contrasting with the way American culture typically portrays Latina sensuality, making a clear statement about agency and self-representation.

From tribute to authorship

In her first Coachella performance in 2022, Karol paid tribute to icons like Selena, Celia Cruz, Daddy Yankee, and others through a medley of their most popular songs.

In 2026, she went further. She made Latin culture the structure of the night: the narrative, the set design, the guest list, the language, the pacing, and the epicenter.

As the flags of Latin America and the Caribbean waved over the crowd, many wore black-and-white Colombian straw hats known as sombreros vueltiaos. She took over the venue with the ease of someone who knows she belongs there.

An ending that became a promise

During “Si Antes te Hubiera Conocido,” Karol announced she had to wrap the show and said she wanted to perform “Provenza,” a song she debuted during her Coachella 2022 performance. The finale exploded into Tiësto’s remix, then confetti. Karol took a final bow with her dancers, vulnerably showing her excitement.

For the critics, the performance’s success was undeniable. They agreed she “undoubtedly demonstrated why she deserves a place in the festival’s hall of fame.”

But the unavoidable conclusion is this: Karol G’s purpose on that stage was not to prove Latin culture’s legitimacy. She performed to show that Latin culture has always been present.

Coachella is here, and we are ready.

Every year, the desert turns into a runway, a playlist, and a personal branding exercise all at once. And in 2026, the trend cycle feels extra loud. According to HOLA, the big themes floating to the top include futuristic boho, Y2K nostalgia, Western core, sheer layers, thrifted and DIY looks, and comfort-first styling. Vogue adds a very specific correction: the boho energy is back, but it has to look 2026-worthy, meaning less costume, fewer one-and-done “festival fits,” and more repurposed pieces you would actually wear again.

So yes. We did the homework.

Below are the Coachella 2026 fashion predictions, plus an actual shopping guide that gets you dressed without spiraling into a 47-tab crisis.

Prediction No. 1: Desert Western is back, but it wants to look effortless

E! News calls it Desert Western, and the point is simple: cowboy boots, denim, fringe, sun-washed neutrals. The difference in 2026 is styling. Less “Halloween cowgirl.” More “I woke up like this, but this outfit has been living on my private Pinterest for months.”

Shop the vibe

Affordable cowboy boots that do not look like a prank

These Amazon cowboy boots are the easiest anchor piece if you want Western without committing to a full character arc. Pair with a mini skirt, a slip dress, or jorts and call it a day.

The skirt that makes boots make sense

A mini skirt is the fastest way to make cowboy boots feel intentional instead of random. This foldover-style skirt gives you that “styling happened here” silhouette without asking you to suffer.

Ruffle mini energy for when you want cute, not cosplay

If you want the Western look to read more flirty than rugged, a ruffle mini does the trick. Add boots and a simple top, and let the proportions do the talking.

Prediction No. 2: “Futuristic boho” is the new default boho

HOLA describes this as flowy silhouettes plus metallics, reflective accessories, and techy details. Think ethereal, but make it slightly cyber.

Shop the vibe

The lightweight poncho that looks like you planned layers

A crochet poncho reads boho immediately, but it also solves the desert problem: hot in the day, weirdly cold at night. Throw it over a tank, bikini top, or bralette and keep moving.

The linen tank option for when you want breathable, not fussy

If you want the “flowy” part of boho without the dramatics, a linen tank keeps you cool and still looks festival-ready once you add accessories.

Prediction No. 3: Y2K is still alive, but now it’s mixing with everything

HOLA calls out low-rise cargos and baby tees. Her Campus goes further: micro bottoms, belts, layering, and early-2000s pop princess energy. The key is to choose one Y2K signal and let it carry the outfit.

Shop the vibe

Cargo shorts for the full Y2K mood

If you want that throwback silhouette without committing to low-rise pants all day, these Y2K-style cargo shorts give you the vibe while keeping the fit practical.

A top that does the “going out” thing without overheating

This strappy-back top reads early-2000s in the best way. Pair it with cargos, a mini skirt, or denim, and you have an outfit without trying too hard.

Prediction No. 4: Sheer layers are still the easiest way to look “festival”

HOLA puts sheer pieces front and center because the desert demands light fabric. Vogue also signals sheer, breezy styling, but with a smarter approach: wear what you already own, repurpose and rework, and stop buying single-use costumes.

Shop the vibe

The poncho again, because it doubles as a sheer layer

Yes, we are repeating it. That is the point. One good piece that you can throw over anything is the difference between “I packed wrong” and “I have range.”

Prediction No. 5: Comfort-first is winning, because, in the end, the desert does not care about your outfit

IYKYK: Coachella style is evolving toward outfits that can survive the walking, the heat, the dust, and the long days. You can look good and still protect your feet.

Shop the vibe

Bohemian sandals for the moment your boots start feeling personal

These are the “I need a break” shoes. Keep them in your bag, switch when you need to, and save your nervous system.

The five outfit formulas that will actually work

If you want to stop overthinking it, pick one of these and build around it:

1. Cowboy boots + mini skirt + simple tank + sunglasses

2. Cargo shorts + strappy top + sneakers or sandals

3. Poncho layer + mini skirt + boots

4. Linen tank + ruffle mini + boots for night, sandals for day

5. One statement piece, everything else neutral

Every few months, the internet rediscovers Becky G and asks some version of the same question: Why isn’t she bigger?

This week, that conversation picked up again on X, mostly in Spanish, with people arguing that Becky G lacks a defined musical identity, shifts genres too often, sounds too American for Latino audiences, or walked away from the wrong lane at the wrong time. Some insisted she should have stayed in English pop. Others said she should have doubled down on reggaetón. Others still argued that she is somehow too “Hollywood” to feel believable as a Latina star.

That whole debate reveals something, alright.

Because the Becky G question has never really been about talent, and it has never really been about whether she has had hits. She has, in fact—many of them. Billboard’s artist pages credit her with 29 top 10s on Latin Digital Song Sales, and Billboard just announced she will be honored at the 2026 Latin Women in Music event, which is not exactly something that happens to artists who failed to connect.

The real issue is that Becky G has spent her whole career sitting in the exact place this culture still does not know how to metabolize: the middle.

Too gringa for Latinos, too Latina for gringos

That tension is not new. Becky G herself explained it beautifully in her 2022 Teen Vogue cover story, when she brought up that scene from Selena where Edward James Olmos tells Jennifer Lopez, “You’re either too Mexican for the Americans or too American for the Mexicans. It’s exhausting.” Becky then added, “It’s this unspoken thing that you can’t be in the middle.”

That is the whole story, right there.

A lot of the commentary around Becky G still treats bilingual, bicultural identity as if it is a branding problem she failed to solve, rather than the actual condition of millions of Latinos in the United States. When she made English pop, plenty of people treated her like a generic industry product. When she pivoted into Spanish-language music, others started policing whether her Spanish sounded native enough, whether her aesthetics felt authentic enough, or if she had somehow “remembered” she was Latina only when it became useful.

That standard is impossible by design.

And it is worth saying clearly that this scrutiny is deeply gendered.

Because nobody is sitting around with this level of forensic obsession about whether Peso Pluma is too this or too that for crossing markets, or whether a male artist’s bilingualism makes him less legible, men get framed as versatile, global, strategic. Women, especially Latinas, get framed as confused, manufactured, or unserious the second they refuse to stay in one tidy box.

The Becky G discourse is really about gatekeeping Latina authenticity

Some of the takes circulating now are not even especially subtle. People are saying she does not “look Latina,” does not sound Latina enough, does not pronounce things the right way, or does not connect because she feels like a flattened export version of Latinidad.

And forgive us for calling a spade a spade, but that is identity policing.

And it gets uglier when you notice how selective the policing is. Eva Longoria has built an enormous mainstream career in the United States without having to prove herself in quite this way every five minutes. Yes, maybe because she had her breakthrough in a very stereotypical show, but still. For her part, Jennifer Lopez played Selena and was embraced as a star powerful enough to carry that cultural symbol. Yet, she has borne the brunt of the worst facet of public scrutiny. Becky G, meanwhile, is still somehow asked to stand there and explain her Mexicanidad, her Americanness, her Spanish, her market choices, and her right to exist in both worlds at once.

That is not because Becky G is uniquely unclear. It is because bicultural Latina women still get treated like they have to pass an authenticity exam that never ends.

Now, let’s make something crystal clear: Becky G is not an almost-star. She is a star whose center of gravity changed

Part of what makes this conversation so irritating is how much it depends on pretending that Becky G somehow never “made it.”

She did. She just did not stay frozen inside the version of success some people preferred.

Teen Vogue reported that after “Shower,” the multiplatinum English-language hit that introduced her to the mainstream, Becky G spent years caught in what she described as “many moving pieces,” including complex contract issues and legal trouble surrounding her early career. She said that point in her life felt like being “tied to a sinking ship.” Most people must’ve forgotten that part, because it complicates the fantasy that she simply wandered away from a perfect English-pop path out of indecision.

Similarly, the shift to Spanish was not a random detour. As she told Teen Vogue, she found “career freedom” performing in Spanish.

And the results were evident. “Mayores” and “Sin Pijama” were major records. Billboard previously noted that “Mayores” and “Sin Pijama” both hit No. 1 on Latin Airplay, and “Sin Pijama” became a top 10 hit on Hot Latin Songs and even crossed onto the Hot 100.

That is not what a stalled career looks like, is it?

So when people ask why Becky G does not have Karol G’s exact career, they are asking the wrong question. These are not interchangeable artists who got graded on the same test. Karol G built one of the clearest and most disciplined emotional brands in pop over the last several years. Becky G built something different. Not better; not worse. Just different.

The “no identity” critique misses the mark by miles

There is a lazy way to read Becky G’s catalog and say it sounds like a blender of genres. English pop here, reggaetón there, regional Mexican somewhere else, Spanglish somewhere in the middle.

But there is another, more honest way to read it. What if her identity is the blender?

That is what second- and third-generation Latino life in the U.S. often sounds like. Not neat purity or a stable genre lane. Not one language used in one socially-approved proportion. Becky G’s career has often mirrored the cultural reality that the discourse keeps trying to punish her for representing.

Teen Vogue described her as a “second-generation Mexican American pop superstar” whose power lies precisely in her bilingualism and multiculturalism. Anitta told the magazine that Becky represents “all the Latinos that live here in America” because “you feel like you belong to both places.”

That is not the absence of identity, if you ask me. That is an identity that many people still do not know how to value unless it is packaged more clearly.

And yes, it is fair to say some listeners prefer one Becky G mode over another. Some like the English-pop Becky G of “Shower.” Others prefer the reggaetón run. Others lit up when she moved into regional Mexican music. That is normal, and very Latino, by the way. Listeners do not have to love every turn. But that is very different from pretending the artist herself lacks shape.

The shape, my gentle readers, is bicultural risk.

When did we collectively decide the Girl Code was dead? I know it’s been years since we’ve been debating its boundaries, but the recent Summer House drama made us rethink the approach once more. After all, that’s what reality TV does.

On March 31, Summer House stars Amanda Batula and West Wilson confirmed their relationship in a joint statement shared on Instagram Stories: “We’ve seen the growing online speculation, so while this is still very new, we wanted to provide some clarity,” they wrote, adding, “It was never our intention to purposely hide anything.”

If you’re a bit lost on the context, let’s put you on: West previously dated Ciara Miller, who is also (or was) best friends with Amanda. In the hours after the statement went up, coverage across entertainment media turned into one loud question: Is the Girl Code officially out the window?

The Girl Code has always been kinda obvious

Since, well, forever, the Girl Code has lived in the space between friendship and dating, which means it lives in ambiguity on purpose. But let’s revise the rules, shall we?

Rule #1: Keep your friends’ secrets like they are sacred. If she trusted you with something private, you do not recycle it for entertainment, you do not “process it” out loud with your partner, and you do not let it slip just to be interesting.

Rule #2 (and the core of our discussion): Do not date the exes, the situationships, or the “I think I like him” crushes. If your friend ever had feelings there, or history there, or even a bruised spot there, you do not go shopping in that aisle.

Rule #3: Tell the truth, even when it is inconvenient. If you know her partner is cheating, you do not play dumb to keep the peace. If she asks whether the outfit works and it does not, you do not lie to protect your own comfort.

Rule #4: Hype her up like it is your job. Treat her wins as evidence that good things can happen to women you love. Do not compete, do not compare, do not quietly resent her when she shines.

And finally, rule #5: Defend her in public, then correct her in private. If she is being dragged, you do not join the pile-on to look fair or “balanced.” You stand with her, then you pull her aside later if you think she moved wrong.

Yes, these rules are rarely defined until someone gets hurt. But do we even have to get to that point?

The Summer House situation is a case in point

Amanda and West tried to thread the needle publicly. They framed their relationship as something that “grew out of a genuine, long-standing friendship,” and said they wanted to “approach this with care,” acknowledging that it “has had an impact beyond just us.”

But if the impact extends beyond them, we are already in Girl Code territory, where friendship becomes collateral damage, and the audience starts assigning blame like in a courtroom. In the end, every relationship has two components. And yes, the audience always prosecutes the women first.

Can the Girl Code be weaponized?

A Debate Mag piece calls out how Girl Code often claims feminist intention while placing “all of the onus on the woman in the equation,” even though two people are making choices. A friendship might be jeopardized, but, more often than not, especially in the straight community, there’s always a man playing the innocent.

That dynamic has always been there. The code tends to operate as a policing mechanism rather than a protection mechanism. It frames women as the managers of everyone’s boundaries, the gatekeepers of community stability, the ones who must “behave” so men can keep floating through the story untouched.

So when something breaks, the blame travels the familiar route. Woman to woman. Friend to friend. Public to woman.

The Vogue question still hangs there: Is Girl Code dead?

Eileen Kelly asked “Is Girl Code Dead?” in a Vogue column last year, and the question reads differently in 2026 because the culture has moved even further into surveillance dating: group chats, soft launches, Instagram follows (and unfollows).

What we are watching now is less about a “code” and more about a public negotiation over what friendship is allowed to cost. Maybe the “public” part is more harmful than anything else.

Kyle Cooke’s “Instagram vs. Reality” post shows how the internet turns pain into a sport

In the middle of the swirl, E! News reported that Kyle Cooke posted a photo with Ciara Miller captioned “Instagram vs. Reality,” and tagged the location as “Psych Ward.” At the same time, online speculation continued to spiral around Amanda and West.

People are treating the entire situation like a live poll on loyalty.

That is the part no one admits: Girl Code used to be enforced in private. Now it gets litigated in public, in real time, by strangers who confuse parasocial outrage with ethics.

If Girl Code survives, it needs to be rewritten as accountability

Here is what still holds up: if you claim friendship, you owe honesty. You owe a private conversation before a public reveal. You owe your friend enough respect to treat them as a person with a nervous system, not an obstacle. You owe it to yourself to be willing to hear “this hurts” without turning it into a debate over technicalities.

But the Girl Code cannot keep pretending men are background characters. If West made choices that affected Ciara, that accountability belongs to him, too. If Kyle’s marriage ended and the aftermath turned into a storyline, that does not erase the emotional reality for anyone involved.

A “code” that only disciplines women is not sisterhood. It is patriarchy with cute branding.

Netflix’s new documentary “Inside the Manosphere” is the perfect weekend watch if you want to feel enraged and informed. The Louis Theroux documentary takes viewers deep into the manosphere, a term for a network of male influencers who are peddling toxic masculinity and misogyny as strength. Theroux spent time with HSTikkyTokky (Harrison Sullivan), Justin Waller, and Myron Gaines (Amrou Fudl) to understand what makes the manosphere tick and the dangers the content poses to young men and children.

Netflix’s “Inside the Manosphere” is pulling back the curtain on a toxic corner of the internet

Social media is an ever-present part of life these days, and the lack of regulation allows for anyone to share their views as facts. This is increasingly true for men sharing their misogynistic, sexist, homophobic, and bigoted views to impressionable young followers. Major influencers such as HSTikTokky (Harrison Sullivan), Justin Waller, and Myron Gaines are featured in the documentary.

Louis Theroux managed to set up times to hang out with the three influencers to see just what they believe and what is for show. The documentary is a stunning look at the kinds of messages these guys are sharing that lead to clips of young boys approaching them in public, shouting phrases like, “F*** these women” and “Kill the gays.” It is also a way to understand how the toxic content is encouraging men and boys to behave in ways that exacerbate the male loneliness epidemic.

Overall, the men featured in the documentary were misogynistic, childish, and far from being deep thinkers. They are the perfect representation of men who were coddled so hard as children that they don’t know how to be functioning adults. Unfortunately, they have the eyes and ears of millions of young men and boys that they are grooming to be the same misogynistic, homophobic, and racist people.

The documentary shows that these men don’t love women, not even the women in their lives

The whole point of the manosphere is to tell young men and boys that masculinity is the only desirable quality. It is inherently anti-feminist, misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic, and racist. Watching the documentary, viewers see the manosphere subjects fight for their lives to defend their views.

Hypocrisy and fragility underline everything that these influencers create. They offer nothing of substance and routinely default to degrading women for clout and views. Sullivan, for example, owns a company that manages women with OnlyFans accounts. Yet, at the same time, he calls the women disgusting and degrades them while they make him money. He even said he would disown his daughter if she did the same thing.

Waller claimed that women haven’t contributed anything to society. He went on to add that women have not invented or built anything. Rather, Waller believes that women are only concerned with finding husbands and having families. He must not know about Hedy Lamarr, who pioneered technology that is the foundation for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Waller relies on this woman’s contribution to society so he can make money by belittling women and selling bad financial advice.

Fudl offered the wildest take on women from the manosphere point of view. The streamer claims that women want one thing: a man who can dominate them. The idea that women are meant to be subservient is one of the lowest-intellect takes a man can have. During his interview, he brags about how his girlfriend cleans for him and does what he says. But what he thinks is strength is really just a little boy unable to take care of himself.

The manosphere agrees on one thing: one-way monogamy.

All of the influencers and the men who idolize them who were interviewed think that one-way monogamy is a valid relationship. Being in an open relationship is one thing, but one-way monogamy is just ridiculous. All of the men take pride in being able to sleep with as many women as they want, while their partners are not allowed to do the same.

Waller was the biggest advocate for one-way monogamy. He made sure to bring it up at the beginning of his interview in an attempt to shock Theroux. Instead, Waller’s impassioned defense of one-way monogamy made the documentarian laugh at its preposterous claims. It clearly triggered Waller.

Fudl, along with one-way monogamy, made a claim that blurs the line between consent and rape. While being interviewed, he stated, “I dictate when I put my d**k in you.” This caused Theroux to take a pause and repeat it back to Fudl for clarification. Instantly, the braggadocious person vanished, and he instantly started to backtrack, realizing that he might have said the quiet part out loud.

The biggest takeaway is that the manosphere is filled with grifters

One of the things that everyone in the manosphere pointed to was financial advice and investment opportunities. This was especially prevalent in Sullivan’s life. He often tells people about an investment platform he works with and brags about the money that he has made.

However, as Theroux exposes, the platform is just another scam being run by Sullivan. He gets a cut when people make investments through his link. This means he makes money regardless of the investment portfolio he holds. Theroux decided to see if it was worth it after reading reviews online warning people that it was a scam and just a way for Sullivan to make money. Theroux put in $500 and was promised by Sullivan that he would make money. Instead, Theroux lost his $500.

The unchecked spread of social media among young men and boys is dangerous

The manosphere influencers, mere servants of the algorithm and followers, offer nothing of substance to society. They peddle hate as if it were enlightened thinking. They rely on shock and violence but say it is the parents’ responsibility to prevent teens from watching the content.

The three men were angry when Theroux suggested that teenage boys are the largest demographic in their audience, and the algorithm is intentionally serving that content to them. There could be a lot of reasons why teenagers are getting fed that content specifically. For one, the influencers behave more like teenage boys than they do like men. Their ideas about the world are as stunted as their own development.

The kind of antics and flashy living they curate for their social media content doesn’t resonate with real men. This is why, when pressed, the self-proclaimed tough guys crumble very quickly. They can’t stand to be questioned about their beliefs.

The manosphere isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, but Netflix’s documentary offers the first deep look into what the darkest corner of social media is doing to men. These extreme views about the world are only further isolating men from the rest of society.

If spring is supposed to mean “light layers,” somebody forgot to tell our nervous systems.

This week, we want softness. We want waistbands that forgive us. We want pants that feel like a deep exhale but still look like we tried.

So here’s the roundup of our fav soft pants: affordable, easy, and wearable in real life. Prices and availability can change fast, but as of publish time, these are the soft-pants standouts.

Walmart understood the assignment

If your goal is “airport comfortable” without looking like you rolled out of bed, Walmart has a shockingly solid option. The longantii Women’s High Waist Wide Leg Linen Palazzo Pants lean into that breezy, wide-leg silhouette, with an elastic drawstring waist and side pockets, which is basically the holy trinity of soft pants.

Get your longantii for $11.99 here.

Best for: spring errands, vacation days, and that “I need to look cute, but I refuse to suffer” mood.

Rare find: the yoga pant that reads like a trouser

Hesayep’s Women’s Wide Leg Yoga Pants sit in that sweet spot between lounge and “I can pretend these are tailored.” The product listing calls out a high elastic waistband, a wide straight leg, and a curved split hemline detail that makes them feel a little intentional, even if you’re wearing them like pajamas.

Get your Wide Leg Yoga Pants for $17.99 here.

Best for: dance class, travel days, long work-from-home stretches, and “I might leave the house, don’t pressure me.”

Our favourite deal: Old Navy’s PowerSoft trousers moment

Old Navy’s High Waisted PowerSoft Trouser Pants are for anyone who wants soft pants with a bit of structure. The brand positions PowerSoft as “light compression” with “peachy-smooth, sweat-wicking fabric,” and the details lean practical: pull-on style, elasticised waist, hip pockets, and a pocket for your phone.

Get your PowerSoft Trouser Pants for $19.99 here.

Best for: commuters, teachers, office days, and anybody who wants stretch without announcing it.

Zara’s “soft touch” palazzo pants are the polished option

When you want soft pants that still look crisp, Zara’s Soft Touch Palazzo Pants do the job. And the composition reads like a blend built for ease: 55% polyester and 45% cotton.

Get your Soft Touch Palazzo Pants for $39.90 here.

Best for: dinner plans, “jeans are a no” days, and the office when you want to look expensive on purpose.

Out-of-the-box pick: Classy Cozy Cool’s drawstring pants

If you want soft pants with that boutique energy, Classy Cozy Cool has the Sand Dollar Seas Drawstring Pants. The drawstring waist makes them adjustable, and the vibe feels very “put together in a coastal way,” even if your plans are just coffee and emails.

Get your Sand Dollar Seas Drawstring Pants for $46.00 here.

Best for: weekends, casual hangs, and the person who wants comfort without looking sporty.

Higher tier, still practical: Quince barrel pants

Quince’s Organic Stretch Cotton Twill Barrel Pants are the “I want shape, but I also want to breathe” pick. The listing describes a high-rise, relaxed leg, tapered ankle, and functional pockets, made with 97% organic cotton and 3% spandex.

Get your Organic Stretch Cotton Twill Barrel Pants for $59.90 here.

Best for: elevated basics people, capsule wardrobes, and anyone trying to stop buying disposable pants.