Trouble is the story of two women in their forties who take a trip to Mexico to escape their lives. One of them, Josie, embarks on a sort of sexual renaissance. Christensen tells Salon,

She experiences sex in her 40s as being about her own desire for a man rather than the thrill of her power over him, his desire for her — which defined sex in her 20s. She knows what she wants now, isn't afraid to want, and can allow herself the pleasure of desiring a man. Part of this comes from comfort in her own skin, and part of it comes from the fact that this affair isn't about power or marriage-and-babies, it's mutual lust without expectations or pressure.

This travel-to-a-warm-climate-for-mutual-lust trope sounds a little familiar, but Christensen resists the popular idea that hot sex is a path towards self-actualization, a way to reinvent oneself and become a better person. As Josie enjoys her adventures in Mexico, Christensen says, she suffers from "selective myopia. She sees what she needs to see and what she wants to see, but she is increasingly self-involved as she gets happier and happier. When you're unhappy, you're more compassionate on some level." And while her friend Raquel "becomes more and more self-aware as the novel goes on, [...] Josie becomes more and more clueless."

Vanderbilt's view of sex [that's her above] is a lot sillier than Christensen's. Obsession includes a carrot and an expensive hairbrush used as sex toys, a brothel where the whores go commando under their Fortuny tea gowns and elaborate feathered masks, "scenes involving dildos, whips, silken cords and golden nipple clamps," and a unicorn. The book also offers this beauty ritual: scrub your breasts with sea salt, douse them in gardenia oil, and then "let loose shaking onto the breasts a goodly amount of chocolate sprinkles, which will adhere prettily." Yum?

Vanderbilt's son Anderson Cooper is supportive, saying, "at 85, whatever she wants to write is fine with me." But he has to be a little disturbed by her assertion that "I do think all art is autobiographical." Whether or not Vanderbilt's still-vibrant sex life ("I'm always in love," she says, "that's one of my secrets.") includes carrots or unicorns, she may be speaking more metaphorically than literally. She says the character of Bee, a "highly sensual" orphan, is based on her experiences growing up without parents. "If you've never had a mother or a father," she elaborates, "you grow up seeking something you're never going to find, ever. You seek it in love and in people and in beauty."

It's not necessarily a prescription for a psychologically healthy life, but constant, insatiable seeking does sound like a pretty good premise for an erotic novel. Both Vanderbilt and Christensen seem to understand that what is sexy is not necessarily what is good for us. This is especially true in fiction and fantasy, but it has some application in real life too. In her 20s, Josie saw sex as a means to an end, and this mindset — whether the end is "marriage and babies," self-esteem, psychological or even physical health — is pretty common in American culture today. Try, for instance, to get through a whole women's magazine without finding something about how boning is good for your weight, sleep, or skin. Maybe what some women learn in their 40s and beyond is that sex is best enjoyed as an end in itself, without ulterior motives.

Sex and the (fortysomething) single girl [Salon]
At 85, a Brahmin in Blue Jeans Writes of Sex, Masks and Veggies [New York Times]

[Epsom, England; June 5. Image via Getty]

EPSOM, ENGLAND - JUNE 05: Ladies show off their hats during Ladies Day at Epsom Racecourse on June 5, 2009 in Epsom, England. (Photo by Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)

Earlier: Oldies But Goodies
What's The Deal With The Relationship Between Girls And Unicorns?

Is there a goth in the world that can afford Chanel? Are there goths left in the world? Is goth making a comeback because, um, well, I think I gave my thigh-high patent-leather boots to Goodwill and chucked my Urban Decay "Cadaver" lipstick in the trash a few months back, but I've still got 5 days to buy one in a similar shade if I'm going to need it.

This in an advertisement for wedding lingerie. In one of those "people everywhere are the same" moments, all my female friends looked at this advertisement and said (in German), "What the hell is with the rolling pin?" The guy that scanned it for me said, "Who is that girl?"

In a moment of linguistic hilarity, bras like this are known as "corsages" which my high school German teacher used to call "false friend Freddies." My friends died laughing when I wondered aloud why my friend was buying one at the dress shop and mentioned that I'd always gotten one for the prom from my dates.

Yeah, I don't know.

Unicum is some sort of vaguely nasty-smelling Hungarian liqueur that my friends have in their liquor cabinet. Their website has no English translation, but it seems to have nothing to do with unicorns or ejaculate, despite the obviousness of the name. From the smell, I'm guessing that a unicorn could totally have his way with me if I did drink enough of this.

The one great thing about fashion magazines in Germany is the editors' recognition of the need for more hot guys in their underwear. I'm not sure what Herr Beckham's selling [Underwear. -Ed.] or where to buy it, but I totally would.

I hinted at this a bit in my post about that Roman Polanski documentary, but people really took it the wrong way, saying that I was a rape apologist or something, which is just silly. I think what it comes down to is maybe the divide between second and third wave feminism. Or actually, maybe it's that some people don't accept that feminism isn't monolithic, and that we can (and do) have different views about a number of things, from porno to age of consent, with the one basic truth being that "women are people too." Of course I'm not a rape apologist. But I'm a child influenced by riot grrrl and the sex-positivity movement, so maybe things I say can come off as harsh, and perhaps get misinterpreted by those who don't place as much importance on those things. (Or maybe people placed too much importance on an IM conversation, which is always a more casual form of communication.)

Anyway, this is kind of related to that, but only slightly: What I'm getting at is that yeah, duh, rape is bad and awful and horrible. But there's so much more to our shared culture as girls than just rape, domestic violence and menstrual cramps. We have unicorns, and Easy-Bake Ovens, and our favorite vibrators, and Maybelline Great Lash, and a female presidential candidate, and stories of losing things up our vaginas for days on end that make us laugh.

I like the girl parts of being a girl. I can enjoy cross-stitching and cock-sucking. And I can express my own opinions without being labeled a bad feminist. And I, nor anyone else, should ever have to apologize for any of it.

Related: Bikini Kill - I Like Fucking [YouTube]

Eariler: Lisa Simpson: Feminist Hero
The First Unicorn
What's The Deal With The Relationship Between Girls And Unicorns?

• We were shocked and appalled to discover that Strawberry Shortcake had been given a berry slutty makeover by her corporate overlords.
• As much as we love the Shortcake, she'd make a really dumb, potentially deal-breaking tattoo.
• This week was mad girly, yo: Omg Unicorns!
• Also, Panda Sex!
• Almost as embarrassing as catching two pandas in flagrante is witnessing two dudes in the throes of a passionate mancrush.

• It's almost as excruciating as this sad tale of star cross'd nursing home lovers.
• So, like Lauren Hutton did, massage your ladyparts with an award statuette and ride your own personal unicorn off into the sunset. It's Friday!

The unicorn both came to represent Christ, and also began to represent purity and chastity. The idea that unicorns could only be tamed by virgins became a widely held belief, and images of unicorns resting their heads in chaste womens laps, with not so subtle sexual undertones, began to appear in artwork.

Heh. Funny then, that one of my favorite unicorn novelty items has nothing to do with chastity at all.

I have this vibrator, which a man wears on this dick while the unicorn horn tickles your clit, and the back end tickles your, uh, back end. Not that many people sell it anymore, so I'm wondering if it's made of that bad material stuff that you're not supposed to put near your near and dear region.

One of the myths that the Time piece points to is that unicorns are no longer around anymore because they were "too slow" to make it onto Noah's ark, and thus, were forced to take to the sea, and have evolved into the very real, and very weird narwhal.

And while unicorns are often associated with Lisa Frank, and rainbows and butterflies, we actually like the way that they are portrayed in this Perry Bible Fellowship strip:

A Brief History of the Unicorn [Time]
Earlier: The First Unicorn
Something Stinks