2024 S&tS Year in Review

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When I think about the best parts of 2024, especially if we’re talking about this newsletter, what comes to mind first is my decision to focus on gender. Thanks, Parker, for strongly encouraging me to pick a fuckin lane.

I knew I wanted to include a list of posts in my review. Something along the lines of “If you’re going to go back and read one or two (or 13) posts you missed, these are the ones to start with.” With ~15 years of marketing experience, my first thought was to rank my most popular or profitable posts. But, a machine could do that. Plus, if popular and profitable always equaled best, I’d be writing this from… well I’m not sure exactly but if it were here you can bet your sweet buppy I’d have replaced my countertops already.

So instead I read every one of the 190 posts headlines I’ve published in the past 12 months and chose the ones I most want my babies to have read. These are either my favorites or the ones I think are most useful for understanding me, where I’m coming from, and where I’m trying to go with all this.

I listed them in reverse chronological order because that’s how I read them:

1. https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/bottom-half-marriage-is-a-completely

2. https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/abolishing-gender-is-not-transphobic

3. https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/how-the-gender-pay-gap-gave-me-empathy

4. https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/the-new-york-times-is-lowkey-anti

5. https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/why-real-men-look-like-trash

6. https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/most-women-dont-realize-how-much

7. https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/demand-for-male-breadwinners-exceeds

8. https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/the-asshole-theory-of-fertility

9. https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/marriage-lets-society-wash-our-hands

10. https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/most-women-dont-realize-how-much

11. https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/watch-men-lose-status-to-women-in

12. https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/is-marriage-good

13. https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/protestant-work-ethic-is-out-vibe

There’s also this post (https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/belief-in-female-idiocy-explains) and the cluster of posts around it which I think are useful and reasonably compelling:

https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/how-dumb-women-contribute-to-rural

https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/more-evidence-linking-evangelical

https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/how-evangelical-christianity-facilitates

https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/i-didnt-misunderstand

https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/the-power-of-i-dont-know

https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/my-cognitive-dissonance-got-louder

That post inspired my friend from my libertarian days Aaron Ross Powell to have me on his podcast, which was really nice. If you don’t want to read it, that interview is a great substitute. It’s also a good companion if you have read it or do want to.

I’m also very grateful to Dr. Miller for having me on his show and recommending Sex and the State to his readers on Substack. It’s driven hundreds of new subscribers.

I think it’s very telling that literally one of my 13 favorite posts from 2024 isn’t about gender.