Everybody (Else) Is Perfect

How I Survived Hypocrisy, Beauty, Clicks, and Likes

By: Gabrielle Korn

Narrated by: Gabra Zackman

From the former editor-in-chief of Nylon comes a provocative and intimate collection of personal and cultural essays featuring eye-opening explorations of hot button topics for modern women, including internet feminism, impossible beauty standards in social media, shifting ideals about sexuality, and much more.

Gabrielle Korn starts her professional life with all the right credentials. Prestigious college degree? Check. A loving, accepting family? Check. Instagram-worthy offices and a tight-knit group of friends? Check, check. Gabrielle’s life seems to reach the crescendo of perfect when she gets named the youngest editor-in-chief in the history of one of fashion’s most influential publication. Suddenly she’s invited to the world’s most epic parties, comped beautiful clothes and shoes from trendy designers, and asked to weigh in on everything from gay rights to lip gloss on one of the most influential digital platforms.

But behind the scenes, things are far from perfect. In fact, just a few months before landing her dream job, Gabrielle’s health and wellbeing are on the line, and her promotion to editor-in-chief becomes the ultimate test of strength. In this collection of inspirational and searing essays, Gabrielle reveals exactly what it’s truly like in the fashion world, trying to find love as a young lesbian in New York City, battling with anorexia, and trying not to lose herself in a mirage of women’s empowerment and Instagram perfection.

Through deeply personal essays, Gabrielle recounts her struggles to reconcile her long-held insecurities about her body while coming out in the era of The L Word, where swoon-worthy lesbians are portrayed as skinny, fashion-perfect, and power-hungry. She takes us with her everywhere from New York Fashion Week to the doctor’s office, revealing that the forces that try to keep women small are more pervasive than anyone wants to admit, especially in a world that’s been newly branded as woke.

From #MeToo to commercialized body positivity, Korn’s biting, darkly funny analysis turns feminist commentary on its head. Both an in-your-face take on impossible beauty standards and entrenched media ideals and an inspiring call for personal authenticity, this powerful collection is ideal for fans of Roxane Gay and Rebecca Solnit.

It was ok.

I appreciate the struggles the writer went through and hate the hardships and cruelty she endured. However I didn’t like how the “white man” or “white woman” was portrayed as the enemy or evil. I think individuals should be called out for who they are and not bunched together by race. I want every person regardless of gender, race or sexual orientation to have equal rights. I want us all to be seen as people and stop using terms the define color, race or anything else the divides us. I feel the classification or bunching of people portrayed in this book does the opposite of what the writer says she wants.

Super relatable

Even if you aren’t part of the lgbtq+ community, I felt this had so much to relate to in terms of body image and acceptance, women’s work standards, and just finding yourself in your 20s. Korn wrote with a lot of compassion and empathy for those she described as still exhibiting signs of disordered eating, and was extremely honest and open about her journey. I really thought this was well done and don’t understand why it hasn’t gotten a ton of hype yet.

Poignant

I was a 20-something working in a mostly women industry once, and the toxicity and hypocrisy is so normalized, I didn’t realize for years that it was the source of my anxiety for a decade. Gabrielle Korn so articulately and succinctly gave words to everything I have spent hours unpacking with my therapist.

It’s such a great read/listen with fantastic insight into women’s media, unfair wages, and capitalizing on women’s empowerment.