Shante Joseph

And now our relationships, well, particularly straight relationships, say more about us than they ever did before.

Like, they almost have a political inclination in a way that I don't think straight people's identities have really been politicized in that way.

Whereas before, if you posted your boyfriend online, it felt like a sense of achievement.

But now it kind of feels like you are...

are kind of like reverting to kind of old archaic ways.

And I think it's the way that the sort of like heterosexual romantic relationship has almost been co-opted a little bit by the right.

It feels traditionally very sort of conservative.

I feel like I'm aligning to this idea of the world that doesn't really feel

natural to me, that's what's really got people.

And I think this is also because of the rise in like the tradwife movement and this whole idea of like, you know, I'm just with my man and I'm making, you know, the butter and air from scratch and he's out working and it just represents that very kind of traditional cultural way of living that kind of gives people the ick a bit.

This idea that you now represent an ideology that isn't aligned to you because of your partner is definitely new.

I think they are happening at the same time because I think about the reaction to my piece, whether it's from...

The men who were just really angry that I could ever talk disparagingly about men or the women who were very proud of their relationships, feeling as if this was an attack on them.

I think the way we talk about relationships online has changed so much.

I was talking about the recent, so who the fuck did I marry?

Part 37, who the fuck did I marry?

or the Danish deception.

And I knew this man has the power to destroy me.

And that was exhilarating, but also terrifying at the same time.

These women coming online, making these, you know, 60-part TikTok videos detailing all of the horrible things that have happened to them.