Joan of Arctic I’m a 54-year-old woman, married for 21 years to a pretty decent guy. When our now-18-year-old son was little, my husband completely ignored Mother’s Day for maybe six years. Once, I asked him why, and he simply said, “You aren’t my mother.” It hurt me SO MUCH because I busted my butt […]
Amy Alkon
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Kick The Hobbit
Taller doesn’t always equal stronger, in general, the bigger the bro, the bigger the beatdown he could dispense
Kick The Hobbit My 23-year-old nephew is a nice guy, a college grad with a good job who’s a loving pet owner. The women in the family love his ironic mustache, his tattoos, and his way of making people laugh, but the men, including my husband, tend to see him in a negative light. I […]
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Real Houseknives
There is a widely held belief that it’s mainly men who try to curtail women’s sexual expression
Real Houseknives I was dismayed at how off-base you were when I read your response to a woman wanting to give her female friend advice to stop her from dating and hooking up so much after her breakup. It’s common knowledge that it’s men who go off on women for being promiscuous and tell them […]
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Womb With A View
My stork got run over by a bus en route to my house
Womb With A View My friend constantly talks to me about her baby on the way and asks me to help her pick out furniture and clothes for it. This is very painful for me because my husband doesn’t want kids and I agreed not to have any. I didn’t realize I’d have this deep […]
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Catty Litter
It appears we women evolved to help ourselves by “helping” other women
Catty Litter I’m a woman who just turned 30, and so is my best friend, who just got out of a three-year relationship. She’s now on the rebound hard — hitting on her co-workers, going on multiple dates every week, hooking up with different guys all the time, etc. I can’t decide whether to admire […]
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The Devil Eats Purina
It’s pretty depressing when doing risky stuff in bed means sleeping without a flea collar
The Devil Eats Purina My girlfriend got a dog six weeks ago — a Chihuahua. I don’t hate the dog, but I’m not wild about him. I’ve almost stepped on him twice in the kitchen, and my snuggle time on the couch with my girlfriend has now become me watching him sit in her lap […]
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MC Yammer
Uncontrolled anger can get us in trouble (sometimes for 20 years to life)
MC Yammer My friend won’t stop talking about her new crush, and it’s driving me up the wall. I was annoyed, but now I’m getting increasingly angry, and I don’t appreciate this toxic feeling rising up. It’s all her and her new love all the time. If she asks anything about me or how I’m […]
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Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hide
Extroverts and introverts’ differing social preferences
Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hide I’m a 30-year-old gay man with a new boyfriend. He is a total social butterfly: the kind of person who shows up to a bar on a random Friday night and just happens to know 10 people there. I, on the other hand, don’t love being super social. It’s not […]
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Blurt Force Trauma & Bleachable Moments
Rejection shouldn’t be thrown around like croutons to geese
Blurt Force Trauma I became friends with this awesome guy who moved into my apartment complex. I can tell that he’s into me, but he’s not my type at all. What should I say to tell him I’m not interested? —UncomfortableTelling a guy you aren’t interested before he asks you out is like coming up […]
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Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bae
Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bae I’m a 34-year-old woman, and I’ve been with my boyfriend for about eighteen months. He’s a loving guy but comes up a little short on romance (“butterfly moments,” I guess you’d call them, from being surprised with some big romantic gesture). While I want those, I wonder whether […]