Stephanie Fairyington
@fairyington.bsky.social
I’m a writer in NYC. My book, Ugly: A Letter to My Daughter, just came out via Pantheon. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/763595/ugly-by-stephanie-fairyington/
Reposted by Stephanie Fairyington
This is what my book Ugly: A Letter to My Daughter is *really* about — and my greatest hope is that it empowers women and girls to live and think against, and beyond, destructive forms of behavioral and aesthetic conditioning.
September 9, 2026 at 6:01 PM
This is what my book Ugly: A Letter to My Daughter is *really* about — and my greatest hope is that it empowers women and girls to live and think against, and beyond, destructive forms of behavioral and aesthetic conditioning.
This is what my book Ugly: A Letter to My Daughter is *really* about — and my greatest hope is that it empowers women and girls to live and think against, and beyond, destructive forms of behavioral and aesthetic conditioning.
September 9, 2026 at 6:01 PM
This is what my book Ugly: A Letter to My Daughter is *really* about — and my greatest hope is that it empowers women and girls to live and think against, and beyond, destructive forms of behavioral and aesthetic conditioning.
Reposted by Stephanie Fairyington
Gloria Steinem died with fewer rights than she had during her lifetime. That fact needs to be front and centre of every media report, every dedication, every discussion of her death.
September 3, 2026 at 3:39 PM
Gloria Steinem died with fewer rights than she had during her lifetime. That fact needs to be front and centre of every media report, every dedication, every discussion of her death.
Reposted by Stephanie Fairyington
“Remember, the Constitution doesn’t begin with, ‘I, the president.’ It begins with, ‘We, the people.’ ”
—Gloria Steinem at the 2017 Women’s March
—Gloria Steinem at the 2017 Women’s March
September 3, 2026 at 11:44 PM
“Remember, the Constitution doesn’t begin with, ‘I, the president.’ It begins with, ‘We, the people.’ ”
—Gloria Steinem at the 2017 Women’s March
—Gloria Steinem at the 2017 Women’s March
So excited to share this essay for @guardian_us on the likability imperative and its relationship with aesthetic demands on women and girls. Thank you to Estelle Tang for helping me make this piece a stronger one with her sharp -- and deeply sensitive — edits.
www.theguardian.com/wellness/202...
www.theguardian.com/wellness/202...
I’m 50 years old. Why do I still struggle with the need to be liked?
An over-investment in people-pleasing can be emotionally costly. Here’s how I’m training myself to be OK with letting people down
www.theguardian.com
August 24, 2026 at 2:25 PM
So excited to share this essay for @guardian_us on the likability imperative and its relationship with aesthetic demands on women and girls. Thank you to Estelle Tang for helping me make this piece a stronger one with her sharp -- and deeply sensitive — edits.
www.theguardian.com/wellness/202...
www.theguardian.com/wellness/202...
Thank you Tim Pfaff and @bayareareporter for this lovely review of Ugly!
www.ebar.com/story/169556...
www.ebar.com/story/169556...
Stephanie Fairyington’s book, ‘Ugly’ – The lesbian journalist’s look at appearance-based discrimination
“Lookism,” a newish name for a time-dishonored discrimination based on people’s physical appearance, is examined in depth by Stephanie Fairyington in “Ugly: A Letter to My Daughter."
www.ebar.com
August 24, 2026 at 2:20 PM
Thank you Tim Pfaff and @bayareareporter for this lovely review of Ugly!
www.ebar.com/story/169556...
www.ebar.com/story/169556...
Thank u so much @bostonglobe for the chance to write this piece — so meaningul to me— for the Ideas section of the Boston Globe. It’s not just about ugliness as resistance; it’s about expanding what we perceive as beautiful to nullify the very idea of ugliness.
www.bostonglobe.com/2026/08/22/o...
www.bostonglobe.com/2026/08/22/o...
There’s more to life than being pretty - The Boston Globe
I’m trying to teach my daughter a different way of seeing beauty.
www.bostonglobe.com
August 23, 2026 at 12:51 PM
Thank u so much @bostonglobe for the chance to write this piece — so meaningul to me— for the Ideas section of the Boston Globe. It’s not just about ugliness as resistance; it’s about expanding what we perceive as beautiful to nullify the very idea of ugliness.
www.bostonglobe.com/2026/08/22/o...
www.bostonglobe.com/2026/08/22/o...
Reposted by Stephanie Fairyington
I’m 50 years old. Why do I still struggle with the need to be liked?
An over-investment in people-pleasing can be emotionally costly. Here’s how I’m training myself to be OK with letting people downA few months ago, my 10-year-old daughter and I went to our neighborhood cafe. At the counter,...
An over-investment in people-pleasing can be emotionally costly. Here’s how I’m training myself to be OK with letting people downA few months ago, my 10-year-old daughter and I went to our neighborhood cafe. At the counter,...
I’m 50 years old. Why do I still struggle with the need to be liked?
An over-investment in people-pleasing can be emotionally costly. Here’s how I’m training myself to be OK with letting people down
www.theguardian.com
August 18, 2026 at 4:13 PM
I’m 50 years old. Why do I still struggle with the need to be liked?
An over-investment in people-pleasing can be emotionally costly. Here’s how I’m training myself to be OK with letting people downA few months ago, my 10-year-old daughter and I went to our neighborhood cafe. At the counter,...
An over-investment in people-pleasing can be emotionally costly. Here’s how I’m training myself to be OK with letting people downA few months ago, my 10-year-old daughter and I went to our neighborhood cafe. At the counter,...
Reposted by Stephanie Fairyington
An over-investment in people-pleasing can be emotionally costly. Here’s how I’m training myself to be OK with letting people down
I’m 50 years old. Why do I still struggle with the need to be liked?
www.theguardian.com
August 19, 2026 at 3:40 AM
An over-investment in people-pleasing can be emotionally costly. Here’s how I’m training myself to be OK with letting people down
Reposted by Stephanie Fairyington
I’m 50 years old. Why do I still struggle with the need to be liked?
I’m 50 years old. Why do I still struggle with the need to be liked?
An over-investment in people-pleasing can be emotionally costly. Here’s how I’m training myself to be OK with letting people down
www.theguardian.com
August 18, 2026 at 5:39 PM
I’m 50 years old. Why do I still struggle with the need to be liked?
Reposted by Stephanie Fairyington
Stephanie Fairyington is a journalist who writes on gender, sexuality, family and parenting. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her perception that she didn’t live up to modern standards of pretty.
Ugly is a four letter word - Think
Stephanie Fairyington is a journalist who writes on gender, sexuality, family and parenting. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her perception that she didn’t live up to modern standards of pretty.
bit.ly
August 3, 2026 at 10:30 PM
Stephanie Fairyington is a journalist who writes on gender, sexuality, family and parenting. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her perception that she didn’t live up to modern standards of pretty.
Reposted by Stephanie Fairyington
Reposted by Stephanie Fairyington
Discrimination against the unattractive is widespread—and widely tolerated. www.newyorker.com/culture/open...
Should We Do More to Fight Looks-Based Discrimination?
Discrimination against the unattractive is widespread—and widely tolerated.
www.newyorker.com
July 24, 2026 at 2:31 PM
Discrimination against the unattractive is widespread—and widely tolerated. www.newyorker.com/culture/open...
Reposted by Stephanie Fairyington
Reposted by Stephanie Fairyington
It's silly to read every single action a shitty person makes as being proof of their shitty evilness. Shitty people also do normal things for normal reasons. That doesn't make them less shitty or evil! But reading them as having such coherent motivation gives them more credit than they deserve tbh!
July 14, 2026 at 3:09 PM
It's silly to read every single action a shitty person makes as being proof of their shitty evilness. Shitty people also do normal things for normal reasons. That doesn't make them less shitty or evil! But reading them as having such coherent motivation gives them more credit than they deserve tbh!
Reposted by Stephanie Fairyington
A new book asks what we might gain if we accepted the way we look. Ilana Masad on Stephanie Fairyington’s “Ugly: A Letter to My Daughter,” and the upsides of defying beauty standards:
The Freedom to Be Ugly
A new book asks what we might gain if we accepted the way we look.
bit.ly
July 1, 2026 at 6:45 AM
A new book asks what we might gain if we accepted the way we look. Ilana Masad on Stephanie Fairyington’s “Ugly: A Letter to My Daughter,” and the upsides of defying beauty standards:
Reposted by Stephanie Fairyington
A new book asks what we might gain if we accepted the way we look. Ilana Masad on Stephanie Fairyington’s “Ugly: A Letter to My Daughter,” and the upsides of defying beauty standards:
The Freedom to Be Ugly
A new book asks what we might gain if we accepted the way we look.
bit.ly
July 1, 2026 at 12:15 AM
A new book asks what we might gain if we accepted the way we look. Ilana Masad on Stephanie Fairyington’s “Ugly: A Letter to My Daughter,” and the upsides of defying beauty standards:
Reposted by Stephanie Fairyington
A new book asks what we might gain if we accepted the way we look. Ilana Masad on Stephanie Fairyington’s “Ugly: A Letter to My Daughter,” and the upsides of defying beauty standards:
The Freedom to Be Ugly
A new book asks what we might gain if we accepted the way we look.
bit.ly
June 30, 2026 at 2:15 PM
A new book asks what we might gain if we accepted the way we look. Ilana Masad on Stephanie Fairyington’s “Ugly: A Letter to My Daughter,” and the upsides of defying beauty standards:
Reposted by Stephanie Fairyington
Terrified and excited to have this piece out in the world--for @theatlantic.com, I wrote about Stephanie @fairyington.bsky.social's memoir, UGLY: A LETTER TO MY DAUGHTER, and about the freedom of opting out of trying to look good:
www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/0...
www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/0...
The Incredible Freedom of Not Trying to Look Good
A new book explores the benefits of accepting ugliness instead of trying to change it.
www.theatlantic.com
June 30, 2026 at 1:44 PM
Terrified and excited to have this piece out in the world--for @theatlantic.com, I wrote about Stephanie @fairyington.bsky.social's memoir, UGLY: A LETTER TO MY DAUGHTER, and about the freedom of opting out of trying to look good:
www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/0...
www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/0...
Reposted by Stephanie Fairyington
This, plus anger = engagement = metrics that look good to the powers that be. We see more and more rage bait as the traditional economic drivers of journalism disappear.
NYT opinion editors publish these types of things *because* progs will tweet angrily about it, which they interpret as, "this writer gets the right people angry, this writer is provocative, this writer gets talked about." Angry tweets only confirm/reward their initial instinct to publish this stuff.
The easiest way to end up in the NYT Opinion section is to be someone they perceive as “progressive” arguing that progressives actually have to capitulate to the right on x issue
June 9, 2026 at 6:05 PM
This, plus anger = engagement = metrics that look good to the powers that be. We see more and more rage bait as the traditional economic drivers of journalism disappear.
Reposted by Stephanie Fairyington
Judge temporarily blocks Trump's $1.8 billion 'weaponization' fund
Judge temporarily blocks Trump's $1.8 billion 'weaponization' fund
A U.S. judge on Friday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's administration from setting up a nearly $1.8 billion fund to compensate victims of what Trump has called government "weaponization."
cnb.cx
May 29, 2026 at 11:26 PM
Judge temporarily blocks Trump's $1.8 billion 'weaponization' fund
Reposted by Stephanie Fairyington
Thissss. I think you'll really love Ugly: A Letter to My Daughter by Stephanie Fairyington when it comes out in May <3. It's about a lot of this.
March 26, 2026 at 1:35 PM
Thissss. I think you'll really love Ugly: A Letter to My Daughter by Stephanie Fairyington when it comes out in May <3. It's about a lot of this.
Reposted by Stephanie Fairyington
Feed: "Literary Hub"
By: Stephanie Fairyington on Thursday, May 7, 2026
By: Stephanie Fairyington on Thursday, May 7, 2026
What Our Ideas About Ugliness Reveal About Our Anxieties Surrounding Gender
I was assessing my face against my mother’s from my earliest memories, or rather the world around me was, and it was consistently communicating—in a quizzical glance or a compliment withheld or a h…
lithub.com
May 7, 2026 at 4:34 PM
Feed: "Literary Hub"
By: Stephanie Fairyington on Thursday, May 7, 2026
By: Stephanie Fairyington on Thursday, May 7, 2026
Reposted by Stephanie Fairyington
"In that airy void, there are no borders, no allegiances, no preconceived notions, no judgements."
Our next Letter in the Mail comes from Stephanie Fairyington, author of Ugly (@pantheonbooks.bsky.social).
Subscribe to Letters in the Mail today: buff.ly/HJumddz
Our next Letter in the Mail comes from Stephanie Fairyington, author of Ugly (@pantheonbooks.bsky.social).
Subscribe to Letters in the Mail today: buff.ly/HJumddz
May 4, 2026 at 9:02 PM
"In that airy void, there are no borders, no allegiances, no preconceived notions, no judgements."
Our next Letter in the Mail comes from Stephanie Fairyington, author of Ugly (@pantheonbooks.bsky.social).
Subscribe to Letters in the Mail today: buff.ly/HJumddz
Our next Letter in the Mail comes from Stephanie Fairyington, author of Ugly (@pantheonbooks.bsky.social).
Subscribe to Letters in the Mail today: buff.ly/HJumddz