When people think of successful female poets of the 20th century, it’s usually a dead tie (no pun intended) between Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton. Both were gorge, both were students of poet/professor Robert Lowell, both were married with two children each, both pushed sexual boundaries in their work, both suffered from depression, both killed themselves by […]
In honor of the 10th anniversary of her Twilight series, Stephenie Meyers has just released a new edition, which includes a 400+ paged reimagining of the first novel with the genders reversed called Life and Death. The purpose of the new version is to prove to the world that Bella’s character wasn’t an anti-feminist damsel-in-distress, as […]
Let’s begin with a qualifier: us saying the Pope is better for women than Republicans does not mean we think the Pope is some new progressive superhero. He’s got 2000 years of dogmatic baggage to contend with. He believes people — including those in third world countries where HIV and overpopulation are serious problems — shouldn’t […]
Much has been written lately about women’s speech patterns, and whether certain verbal behaviors like uptalk (a.k.a. valleyspeak), vocal fry (a.k.a. creak), and “sexy baby voice” are hurting their careers and preventing people from taking them seriously. According to Lake Bell, a woman who talks this way sounds like “a 12-year-old little girl that is submissive […]
“Don’t cry.” “Be a man.” “Man up.” “Don’t be a pussy.” “Grow some fucking balls.” These are the lessons we’re teaching our boys, and it’s hurting everyone. When we feminize caring, empathy and emotional communication and expression, we don’t give boys the capacity to be fully formed human beings. The result is violence and suicide. This […]
View this image | gettyimages.com When I got married, my groom and I wore matching white suits and ties (including inscribed white Converse high tops). Our parents walked each of us down the outside aisles simultaneously until we all met in the middle at the altar. My friend who married us concluded the ceremony with […]
Earlier this week we posted our poem, “13 Ways of Looking at a Wife Bonus,” in response to the news that some Upper East Side stay-at-home moms, married to hedge fund managers and bankers and otherwise rich men, allegedly get end of year “wife bonuses” for good housekeeping (amongst other things). We’re not the only ones a little […]
“Islamic feminist.” Sounds like an oxymoron, right? But this week’s episode of the PRI radio show “America Abroad,” produced and written by (our amazing friend) Mia Lobel, will get you thinking. This fascinating hourlong podcast called “Understanding Islamic Feminism” covers feminist reinterpreters of the Koran in Egypt, Morocco’s most progressive family law in the East (which makes it […]
Yep, we totally live in a post-feminist world, where gender doesn’t matter, everyone’s on an equal playing field, and sexism has been stamped out. And can we get a pony, while we’re at it? Maybe a unicorn? Because that’s just not the reality we live in. Below are just a handful of the charming tweets […]
Emily Nagoski, Ph.D., speaks our kind of language. We read the first few pages of her new book, “Come As You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life,” and we were sold. It tackles the tricky task of explaining women’s complex sexuality (which, hello, is different from men’s) so people can […]
For the most part, we tend to ignore the trolls. But every once in a while, outlandish claims need to be addressed to ensure that reality-based facts win over fear, insecurity and hate. In response to a post about a woman whose inability to orgasm without a sex toy was hurting her boyfriend’s feelings, one […]
Well, we’ve made it through another season of The Bachelor. The editors cut the footage with a heavy hand to make us think Chris would ultimately think with his dick and pick the distant, unamused, hot virgin, Becca, instead of the much more sensible choice, Iowa-loving, family-embracing, 100% gung-ho, baby-talking (in ALL senses of the word) […]
“Before anything else, we are all human. It’s time to embrace diversity. Let’s put aside labels in the name of love.” No, it’s not skeleton porn. #LoveHasNoLabels is the new diversity and inclusion campaign by the Ad Council. There’s a dedicated website with a quiz, stories, tips, resources and the obligatory adorable video that will […]
Dear Em & Lo, Have you thought about the effect that this film may have on young girls — how this film will set their expectations as to what sex is like? — Fifty Shades of Fay Dear FSoF, Honestly, we haven’t. We’ve been too distracted by our upcoming ladies night screening of it! […]
Itai Anghel, an Isreali Jewish news correspondent and filmmaker with the balls the size of pumpkins, recently wandered into Syria and Iraq with a camera and not much else (no helmet, no bullet proof vest) to capture the front lines of the Kurdish fight against ISIS. (Apparently the Kurds are the only ones confronting ISIS […]
photo via flickr William Giraldi wrote a personal essay for The Baffler called “This Brat’s for You.” Have you encountered this polished turd being bandied about the internet yet? In the piece, Giraldi bemoans the fact that he got paternity leave from his employer for the birth of his first child, became so utterly bored by […]
