Lindy West’s much-discussed memoir “Adult Braces” evokes a sort of gothic unease, writes Times Opinion columnist Michelle Goldberg. She continues:
>West had been a brassy star of aughts-era internet feminism and an icon of fat positivity; her previous memoir, “Shrill,” was adapted into a TV series. But behind that facade, her new book reveals, she was in extraordinary pain, with warped relationships to both her body and her husband. And though she now claims to have found peace and empowerment after acceding to her husband’s demand for a polyamorous marriage, she’s not entirely convincing.
>Not surprisingly, some are reading “Adult Braces” as an indictment of West’s leftist beliefs. An Atlantic essay about the book was headlined, “The Death of Millennial Feminism.” The Wall Street Journal declared, “Progressivism Destroys Its Most Loyal Servants.” But I interpreted West’s book as a cautionary tale about female self-abnegation. That tendency is often celebrated on the right but has always existed on the left as well. Almost every ideology, it turns out, can be wielded to make women feel that they’re failing.
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Lindy West’s much-discussed memoir “Adult Braces” evokes a sort of gothic unease, writes Times Opinion columnist Michelle Goldberg. She continues:
>West had been a brassy star of aughts-era internet feminism and an icon of fat positivity; her previous memoir, “Shrill,” was adapted into a TV series. But behind that facade, her new book reveals, she was in extraordinary pain, with warped relationships to both her body and her husband. And though she now claims to have found peace and empowerment after acceding to her husband’s demand for a polyamorous marriage, she’s not entirely convincing.
>Not surprisingly, some are reading “Adult Braces” as an indictment of West’s leftist beliefs. An Atlantic essay about the book was headlined, “The Death of Millennial Feminism.” The Wall Street Journal declared, “Progressivism Destroys Its Most Loyal Servants.” But I interpreted West’s book as a cautionary tale about female self-abnegation. That tendency is often celebrated on the right but has always existed on the left as well. Almost every ideology, it turns out, can be wielded to make women feel that they’re failing.
Read the full piece [here, for free](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/30/opinion/feminism-polyamory-lindy-west.html?unlocked_article_code=1.XVA.CdOi.vpvPK_EwkMgb&smid=re-nytopinion), even without a Times subscription.