NOTABLE WORK

On Women

Should I Be Able To Sell My Eggs?

“With infertility on the rise in the United States and insurance companies covering a variety of fertility treatments, getting medical help to have children feels like the normal path for wanting parents.

Because of what feels like the cultural ubiquity of hormonal birth control, vasectomies and in vitro fertilization (IVF) I’ve never really questioned if such things should be allowed. IVF and egg harvesting plot lines are featured in many popular long-running show — Pretty Little Liars, Friends and the new Sex and The City spinoff. It’s become as standard of a plot device as the long lost sibling (like in That 70s Show, Friends, Gilmore Girls, Peaky Blinders, Dynasty, etc.)…..we should consider the market conditions and incentives that our systems and public policies encourage, and the negative outcomes they can produce. A college student selling her half of a future child to pay off loans doesn’t feel like freedom to me."

Interview with Lisa Thompson from The National Center on Sexual Exploitation

Should You Be A Feminist? Interview with Economist Bryan Caplan

Influencers are better regulators than the FDA for Cosmetics, The Cedar Rapids Gazette

There hasn’t been any meaningful change in chemical makeup regulation but producers have responded to consumer concern nonetheless.

AI Influencers—Are They The New Barbie? IWF Blog

The extent of potential harm to adolescents remains uncertain when compared to the influence of animated Disney princesses or Barbie dolls characterized by unattainable proportions. As we navigate this new landscape of AI-generated content, it’s essential to contextualize the impact of these digital phenomena within the broader spectrum of historical media influence on young minds. The claim that there is a direct link between Instagram use and teen depression is simply not yet proven, but that doesn’t mean that there are no problematic societal behaviors that have come from phones and perpetual internet access.

Tech Advancements Towards Improved Fertility, IWF Blog

The growing popularity of fertility tracking apps provides insights into the potential benefits of integrating AI into health tracking. Moving forward, utilizing AI to analyze food intake or employing more advanced and affordable at-home medical tests will enable women to gain a better understanding of their unique challenges and fertility windows.

In Defense of Ballerina Farm, The Conservateur

One person’s success isn’t another person’s failure. The Ballerina Farm lifestyle—characterized by a stable marriage, cooking, homeschooling, and close family values—is much more accessible than some bitter women on the internet would claim.

The Genesis of Gender: A Book Review, The Conservateur

After spending years teaching college classes on feminism and gender studies and wrestling with inconsistencies in the field, Abigail Favale, a professor at Notre Dame, published The Genesis of Gender.

The New Witches, The Conservateur

It is the age of the "nones." I refer to the increasing number of people in the West who are not religious. Many Millennials and Gen X members raise their children with vague spirituality. Out of this void, witchcraft and paganism have emerged. It is marked by people who deify drugs and morning affirmations. The current iteration is disguised as meditation, wrapped in soft pink, and packaged with cute crystals.   Let’s call "manifesting" what it is: casting a spell. We should consider an intimate prayer to God instead. Or, maybe just a list of actionable goals that don’t involve ayahuasca or energy cleansing. 

Resist the Binary Choice between Career and Family, The Conservateur

While the conservative movement should promote marriage and family, its spokespeople shouldn’t be dissuading women from pursuing a career. Young women won’t be attracted to the conservative movement if it tells them that they have to quit jobs that they love to be moms. Normal girls need to be sold on a true, wholesome image of freedom, faith, and family in balance with endeavors outside of the home.

On Dating

Dating Apps Are A Blessing—No Disguise, IWF Blog

Recognizing the splintering of interest and intention on widely used dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge, more specialized apps are attracting marriage-minded users and existing apps let users list what they are looking for, from “hook-up” to “long-term.” Catholic Match, J Date, Christian Mingle, The Right Stuff, and many others let people filter for religion and political values…

Choosing a Man to Parent Your Future Children, The Conservateur

There was one pivotal moment that showed me the meaning of love. It wasn't the man I was dating nor a rock-bottom heartbreak. It was learning about the marriage of two people I have never met. I've been teaching Catholic religious education Catechesis classes on-and-off for about eight years, and one encounter changed my entire perspective on marriage and dating.

Protect Your Heart during the Holidays, The Conservateur

The days between Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Years evoke a certain nostalgia and longing that can make us prone to romantic regression. When we’re vulnerable and wishing we weren’t single during the holidays, we can easily fall back into forgotten patterns and justify a rendevouz with an ex.

Dear Single Women, The Conservateur

In the US, most people get married between the ages of 28-30 and the average life expectancy is about 77 years. This social pressure to get married is a net good, especially in the United States where we, like many countries, have a slowing replacement rate. However, single women who want children are in a race against time and statistics. Doctors freak us out with the term, “geriatric pregnancy,” and the visibility of fertility struggles that writers and influencers experience is empowering, but worrying for those of us who haven’t even found a partner, let alone started trying for children. If you’re single and feeling lost, you’re not alone.

How to Navigate the ‘Talking Stage’, The Conservateur

While previous generations engaged in proper courtship, children of the 2000s are often caught in ambiguous pre-relationship territories, such as the “talking stage.” The “talking stage” means that you and your love interest are chatting regularly, hanging out, and contemplating a future relationship, although with no sure timeline. It’s a stretch to say you’re “dating.” It’s important to spend your time intentionally so you’re not stuck in the talking stage for longer than you want or deserve. 

Let Him Pursue You, The Conservateur

This masculinity crisis, a dynamic beast, is a result of rapid changes in technology that have offset the need for hard labor and the many affects of the Sexual Revolution. In our 100ish years of rapid cultural change, we have overlooked some of the tradeoffs which have manifested new problems for the woman of today. Although largely good for female safety, in our societal evolution we have also replaced some uniquely feminine behaviors in courtship with the more masculine traits of confidence, ambition and aggression.

Male-Female Friendships Have an Expiration Date, and That’s Ok, The Conservateur

Many people say that men and women can’t be close friends because their situation is bound to be compromised by sexual or romantic interest. I recently rewatched cult classic movies “When Harry Met Sally” and “Some Kind Of Wonderful," which speak to this theory. Both films suggest that male-female friendships are doomed to be temporary because at least one of the parties is often secretly in love with the other. There is a lot of truth in this hypothesis. While not all male-female friendships are driven by motivation for “something more,” they all have an expiration date.

‘Situationships’ Are Destroying Dating, The Conservateur

Situationship; Noun, when two people form a romantic relationship that’s thinly disguised as a platonic friendship. Those participating in the situationship never acknowledge to one another that they are romantically attached, although all mutual acquaintances would probably describe the participants as “toxically dating.” Usually consists of one hopeful, optimistic person and one interested but emotionally unavailable person.

On Social Media & Our Digital Reality

Can we be both present and posting? The Cedar Rapids Gazette

Like many other Gen Zers born in the late 1990’s, I’ve lived so long in social media ubiquity that it’s..

Influencers are real people, too, The Cedar Rapids Gazette

No one can be canceled in the 2020s

Being “canceled” isn’t even possible anymore given the diversity of hosting platforms and the willingness of audiences to follow their informational and entertainment beacons,,,

On ‘Squid Game,’ innovation and media 

Reaction videos and parodies are the new Sunday newspaper column review section.

There Are Many Tools For Monitoring Children’s Online Activity, IWF Blog

Keeping children safe online has been front of mind for parents, educators, and lawmakers for the past few years. Earlier this year, the United States Surgeon General released a Surgeon General’s Advisory on Social Media and Youth Mental Health: “We don’t have enough evidence to say it’s safe, and in fact, there is growing evidence that social media use is associated with harm to young people’s mental health,” said Dr. Vivek Murthy. DIagnosing exactly what that mental health harm is, and how to fix it, has proven challenging. 

Who’s Responsible For What Children View On Social Media? IWF Blog

This individual relationship with technology is why K-12 online education and honest conversations about online activity are important and why laws that attempt to replace parental responsibility with state authority are doomed to fail. As with junk food, at some point, it’s the parent’s job to intervene and teach their child how to maintain a healthy body and mind and watch for hazardous behavior.

Balenciaga Backlash And How To Actually Protect Children From Dangers Online IWF Blog

Lisa Thompson, Vice President of Research and Education for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, sat down with James Broughel and Patricia Patnode, an IWF Junior Fellow, to discuss the recent scandal with advertisements made by Balenciaga, how to protect children from obscene content online, and some practical challenges with legislative solutions to content moderation and online pornography distribution.