Club Letter No. 6: A Love Letter to Women

TODAY’S ISSUE

… is not just a newsletter—it's a love letter to women everywhere, a testament to their power, resilience, and unwavering spirit. As far as this week’s features go we’ve got the regulars (which we hope are more exciting than “regular” sounds) and some notable irregulars, if you will.

Speaking of which, we have news. If you are someone who went all out for spirit week in school or loves a niche topic, this might be your new favorite thing. That’s right, we’re doing theme weeks, baby.

Okay but how do we make it like an EVENT where there’s anticipation and excitement and we can really dive in on different topics and ideas? And how in the hell can we fit in everything that we want to without it being completely scattered? From good to great— wait isn’t that a book? Business books seem all the same. And mostly by men. We should talk about that in a future issue. Anyways, what are we doing? That was a sample of what our brainstorming seshes are like about half the time. Where we want to be is beyond the surface and exploring (ozureeing? no, definitely not a verb) the areas of our culture and experiences that are most pertinent to what our audience cares about. Since we are trying to approach this publication with an artistic and avante-garde mindset, we figured why not experiment with allowing the issues to have distinct identities and focused content? As always, it will be a learning journey, but we’re over the moon about the possibilities. Keep an eye out on our social media for more info as we go along.

In the meantime, we want your feedback. The Ozuree Club Letter has been kickin’ for over a month now, and we want to know your thoughts as readers so we can continue to evolve in the best possible ways. Please take a few minutes and fill out our quick survey (it’s short and not even that boring). Now, go explore!

HEAD IN THE SKY

CELESTIAL EVENTS: A lot is going on in the March sky from the equinox to Mercury and false dusk. On the topic of science, here are some women who changed the world with their discoveries and contributions.

ASTROLOGY: In slightly less scientific news, if you’re one of the 70 million people who check their horoscope daily, you can do that here. Fun(?) fact, a 2023 survey revealed that more Americans know their zodiac sign than their blood type. So listen, whether you take horoscopes seriously, just for funsies, or don’t care, we strongly recommend that you do know your blood type. That’s all.

OTHER THINGS TODAY

It’s International Women’s Day. You’ll probably see a lot of emails from every shop you’ve ever bought from on how to use code “WOMEN10” for a dollar or two off something you don’t need. Ignore these (unless it’s something you do need). It just seems like whether it’s for the environment, women, black history, or seemingly anything that people care about and bother to celebrate, companies are quick with the draw when it comes to exploiting and profiting from it. When I started researching the leadership, practices, and truth behind many of the brands I shopped that claimed to be pro [insert aforementioned cause, here] I was usually disappointed, but not surprised, to see it was all for show. So, we’ll help you avoid that nonsense and provide a list in the following section of businesses to support that are women-owned/operated and give to causes year-round that support girls and women.

Why do we do this? Where did this come from? WTF is up with that? These are questions we ask a lot around here. It is baked right into the inspiration behind our brand to ask questions and be curious about the world around us and how we exist within, or rather, as a part of its very DNA. That said, the origins of International Women’s Day have had critical moments in various eras and are rooted in women coming together against slavery, poor working conditions, and an overall lack of civil, social, political, and religious rights. So many sacrifices were made to further women’s rights, and while we still have much progress to make, we can always take the time to celebrate those who got us here. Read more about the stories behind International Women’s Day.

As for the work being done, there is no shortage of incredible individuals fighting to make the world a better place for women (and everyone). Learn about some of our youngest but most fierce advocates and leaders, here.

ECONOMY

Globally, the wage gap is not closing, even though research shows that women having more money would give the economy a much-needed boost.

POLITICS

We see you, France.

AOC’s Plan to end Deepfake Porn.

State-by-state Super Tuesday Results.

State of the Union recap.

See where candidates stand on key issues and prep for the polls.

RANDOM

Pamela Anderson is going bare “for the girls”.

Good news for us: Women only have to exercise 140 minutes a week to lower mortality risk by 18 percent. If women exercise 300 minutes a week, they lower their risk by 24 percent. (AKA significant gains while doing about half the exercise men do)

TO READ

In honor of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, here are some of my personal favorite feminist-minded reads with a small note which may or may not be a selling point: -Crosslyn

1. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (broke me at a young age)

2. Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall. (this shifted the way I think about feminism and feminist issues- I have revisited many times)

3. A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf (forever a literary IT GIRL. go read everything she wrote)

4. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (not explicitly feminist, but come on.. the characters? bold, unconventional, and so lovable)

5. Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit (I love a good essay & Becca, seriously, thanks for the term “mansplaining”)

6. The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter (feminist retelling for fairy tale lovers… the dark kind)

7. Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler (I don’t even like sci-fi. that’s how good Octavia Butler is)

8. Metamorphoses by Stephanie McCarter (another feminist retelling! This time of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, clearing up what he obscured via euphemisms)

Or, check out these other lists based on your reading preferences. And whatever you do, don’t miss the Best of Blogs where Madi dives into her Reader Recs at the Book Pub, and Claudia closes out her Manacled reflections. Both are worth the read. Duh, or why would they be in The Ozuree? ;)

TO SHOP

1. SEATTLE CHOCOLATE: What do they do? All the chocolate. Who do they support? Girls Inc.

2. LISA SAYS GAH: What do they do? Independently-designed, anti-fast fashion. Who do they support? The Loveland Foundation, Black Mamas Matter Alliance, Transition Projects, and more

3. BLK + GRN: What do they do? Non-toxic beauty? Who do they support? Black women entrepreneurs

4. PARACHUTE: What do they do? Home goods. Who do they support? Home for Dreams. 

TO WATCH

In the mood for a documentary? Check these out

If you’re feeling more like a movie, here are some of the strongest female lead characters and performances (THATS OUR OPINION!!! but some are objectively true):

1. 9 to 5 (1980)

2. Carmen Jones (1954)

3. The Wizard of Oz (1939)

4. The Princess and the Frog (2009)

5. Erin Brockovich (2000)

6. Tangerine (2015)

7. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)

8. Black Swan (2010)

9. Jennifer’s Body (2009)

10. My Summer of Love (2004)

WORD

LIT QUOTE

SOMETHING TO PONDER

“What goes too long unchanged destroys itself. The forest is forever because it dies and dies and so lives.” — Tales from Earthsea: Dragonfly, by Ursula Le Guin

BITS OF ADVICE FROM WOMEN TO WOMEN

These are never bad things to remind ourselves of.

LYRIC SPOTLIGHT

Melanie Martinez has been iconic since she stepped foot on The Voice stage, probably before that (please watch). But her conceptual artistry and lyricism is criminally underrated. Here is a prime example from her latest album, PORTALS, song, Milk of the Siren:

Tenderness worn on the skin like a dress
Nurture these men, pull them out of their mess
They steal the resources, destroy all the land
Belittle the power of the feminine hand
The milk from the rivers of every moon
Cradle you tight like you're back in the womb
Bury their souls in a cove by the light
Celestial dip, all that ego and pride

ART

MoMA has you covered.

FOR THE MIND

New York Times History Quiz: Can you place these events in chronological order? I am a big fan of this exercise because although I love history, but sometimes an extended timeline doesn’t happen seamlessly in my mind. For example, realizing that Martin Luther King, Anne Frank, And Barbara Walters were born the same year… seems fishy but okay.

Go ahead and get your Wordle in, while you’re here.

Language Learning: It is never too late to learn a new language. One, you’re automatically sexier and cooler if you are multilingual. Two, it is one of the best things you can do for your brain health. Learning a new language can change your brain structure, growing certain areas, including your hippocampus (involved in absorbing new material) and several parts of the cerebral cortex (your gray matter, which is responsible for memory, reasoning, thought and other functions). Check out some of the best language learning apps and see which might be best for you. On the topic, have you ever noticed the double standard for bilingualism? See what Claire Bowern, associate professor of linguistics at Yale, has to say about it.

POV: It's 18th-century Britain, and you're caught in a whirlwind of petticoats, powdered wigs, and polite society. But amidst the frills and formality, there's one woman who's turning heads and raising eyebrows. Join us in our look back at Mary Wollstonecraft, the pioneering figure whose influence predates the formal emergence of the feminist movement. Before the waves of feminism, as we know them, Wollstonecraft was fearlessly advocating for women's rights and leaving an indelible mark on history. Her groundbreaking work, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), challenged societal norms with wit and intellect, which were attributes only men were supposed to have at the time. Wollstonecraft quickly proved that a sharp mind and a fierce spirit were enough to inspire others to begin questioning 18th-century ideals that confined women to their domestic roles and their ability to be alluring to men. While her ideas such as (I’m simplifying, here) “women can still be good wives, but they should have educations and representation same as men” don’t seem radical, now, they were revolutionary at the time. She broke some serious philosophical glass ceiling and is remembered alongside other Enlightenment-age thinkers such as Voltaire and John Locke (We love it when an "ol’ boys club” gets disrupted).

“Virtue can only exist among equals.” -MW

We have some exciting dialogues coming up with guests that we are thrilled to talk to in this feature of the newsletter. But this week, we wanted to turn the dialogue over to you. Is there a woman in your life who inspires you and whom you wish you knew more about? Start with simple questions, they often lead to the best conversations.

Here’s a list of questions to get you started.

Let us know in the survey if there’s an artist, activist, author, business owner, or someone else you want us to have a dialogue with!

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Don’t forget to fill out the survey! We genuinely want to hear from you.

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xx C&C