Welcome back to The Girl’s Guide to DC! If you missed last week’s issue, find it here.
I want this newsletter to be about you, the ladies of DC, so send me healthy dinner recipes and bad date stories by replying to this email.
Find me on Instagram and Twitter so you don’t miss anything GGDC.
Hope for Modern Dating
I’m really excited to share my first-ever piece in Newsweek with all of you! I write about the ills of modern dating and the possibility of using technology to make it a teeny bit better. If you’re a Girl’s Guide reader who’s been around for a little while, you may recognize my mention of a new dating service called Cuffed — I featured it earlier this year.
Learn more about Cuffed on Twitter and Instagram!
How Gen Z Can Slow Down Dating for Good
Earlier this year, a Twitter user fired off a viral tweet that asked: "Do married people watch gen z dating and feel like they caught the last chopper out of Nam?"
The answer, it turns out, is yes.
You don't need to look far to see that modern dating is messed up. Why else would a Facebook group called "Are We Dating The Same Guy NYC?" have more than 18,000 members? Why else would singles need an entirely new vocabulary ("ghosting," "breadcrumbing") to describe all the ways they can be mistreated by a partner?
Ask anyone what divides the dating habits of Gen Z and earlier generations and you'll get the same answer—dating apps. Nearly half of Americans aged 18 to 29 have used a dating app at some point. And about one in 10 Americans say they have been in a "committed relationship or married" someone they met through a dating service.
Interview with Emma Waters
Every week, I introduce you to a different woman who knows the ins and outs of DC so you can steal her identity tips! This week, I want you to meet Emma Waters, a Georgia native who now calls Capitol Hill home. Connect with Emma on Instagram and Twitter.
What neighborhood do you live in and why do you love it?
I live by Eastern Market on Capitol Hill in a charming (above ground) English basement with my husband, Jack. We are a five-minute walk away from multiple parks where we often read in the evenings, a charming Anglican Parish, and of course, Radici and Capitol Hill Books. My goal is to drive as little as possible, so I’ve loved being able to walk to work and for many of our social outings. Since many of our friends live nearby, we’ve loved being a part of an organic community where we can drop in to visit one another on a whim or host each other for dinner.
What does your life look like right now?
The last year has been a whirlwind! After moving to DC in May 2021, I began working for American Moment and enjoyed the best introduction the city (and political landscape) that I could have asked for. In January, Jack and I got married and moved into our first home together.
Recently, I began working at The Heritage Foundation as a Research Associate in the DeVos Center for Life, Religion, and Family. I am covering issues related to family policy and femininity which takes the form of surrogacy/ IVF policy, the role of the federal government in supporting families, the implications of chemical abortion, and the like.
What does your social life look like these days?
Although Jack and I didn’t assign strict “roles” that each would play in household efforts, I’ve realized just how much I love cooking fresh, healthy, homemade meals and hosting friends for dinner. As a member of the “laptop class” of laborers in DC, there is something incredibly gratifying in coming home from work in the evening and cooking a meal with fresh vegetables, meat, and ingredients and crafting into a new dish that brings delight to my husband and guests.
What’s one book you think every woman should read?
This is my favorite question. Jack and I like to joke that the only thing we had to our name when we got married was seven shelves of books… and well, it’s almost true. Whether it’s an audiobook or a paperback tucked in your purse, I am a big proponent of always keeping a book on hand for when you have a moment, even three to five minutes, to read. The book I think every woman should read is The Genesis of Gender by Dr. Abigail Favale.
She combines two of my favorite topics: Genesis 1-3 and the question of what it means to be a woman. Her book is beautifully written, drawing from her own experience and expansive research in gender, femininity, and the procreative potential of women. In many ways, women reflect the incarnation of Christ as they give their own body and blood to bring life into the world (my own thesis but it elucidates Abigail’s well).
I think many women who are intuitively drawn to traditional family values struggle to reconcile it with their political interests in Washington, DC. Abigail addresses this dilemma directly with a refreshing and life-giving alternative to the male-normative expectations of our secular culture. It is good to desire marriage and children, and further, that need not contrast with productive, redemptive interests — so long as goals are pursued from and through the home, rather than in spite of it. You can read my recent interview with Abigail here.
Know a DC woman I should interview next? Tell me by replying to this email.
The Haps
Inside the World of DC Matchmaking
I found this exposé on the world of elite DC matchmaking riveting. Type A Washingtonians aren’t known for leaving anything to chance — and this article proves this principle extends to dating. If you’re a DC power player, you may be able to hire a matchmaker to find someone who reminds you of your favorite news anchor, and if you’re REALLY a DC power player, you can hire a matchmaker to get you a date WITH your anchor crush. These matchmakers seems to operate very behind-the-scenes — so if you’ve had an experience with (or as!) as matchmaker, shoot me an email at girlygirlsguidetodc@gmail.com.
Doughnut Forget This On July 4
There’s nothing in this world that’s more delicious than a hot Krispy Kreme doughnut — except a free one. Krispy Kreme has just unveiled its Fourth of July doughnuts and is offering a free doughnut of your choice to anyone who shows up in red, white, and blue. Learn more by clicking here. See you there!
Bulletin Board
Congrats to DEMRI SCOTT and EUGENE GREGGO on their engagement this past weekend! Read my 2021 Girl’s Guide interview with Demri here.
Congrats to KATRINA and BART HUTCHINS, who welcomed their son DANIEL BART HUTCHINS III on June 27. See Katrina’s post here.
Congrats to CARMEL and RUSSELL RICHARDSON, who welcomed their daughter OLIVIA JOYCE RICHARDSON on July 29. Congratulate Carmel on Twitter.
HOUSING AVAILABLE: Harvest Prude, Erin Kondak, and Erin’s Bernadoodle Bean (the world’s sweetest puppy) are looking for one or two girls to join their townhouse in Alexandria in September. Super safe and quiet neighborhood. Rent is competitive. Email kondakerin@gmail.com for more info. (Fun fact: I interviewed Harvest in the first issue of Girl’s Guide — read it here!).
Ask Evie
Have a question you want me to answer in the newsletter? Click this link to send your question anonymously! You can read my most recent Ask Evie column on friendship by clicking here.