With the opportunities available today, it's up to women to take charge of their own happiness.
Earlier this week, New York Times columnist, Ross Douthat, wrote an op-ed piece about how feminism has made women increasingly unhappy over the last 30 years. Despite being wealthier, healthier and better educated than they were a generation ago, women in post-feminist America aren't as happy as they used to be. He suggested this may have something to do with the number of women "stuck raising kids alone," a "depressing" lifestyle that's much more common among women in the lower socioeconomic class. This hardly explains why so many wealthy women in East Hampton are so miserable, though, Douthat admits.
One feminist overcomes inner conflict about her desire to be spanked in the bedroom.
My first spanking was at my 16th birthday party. My guy friends tackled me on the kitchen floor and took turns giving me 16 spanks. And maybe one for good luck. I don't remember. Once freed, I was livid. I was mortified.
And I was totally turned on.
How an unmarried but completely committed couple manages money.
Paul and Judith have been together for 17 years. They live together, renovated a house together, and share a home workspace. But they are not married. "Neither of us has ever been married, and we don't intend to marry each other. There are no practical reasons to do so—no kids (unless you count our elderly diabetic cat, Julius), no employer-paid health insurance—and several tax-related reasons not to." Nonetheless, they face the same financial strains and decisions that a married couple comes up against. This is the story of how an unconventional couple manages their finances, and why they've chosen this path.
I don't feel a pressing desire to "prove" to myself or anyone else that I won't change, that I won't compromise anything, because at some point I'm sure I will. (Isn't compromise a big part marriage, after all?) But I'm also certain that while bits of my identity are bound to shift, just as I would expect them to with any big life change and new perspective, the core of who I am will remain the same. No new name, white dress, ring on my finger or any other traditional convention is going to change that. For better or worse, I am who I am and I'm pretty solid in my identity. So when I read a column in the Guardian recently by Abigail Gliddon, a woman who claims "when a woman takes her husband's name, she surrenders her former identity and adopts his," I wondered how she came to have such low expectations for other women.
Men fix cars, figure out credit card bills and hook up the TV. Is it sexist to want a guy for that?
Men fix cars, figure out credit card bills and hook up the TV. Is it sexist to want a guy for that? "When I was in college I bought my first car... Normally this was a task that I would have heaped on my dad’s shoulders; after all, Dads are the people you turn to in times of vehicular crisis. Mine wasn’t there, so I went at alone." Later her boyfriend helps her deal with debt collectors. Does it make you a bad woman or anti-feminist to want a man to do certain things for you?
"The Joy of Sex" on the Today show, "Star Trek" sex, and Facebook relationship status vs feminism.
The morning quickie: the perfect way to start your day. Read on for three interesting love and sex tidbits. "The Joy of Sex" on the Today show, news about the "Star Trek" sex scene, and Facebook relationship status vs feminism.
Younger men don't know how to un-clog a drain. But who needs 'em?
A new study shows Mr. Fix-It is a dying breed: London's Daily Mail reports the younger generation of men is less handy around the house. Tsk, tsk. Guess this means men are only good for sex.
Kidding!
In a study of 3,000 men, among those under age 40, almost 33% didn't know how to unblock a sink, 25% did not know how to change a fuse, and 7% couldn't change a lightbulb. Over-40 men proved to be much more handy (except for when it comes to assembling flat-pack furniture, which we guess means IKEA). Of course, the survey was on a home improvement web site, which has a vested interest in selling products to bumbling Mr. Fix-Its.
But in any case, who needs men to unblock the sink for you? We women can do those things, of course (see: Martha Stewart, This Old House, Domino magazine, Extreme Makeover: Home Addition) and the reality is that if we are single and living alone, or suddenly become widowed or divorced, we'll have no choice but to care for our home ourselves. Being dependent on a man to do household improvements that might get your hands dirty is so not 2008.
Whether she's single, dating or married, a girl's got to have her own toolkit and know how to use it!
Amid all the bluster about "foreign policy experience" and "abstinence-only education," there's been one meme missing. Thankfully, the UK's Daily Mail picks up the slack by asking: Would your guy bone Sarah Palin?
Even if your feminist bone is the size of your pinky finger, it's hard not to be offended by such sexist drivel as this:
A dash of snark, a pinch of politics and a whole lot of real, honest women.
The BitchBuzz Manifesto states, "We knit, we bake, we fuck and we blog." And they do just that, and then tell us all about it.
Smart and sassy, the ladies of BitchBuzz make it clear that they are not feministing politicos, but no-nonsense independents who are not averse to indulging in a bit of domesticity.
