Condoms: Good. This Design: ?...

Under the Bloomberg administration, New York City has distributed millions and millions of free condoms at bars and other public locations throughout the five boroughs.  I think it’s a great social program, though there has been a lot of bellyaching from some quarters about “subsidizing...

Who’s Counting?...

I mean, besides him... From a recent “Ask Carolyn” column by Carolyn Hax: Dear Carolyn: The other day, the guy I’ve been out with exactly four times asked me for my “number.” (Not my phone number, the other one.) I was offended that he’d even ask at this early stage,...

Parents of America, you are on notice!...

Forget hiding in an attic for two years and dying of typhus at Bergen Belsen – what’s really offensive about Anne Frank’s experience was her awareness of her vagina. Some unfit asshole in Culpepper County, Virginia became scandalized by Frank’s mention of her genitalia in The...

Where do you think “Barefoot and p...

Conventional wisdom holds that when a person is tricked or coerced into reproducing, that person is male and the deceiving party is female. But a study conducted by researchers at UC Davis confirms what far too many women already know: the ones trying to initiate a pregnancy against their parters’...

Mary Karr on the Vocabulary of Desire...

In my other life as a reader of pretentious literary fiction, I came across a Paris interview with the poet and memoirist Mary Karr that you might find interesting.  It’s not fully available online, but here is the excerpt I find particularly a propos: KARR: When I started Cherry [her memoir of...

“I can have sex!”...

In recent months, due in no small part to the bloggular work of our own SarahMC, the fine ladies at fwd, and Melissa McEwan of Shakesville, I’ve become increasingly aware of how rights for women and rights for those with disabilities overlap and are intertwined, and what I can do–or not...

How to be an Assweasel 101...

Twice in the past 48 hours I have had the displeasure of reading pathetic, poorly-written attempts at humor in college newspapers. The target of the writers’ screeds, of course, is women. It’s amazing how many people think misogyny is fresh and new and “edgy.” The new shame...

Disability and Sexuality Co-Exist...

There was a bizarre scene in last week’s episode of The Office, wherein Pam complained to Oscar that their boss Michael was sleeping with her mother. “How would you like it if Michael was having sex with your mom!?” Pam asked. After a brief pause, Oscar told her, “My mom is in...

Newsflash: Cougars are People, Too....

As opposed to the botoxed succubi preying on fresh, sweet mannfleisch that rightfully belongs only to the nubile. In a recent New York Times Fashion section (’cause that’s where the stories for ladies go), Sarah Kershaw noted with incredulity that women over 35 who date men 5 or more years...

In Praise of Casual Sex...

Last week over at Bed, Bitch and Beyond blog, we talked about the joy of no sex. In this week’s post, it’s all about the not-boyfriends. I’ve simply never bought into the idea that all sex must live up to the shining heteronormative ideal of candlelight and roses and true love (which,...

No Sex, Please, We’re Sex-Positive...

In this latest post from Bed, Bitch and Beyond blog at Bitch Magazine, I wanted to let readers get the last word on the “Is No Sex Sex-Positive?” post. Between Bitch, Facebook, Harpyness and e-mails I received, it was clear that plenty of women have strong opinions about not having sex, and...

Is No Sex Still Sex Positive?...

Via Liz_Kelly @ Flickr. In my most recent post for Bed, Bitch and Beyond blog, I actually switched from talking about sex to talking about…no sex. This was in response to a brilliant reader comment: Becky I’m interested to know if you’ve ever thought about abstinence from a sex positive...