I guess you could say he was a sex fiend. Prince — who died on April 21st, 2016 at the young age of 57 — dedicated a lot of musical acreage on most of his albums to unabashed sexual expression. There was plenty of macho posturing, for instance, boasting in the 1980 song “Head” about […]
By Jacqueline Raposo for Bust Magazine When illness causes weight loss, reactions from friends, family, and even strangers can be “positive” in the worst possible way. When I was 27 years old, I weighed 105 pounds and was extremely sick. Over a span of 15 years, I’d been extensively treated twice for Lyme disease, with […]
Yesterday, on a quiet, beautiful afternoon in Rhinebeck, New York, I squeezed into the greenhouse wing of the historic Beekman Arms (one of the oldest continuously operating inns in America, and also where Chelsea Clinton had her rehearsal dinner) to see Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, speak about the importance of women’s […]
Late 18th-century poet William Blake’s famous Songs of Innocence were often thought to be merely children’s verse. But don’t mistake simplicity and concision for lack of depth. Take this little gem, one of his Gnomic Verses — just 4 lines, 26 words in total, and only 14 unique words in all! In that neat package, he […]
by Nancy Nichols for YourTango Have YOU experienced any? If you’ve never been involved with a cunning, pathological lying, narcissistic, abusive partner, you may not know what you’re dealing with. When you date an abusive personality, you may buy into his charm, braggadocio and phony façade while downplaying his inconsiderate and questionable behavior. Or you mistrust your instincts that your boyfriend […]
Reader “Don” had this to say in response to our post “How Many Partners Officially Makes You a Slut?” While we can see the benefits of reclaiming the word and wearing it as a badge of honor, we also appreciate, like Don, the importance of not using it any self-denigrating way, however subtly: Once, a close friend described […]
Dear Em & Lo, I am 18 and newly single, having just broken up with my boyfriend of over a year and my first sexual partner. I am worried about becoming promiscuous just as much as I am worried about denying myself, due to my old fashioned upbringing. I have been reading your site since before […]
Fox’s “Grease: Live” aired on Sunday, January 31st at 8pm starring Julianne Hough as Sandy, Aaron Tveit as Danny, Vanessa Hudgens as Rizzo, Carly Rae Jepsen as Frenchie, Keke Palmer as Marty, Eve “The Original Jane Brady” Plumb as shop teacher Mrs. Murdock, and cameos by the original Frenchie and Doody. The only thing more […]
Adrienne Rich (1929-2012) was one of the best known, most beloved American poets of the second half of the 20th century. And “Diving into the Wreck” is one of her best known, most beloved poems. In 1973, Erica “Zipless Fuck” Jong analyzed it beautifully for Ms. Magazine: In “Diving into the Wreck,” the title poem, it is the […]
With Girl Scout season upon us, the below meme has been making the rounds again: It was originally created two years ago by ALL.org, or American Life League, which according to its website is the largest grassroots Catholic pro-life education organization in the United States. This year, Pro-Life Waco has re-launched the campaign with Cookiecott 2016. Here’s their explanation […]
Sometimes a reader comment demands more than just a “thumbs down” or a two-sentence rebuttal. Sometimes it warrants its own full-length post. J Male’s recent response to “Why Women Have Ravishment and Rape Fantasies” was one such comment. Our reply is below his: “Rape fantasies were a way [for women] to avoid taking blame for their […]
The start of the 4,532nd season of The Bachelor means my wife has reinstated her ongoing Bachelor viewing parties with some of her female friends. Rather than rolling my eyes and hiding out in my non-existent mancave, I crack a beer and settle in next to her on our couch…because I love my wife, because […]
The song performed in the 1949 musical “Neptune’s Daughter” ’Tis the season to be sexist, with the “traditional” Xmas pop played on an eternal loop, reinforcing old gender stereotypes about boys only wanting cowboy boots and guns while girls insist on walking, talking dollies. There’s the infernal Love, Actually movie which, despite its charming British […]
Reader Lily had a lot to say this week in response to our (oldie but goodie) post “Confession: I Want to Do My Boyfriend with a Strap-On.” We’ve gathered her various comments into one post here for your edification. Preach it, Lily! And we would just add that misperception doesn’t make something so; if we […]
Our absolute favorite part of Gillian Flynn’s novel Gone Girl is when Amy Dunne rails against the concept of the Cool Girl, also commonly identified in the field as a “guys’ girl”: “Men actually think this girl exists. Maybe they’re fooled because so many women are willing to pretend to be this girl. … I […]
Why are women competitive with each other? Evolutionary psychology says that it’s to protect their wombs from physical harm, while feminist psychology claims it’s because they’ve internalized the patriarchy. A writer in the Times this past weekend posited a different explanation: “We aren’t competing with other women, ultimately, but with ourselves — with how we […]
