Once Upon a Feminist review

Sarey Ruden turned hostile messages from dating apps into art. In this 2021 podcast, she brings researchers, journalists and other guests into the conversation. The chapter I’d start with takes messages from her own inbox and asks what a researcher can learn from them.

What one inbox can tell you

In Chapter Two, “Dating App Data,” Kristen Mark and her team examine messages men sent to Ruden. It gives the interview a specific set of messages to work with. I’d keep that in mind before drawing conclusions about everybody who uses a dating app.

Chapter Six brings in journalist Celeste Headlee to talk about communication over text, social media and dating apps. For a conversation about agreements between people who are already together, I’d go to Multiamory. Ruden’s series spends more time on what happens before you know the other person well.

Sarey Ruden smiling in a denim jacket
Editorial photo of Once Upon a Feminist host Sarey Ruden. Courtesy of the Sareytales press kit.

Finding the chapter you want

The player on the archive page is for the trailer. The numbered links below it open pages with each interview’s own player and notes. Start with Chapter Two for Mark’s research. Chapter Six has a reading list if you want to follow up on Headlee’s ideas.

Anabel’s take

I’d put Chapter Six on after rewriting the same text three times. Chapter Two is the one I’d send to someone who’s curious what a researcher can learn from a folder full of messages.

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