Having kids is a lot of things—a joy, a challenge, a pain, a miracle, a tragedy. But one thing it isn’t? A lifelong guarantee of a deep friendship that warrants regular check-ins. Even when you pay for stuff. Sorry.
The physical embrace, in my humble view, comes with one simple rule: when in doubt, don’t.
What is worse: When a guy you haven’t been seeing that long lets one rip in the car, windows-up, or when someone tells you that, because of this egregious emission, you’re supposed to conclude that he really likes you? This is the dilemma of a possibly real person seeking Internet advice, and she needs our help.
I cannot tell a lie: I read Dear Prudence to feel smug and get outraged at the ridiculous people who write in. But today's column, which featured a question about "tabby termination" (you can't be tasteful all the time) was more heartbreaking than anger-inducing. When do you put down a beloved pet?
Dear Prudence is often a cesspool of awful people needing awful advice for their awful problems. And then Prudence sometimes gives awful advice. This week, the advice is good, but the question? So awful you may want to take your laptop and throw it against the nearest wall. (I know I did, but Applecare doesn't cover…
Dear Prudie is just a troll, right? That's her thing? Like, that time when she attempted to "help" a "gluttonous" child (CHILD!!!) with a mocking animated video that depicted said child (CHILD!!!!!!!!) as a ghoulish pig-monster—she didn't really believe that that was a good, ethical, constructive thing to do, right?
Breaking news from the world of advice columnists: Emily Yoffe has discovered striking similarities between questions used for numerous "Dear Prudence" columns she's penned and questions answered by actress Debbie Reynolds for her advice column "Dear Debbie" for the tabloid The Globe. Oh, it's on.
Dear Prudence is a fantastic column that answers some of life's most important questions: What do you do when an annoying co-worker asks you to pass along a resume? What's the proper way to get someone to move out? And of course: How do you talk to your daughter about catching her en flagrante with a hand mixer? Man,…
It's easy to get sucked into a vortex of self pity around the holidays, but thanks to the internet, you can rest assured that someone else is having a far more depraved and horrifying holiday season than you. Take, for instance, this gentleman, one of the best (or worst) "Dear Prudence" letters of 2013:
Just after college, a friend of mine mentioned he was getting married, and I expected to be among the guests. Cut to a few months later, and suddenly mutual friends were discussing plans for the upcoming shindig. I bugged a friend with an invite and found out it was not an oversight, which stung (I was an…
As anyone who's attended a freshman orientation rape prevention seminar can tell you, sexual victimization is much more common than most people are comfortable admitting, and most sexual abuse goes unreported. And while profiles of sexual abuse victims are more diverse than fast food restaurants' Kidz Klub mascots,…
Date-rape can be confusing — for the victim, for policymakers, and apparently, for advice columnists, one of whom recently offered some none-too-compassionate tips for a woman whose friend believed she'd been raped.
That's the question posed by an advice-seeker who wants to know what to do about his increasingly misogynist dad. We decided to look for a few more tips.
Well, it was bound to happen: two online advice columns received — and published — the same letter today. Their different responses provide a window into the columnists' psyches.
Catcalling is a perennial issue for many women, especially in cities, and it can be tough to know how to deal with it. Now one advice columnist is offering an unconventional tip: just wait til you're old — then you'll miss it.
Imagine you're bullied as a kid. When you grow up, it turns out you and your bully have kids at the same school. So you teach your kids to ostracize her kids, and turn all the other parents against her. Sounds like a revenge fantasy, but according to one woman, it actually happened.
Today's "Dear Prudence" brings up an interesting modern etiquette question: that of breast-reductions.
A young guy wrote to Slate's advice columnist today, seeking help with his pathological jealousy. Prudie ripped him a new one — and left me wondering where the line is between jealousy and abuse.
Advice columns are a little like cats: they may not actually do much, but they're fun to look at. Also like cats, not all advice columns are created equal. After the jump, we grade a few of the major players.
