"If two people come together," my mother began, "who've never had any power except by the way of abuse, it's going to be bad. Both of us had power exerted over us as children. I eventually learned that as an adult, I was still doing the dance, seeking out abusive relationships. That doesn't mean it was my fault. But I…
I used to think that getting a crappy Christmas gift was a reflection on the bad judgment and lack of creativity of the giver of said gift. And, in some cases, it is—the plastic bag of anti-aging Avon cosmetics for a woman with a "medium to dark" complexion that my mean aunt gave me when I was a freckle-faced…
SUCK IT, KIDS OF MARRIED PARENTS. CHILDREN OF DIVORCE ARE NUMBER ONE.
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Do you have the misfortune of spending the holidays with one or more of your racist relatives? Are you not sure what to say when they unleash their casual, subtle or overt racism at the dinner table? If so, Franchesca Ramsey—creator of Shit White Girls Say...to Black Girls—has you covered with this thoroughly helpful…
Here is a truth most universal: Nothing makes sex more appealing than a situation where it's totally inconvenient, making Thanksgiving the ideal time for furtive and risky sexcapades. But with family obligations and creaky beds, what's a person to do? Here's our guide to sneaking around on Turkey Day.
It's a Thursday night in August, just past 10 p.m., and my mother is texting me. This might seem like a harmless nuisance except my mother is not supposed to text me. Two years ago I asked her to give me space and not reach out. She responded with an "ok" and proceeded to respect my wishes for 13 days. Nobody's mother…
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A new study out of Princeton University shows that daughters provide disproportionately more care for their elderly parents than sons do, regardless of birth order number of siblings.
Rampant speculation aside, when I think about what went down in that elevator with Beyoncé and Solange and Jay-Z, I cannot help but be reminded that anytime there is a fight between your sister and your man, it is also — inextricably — about you. Because that's what it's like.
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Have you ever been home for the holidays and felt the crushing need to bring either a partner home or make one up so people would just stop asking when you're going to get your life together and settle down? No? Me neither. What do you mean why is my eye twitching like that?
Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year—unless you're like me and don't celebrate it. Then you're stuck with a world mostly shut down and seemingly nothing to do. Fortunately you have quite a few options, whether you're along or with friends, to make December 25th a fun day off regardless of your observances.
I can still see it — feel it — as clear as yesterday. Four years ago, I had walked to the bodega on the corner of my Brooklyn block and stepped into a rude awakening. All it took was one question, four words, from the man behind the lottery desk to completely cut me to the core: Is that your baby?
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Liz Cheney — daughter of Dick and current U.S. senate candidate — has recently lost the support of her own sister Mary after publicly denouncing Mary's gay lifestyle on Fox News Sunday. In a desperate bid to win over Wyoming's Tea Party and far right voters, Liz Cheney (who, as of this month, is trailing 52-points…
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Sometimes, as a woman, I find myself adrift on a rudderless sea of indecision bereft of the opinions of others weighing in on my conduct. How should I dress? Should I be thin or what? Should I do anything to my face to make it look different? How should I conduct myself sexually? How should I age? When should I talk?…
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David Sedaris penned a fantastic piece in The New Yorker about the suicide death of his youngest sister, Tiffany. In it, he talks about Tiffany's slow descent into depression by way of horrific living conditions and mental illness. This is framed, interestingly, by a family vacation he paid for shortly after her death.
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And/or our dads. And/or our siblings. Basically: Genetics are wild/highly predictable.
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Hey, guess what? Everything you love is gonna die someday, including your parents. Now, thanks to a new app, you can guesstimate exactly how many more times you'll be able to look into the eyes of your most immediate ancestors before they are committed to dust. Cool. Great job, internet.
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Couples therapy, relationship counseling, marriage counseling; whatever name you decide to call it, is never an experience you're likely excited about. It might not be as bad as it sounds though, and if you're a little worried about what might happen, here are a few things you can expect.
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Divorce is never easy, but it's one of those life events that deserves a serious postmortem examination to figure out what really happened. I went through a divorce last year, and from that failure I've learned a lot about what it takes to make a relationship work.
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Whuddya know! Women actually appreciate the opportunity to have a career, make money and support their families. In fact, they like it so much that, for the most part, they're not too willing to go back to a time when pretty much their only option was to become an unpaid house-cleaning, child-rearing, blowjob machine.…
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Today in "Yes, I Guess That Makes Sense," new research shows that kids with happy and supportive families generally grow up to have more successful marriages than kids who don't. "The overall family climate seems to matter," says Robert Ackerman, a psychologist at the University of Texas at Dallas who authored the…
