WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - The Social Skinny: Introductory Episode

Episode Date: January 30, 2024

After a soul crushing loss from the Lions on the brink of the Super Bowl, Kam and SK discuss trending Gypsy Rose Blanchard and the possibility of her breaking parole, as well as debate the pros and cons of the mob wife aesthetic. Is Gypsy the internet's newest influencer? Should people ditch their slicked back hair for the leather-clad mod wife style? Tune in to The Social Skinny to hear the 4-1-1. 

Hey guys, welcome to The Social Skinny. This is a brand new podcast where we discuss social media trends, pop culture, and current events. If you recognize our voices, I'm SK. I'm an economics major here at Hillsdale College with a minor in journalism. I'm currently a second semester junior. And I'm from Dallas, Texas. And I'm Cam. I am also a second semester junior. I'm from Grand Rapids, Michigan. And I'm an American Studies. I'm from major and a journalism minor. Last semester, we had a podcast called Keep It Brief. And while we had so much fun teaching you all about the Supreme Court, we've decided to change course a little bit and focus on something that we think is a little more fun. So we decided to start this podcast instead. And I would just like to say, you're lucky that we're even here recording this today because I just faced the most detrimental of losses with the poor Detroit lines. And I would just like to say, tonight, my home state team. It was heartbreaking, soul-crushing, all the things.

But nonetheless, we're here to talk to you about all things social. So Camden and I just finished watching the act on Hulu. And for those of you who don't know, the act is, I guess, sort of like a dramatic rendition of the story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard. Yeah. And I had seen it before, but Camden hadn't. And so I remembered really liking it. I mean, that sounds sort of sadistic, but it's like interesting.

Yeah, it's interesting. Because Gypsy Rose was just recently released from prison, and she is taking over the internet by storm, particularly TikTok and Instagram. She's releasing her prison tape confessions, which is like a new sort of expose documentary. She filmed while she was in prison. And a lot of people are just super in her corner. Love that she's free. Love that she's got this new husband. Right. I forgot about the husband.

Exactly. That's a plot twist. I guess just a quick recap, if you happen to not know who Gypsy Rose is and haven't seen the act, she basically was a woman who was convicted of, I mean, second degree murder of killing her mother. She was a victim of been chalzin by proxy, so her mom was basically really abusive. And how would you, like faked a lot of illnesses for her daughter. Forcing medical treatments on her. Surgerys that weren't necessary. She like was, and so much so that I don't even really know.

I guess Gypsy also, yeah, she thought she was sick. She thought she had cancer and like all these other things. Not, yeah, not only the physical abuse of the medical procedures, but also like mental abuse in the sense where like you said, Gypsy thought she was sick. Yeah, she like wasn't like she could walk, but she wasn't allowed to walk. She had to be in this wheelchair all the time. Right. But long story short, she meets this guy on the internet, starts an internet relationship. His name's Nick Go to John. I think that's how you say it. And she, after I think a couple years they were probably talking on the internet. They finally meet in person. once at a movie theater. The second time they met in person was when she had Nick come to her house and stop her mother like 30 times to kill her and they ran away. But then obviously they were both found. Nick's now in prison. He's got like life without parole plus 25 years, I think. And Gypsy got out early for good behavior.

Was it eight years? Was that how long she was in? She was supposed to be in 10. But yeah, I guess she was only in, I think like eight. Yeah. It happened in 2015, something like that. Yeah. The math checks out. Yeah. So what did you think of the act? I was floored to say the absolute least. As you were saying earlier, she took the internet by storm. So in that sense, I knew a little bit about Gypsy. I'd seen the TikToks, the Instagram reels, you know, her new Instagram page, all the comments, clapping back at the haters. And yeah, so the act was really interesting. I think it definitely, and obviously it's, you know, scripted and dramatized, but it showed a different side of Gypsy.

she's turning into a social media star at least as we're seeing her today in 2024 and I think the gypsy of that era of her life was very different and I obviously feel a lot of sympathy for her situation I feel horrible that all that happened to her it's just really horrid like I truly can't think of another word for it but she's you know it's it's a different vibe there she's doing crazy things to try to you know be free from her mom which obviously killing her. Now she's married to a new husband and I guess starting a family. So it's interesting to see the different versions of her from like then and now. Yeah, totally. I feel like that's something that I don't know, maybe our generation is like experiencing more because I feel like there's

almost like a trend of these like dramatic renditions of different, you know, true crime stories. Because like had it not been for the act and some of the other documentaries that come out, I think a lot of people wouldn't know about Gypsy. And then because they've made these like, you know, whatever TV shows, movies, documentaries about them, it almost, I think disarms the viewer about the nature of the crime. And then because we have these social media platforms that then they can come on, they feel much more familiar than maybe a convicted criminal would otherwise. 100%. And so they're kind of given almost like a celebrity status, which is weird. Mm-hmm. And the whole conversation on celebrity status with Gypsy and Nick, honestly, I didn't realize I would feel so conflicted about it until after we finished watching the act literally last night.

Right. Because when I saw her on TikTok or on Instagram, you know, it seemed kind of silly. And I mean, of course she did heinous things. But that's easy to forget when you see her sitting there and people are, you know, making fun of her husband. She's clapping back at the haters. Or they're talking about like the stuff she went through. Right. And, you know, she's very soft spoken and sweet looking. So it's, you don't quite understand that. But then watching the show, it was like, wow. I'm not, I'm not sure if this platform that you're being put on is really appropriate. Personally, I feel really unsettled about the entire thing.

I think her and Nick, even though both of them were in horrible circumstances committed really heinous crimes. And so in a lot of ways, I don't know. I get a little uncomfortable with all the celebrity and the influencing. Well, especially because, I don't know, from what I've seen, I've seen a couple interviews, Nick doesn't have any of it. Nick's still in jail. Nick until he does. Free Nick.

I'm so free Nick. Like, I'm not saying that I think Gypsy should be locked up necessarily, but at least, I mean, granted, I know it was a dramatized portrayal of it. but the act leaves you sort of feeling like hey actually maybe like in a way nick was a victim of gypsy and gypsy was a victim of dd and unfortunately dd is dead and cannot be held accountable for her actions so we're sort of sort of in a tough spot here folks yeah i don't know then i sit here and think maybe they both should be locked up because if this wasn't so widely known and if you know, they didn't turn all of their struggles into a TV show. And if Jipsy wasn't doing

interviews, things like that, if they were quote unquote more normal people, obviously Nick, like you said, is still in prison, but Gypsy wouldn't be like given this treatment. You know, she would be still in prison doing time for like what she had Nick do. And so, I don't know, I hate sometimes the special privileges for people and thinking that they're above things. And personally, sometimes when I watch some interviews, I think she's a little disingenuous. Yeah. It seems like she refuses to take accountability for what she did. And to me, that just feels a little fishy and a little eerie.

And not, in my opinion, none of people are talking about that. Absolutely. Yeah. Just a reminder, you're listening to The Social Skinny here on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. I completely agree with you, Cam. In some ways, yes, Nick was the one who actually. killed Gypsy but also... Didi, you mean?

Oh, yeah. Dedy. But if you've heard any interviews with them, even in the show, he definitely, I'm not sure if they explicitly diagnose him or say what it is that he struggles with. But he clearly has a sort of cognitive disability. And when you talk, he's kind of, he speaks sort of like in a childlike manner. And I don't know, just the fact that he was super in love with her, he still says he's in love with her.

She's like, yeah, I didn't, it just feels like she kind of used them and he was not necessarily an equal mental match for her and that feels wrong that then he gets his life taken away and has to be in prison while she gets to be a celebrity and I'm sure through whatever documentary she's releasing I think she's releasing a book she's on podcast people are going to do brand sponsorships with her because she's basically a social media influencer now she's going to be rich and famous and free and his life is taken from him yeah and I think I maybe would understand that take more if I had listened to some like real interviews with him. I haven't heard the real Nick speak or anything like that. I've only seen

the version from the act. So maybe my opinion would change if I listened to what he had to say because there are interviews with the real Nick, right? Yeah. He talks a lot about like personal accountability or something. It seems like he's really, really trying to, like he accepts all of those things. But then I feel really bad because then he still is like, oh, I love gypsy. I, you know, I'm always going to love gypsy. And that makes me like sad because it kind of just feels like she left him high and dry after he like literally sacrificed his life for her. Well, and she, there's still a chance she's going to end up back in prison. I don't know if you've seen any of this discourse on TikTok. Oh, isn't she like violating her parole? Yes. So I don't know if she's exactly violated it yet.

I'd have to double back on that. But I've seen a lot of people who are familiar. with different like parole laws and rules say that the way that she's speaking and the things that she's doing are are possibly giving way to different parole violations and I think I saw a clip of her even they she wasn't supposed to leave the state of Missouri and she did and that was possibly going to be a parole issue so I definitely think gypsy's letting the fame get to her head a bit and she could potentially end up right back in prison for, I guess, serving the rest of her sentence. So another, what, two years? Yeah. Honestly, tough. If you're going to keep naked there for the rest of his life, she can do two years. Tick for tat. Like, yeah. I don't, I don't know. You're breaking rules.

Seriously. I'm just strict like that, though. I would want them in prison. I know you would. I'm a little bit more of like the, hey, tough situation, man. That sounds like a crazy mom to have. I don't know your life. On the lighter side of TikTok, I know everybody has. been talking about the mob wife aesthetic versus clean girl aesthetic. I don't even feel like clean girl aesthetic was like necessarily last year. I feel like it's just been a thing for like a couple years now. You know, maybe. Because no, even like the vanilla girl thing, like that was like two years ago. Maybe even during COVID. Yeah, it's giving either during COVID or right post COVID when everyone the slicked back bun, the natural makeup. Yeah, all the matching sweat set. Yes. I guess. I guess,

a quick explanation for those of you who maybe aren't as much on TikTok or aren't on that side of TikTok. Clean Girl aesthetic has sort of been trending for a couple years now. That's sort of like a minimalistic, natural, effortless style of dress, fashion, lifestyle. I don't know. It's giving, you're wearing more of like, um, at leisure sets and matching sweatsuits and monochromatic. Yes, minimal jewelry, minimal makeup, natural makeup, sort of, yeah, natural looking nails, I would say. Your hair is slicked back, like either a bun or like a pony tux. tail very effortless sort of staple pieces kind of like a what's the word capsule wardrobe almost yes yes versus now what people are saying is the trending aesthetic for this year is mob wife so that's giving

much more dressy darker tones full makeup eyeliner a dark lip you know fur leather heels all of the things. Extra glam. Like, you're showing up. I guess I'm confused. Clean girl's very, like, utilitarian. You can wear that every day. Like, you know what I mean? Is the expectation that that's how you're supposed to dress like on a day to day? Like, I're doing mob wife? Yeah. I think there's probably like levels of it. Right. Like you're not going to be wearing a fur to the grocery store. Yeah. So true. But like all black and I like. I like, you could do, you could kind of have like a full like blown out hair look yeah and then with like some

not like a nighttime eye look but you know like you could have black eyeliner on and be wearing like an all black outfit and that would be fine to go about your life in I feel like it's more of a mindset I mean yeah I get that but even like okay all black there's still like an elegance and a femininity to mom way that's the difference because it's not like you're wearing like baggy oversized black thrifted jeans and like a band tee you know right right I'm just confused. Okay, how would you like, how do you wear that to class?

Maybe this is too much of a stretch. But I feel like a big difference is just like the hair. You know what I mean? Yeah. Like the mob wife, it's like the huge. Volumptuous. Yeah. Like, I don't want to say Jersey style hair, but like big.

Mom wife Italian. Yeah, like blown out. You had the curler, like roller things in beforehand. It's just, yeah, there's a lot to. So like, I feel like that would, like you could maybe be wearing the same black outfit. but I feel like the hair would change it between mob wife and emo. Yeah, no, totally.

And yeah, I would say like a bolder nail too. Like a red or a burgundy. Yeah, yeah. I guess, do you have a preference? Yeah, I mean, it's difficult because my thing with like clean girl is I think that's much more versatile for different like people's kinds of fashion. Like you can be sort of like more of an athletic girl and it works for you. You can be like very feminine.

girl like you know you have a cute matching pink set and some cute um sneakers things like that like like i feel like it works more for different types i don't feel like mob wife would be quite as versatile in terms of other people's styles like i i'd love that for like a night out or like if i'm dressing up for classroom day or something on a day to day though i don't think i'll ever not be clean your aesthetic i love my matching sweatsuits or i mean if it's a good day if i like do my hair i always have my lash extensions okay simple girl it just i don't know I don't know. It's like, I don't know, it feels like more low maintenance. Low maintenance, lazy, whatever you want to call it. It can be both. Yeah. And that's great. Good for you. I feel like, honestly, I feel like I'm neither. Yeah, that's fair. I'm just, I'm in the J crew and I just don't think that fits in either of them. To be so frank. You've been listening to the social skinny here on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM.

I completely get that. I mean, I'd say if I'm feeling like being comfy and casual, you know, dressing for class, I like the clean girl aesthetic very much. Mob wife, I think it's cute. I think there's very rare instances that I'd actually dress that way. I think it's fun that it's more accepted now. Not that everyone should have to listen to society to decide what they want to wear, what they want to dress like. You don't have to focus on those social cues. But I do, like you said, it's like fun for a night out or going to dinner, things like that to have a little more of like. like a dark, sultry, like elevated style. And yeah, like, if you're going to a fun restaurant, I don't think you need to have, like, no makeup on your face with like a lip balm and a sweat too. It's like that it has its time and its place. And if people were thinking that girls who were maybe in the past focusing on more of like

the mob wife aesthetic weren't as trendy because they weren't being clean girl, it's like, let's move beyond that. I think that's what everyone's doing now, which is good. It's definitely more mature. I know I've seen a lot of funny TikToks of women who are like Italian or Italian-American sort of be impressed about it, which is totally fine, whatever you feel.

And I think that's interesting because I think our generation does do that a lot and it's because of social media, all these micro-trens, how quickly things happen. But even before, more in like the 2010s, when it was more of like YouTube and Instagram or the thing, like I feel like during those times, remember when like the beach was trending like everyone wanted like purevita bracelets and all those like infinity

tattoos and like if you took pictures on the beach and and coral and turquoise like those were the colors of the year even though it's like what like it's the beach and then recently i felt like like cowgirl aesthetic was trending like i don't know everyone was like obsessed with almost like cowboy boots cowboy hat like even country music i feel like people started getting more into like Texas like as like a like a like a vibe or like an aesthetic even like West Texas like The South is beyond Texas. What?

I said the South is beyond Texas. Yeah but I guess what I'm thinking of like that style is more of like a Western style. It's not Southern. Like you're not going to go to Georgia. Mm hmm. Yeah. Don't mansplain south of me. But like the the hat, the boots, the more of like the, it's giving more like

desert, western Texas, Arizona, that sort of thing. You know, it's not giving like Southern Bell like doing the most. Although like even stuff like that from like Love Shack Fancy and things like that were sort of like a vibe. I don't know. I felt like it was, I think it's interesting that our like generation once we almost like hop around location location. We're like, okay, beach, okay, sleigh, okay, country sleigh. Okay, now we're going to be New York, New Jersey. Mob wife aesthetic.

And I basically a bunch of these Italian women were like, stop. Like just stop. Cut it out. Yeah. Like get, be original. Which is fair. But it's kind of fun. we'll see if there's ever the Michigan aesthetic.

So true. I mean, it works with like the lake life, you know, Lake Beach, it's kind of like that. Yeah. Their complaints with it are similar to like what people have been saying about like coastal grandmother and then like eclectic grandfather or grandpa. I don't know what people are saying. Yeah, same thing. And it's like both of those styles are much more curated.

They have more character, I guess, you know? Mm-hmm. And people are also in one of that because they're like the whole point of like the coastal grandmother or eclectic grandpa style is that it is more like knick-nackey curated but they're like you can't like copy someone's curation like that's like a lifetime of like having actual preferences and taste and you're like I'm going to go buy that whole outfit with all these random different experiences attached to your outfit and so it just like paradox I guess yeah no that makes sense and I also think it's just kind of and you've been touching on this but it's just so funny to me that all of these

different looks, if you will, require these like arbitrary names. It's like, oh, I'm wearing my coastal granddaughter outfit. Oh, no, I'm not doing coastal granddaughter. I'm going to do coastal cowboy. Like, what? Literally what? It's such a unique part of Gen Z, if you want to say that. And it's, I don't know, it's kind of silly, but it's also kind of fun. Like, I love scrolling through TikToks and when people have like the lookbooks and they'll be like, oh, a coastal, coastal cowboy lookbook and you get to like scroll through and see all the outfits they put together. It's always fun. But it's definitely silly that there needs to be a name for it. Totally. Yeah, that's one of the great things about it is like the diffusion of those ideas and trends happen like a lot faster.

And so it feels like we're turning around. We're able to be in contact with people all around the world who are showing us how they like to dress and what they're into. Ends up with lots of consumerism as well. Yeah, that's true. Consumerism, fast fashion. Maybe Sephora Kids maybe for another episode. Oh my goodness not the Sephora kids. I know. I know. I was going to say because you're like Gen Z. I was like now it's IGen like it's not even just us anymore. Oh I know. I literally saw a video on TikTok and it was these two girls. They probably were eight and they're like we're Gen Alpha influencers. We love to go to Sephora. I'm like what? What? Keep them away from the retinal. Like literally keep them away. Yeah, literally eight years old slapping some retinal under those eye back. Get their grubby little mitts away from the drunk Elf Like I... Seriously. I just am flabbergasted. Literally.

Go run around justice for a while. Put on a lip smacker. Yeah. Or a big lips. If you're lucky. If you're lucky. Well, thank you so much for listening to our very first episode of the social skinny. It's been super fun to talk about all these different social trends and pop culture moments in today's episode.

We hope you enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed talking about it. So tune in next week to the social trends. Social Skinny here on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. Bye. See ya.