The Body as Dashboard: When Optimization Culture Entered Intimacy (opens in new tab)

There was a time when folks went to the doctor because something hurt. Now women sit in bed at 11:43 PM refreshing microbiome dashboards to see whether their Lactobacillus percentages changed after brunch, menstruation, stress, oral sex, kombucha, antibiotics, a magnesium supplement, or what increasingly appears to be the emotional weather system of late capitalism itself. Civilization has entered an interesting phase. Lately I’ve noticed something subtle but increasingly unmistakable: the co...