Female Form and the New First Sex
Her power (the second sex has been established as female) is elusive, ephemeral, static, and reliant on an X factor—that final ingredient that can, once-in-a-relished-while, turn superstructures on their heads.
“As the ‘other woman,’ she represents a wanton rebel, a direct threat to the sanctity of the American family. Yet as the ‘other,’ her position in the love triangle is secondary, and many would argue there’s some void in her self-esteem that leads her to seek intimacy with someone not fully available. But with a very public tell-all, she has her chance to stake her claim.”
“In a good story, drama relies on tension. In life, and specifically relationships, we are taught to avoid drama and tension. But I’ve yet to experience a relationship that exists without neither drama nor tension. ”
“While sexuality doesn’t make up our entire identity, it does vastly define us. ”
The 2024 Shape Skin Awards
This year, skincare got smarter. Ingredient lists are getting shorter. Brands are focusing on concentrated active formulas and ditching wasteful fillers. Forget the prescriptions—evidence-based, clinically-proven products line the shelves of your local drugstore. Even the packaging reflects this skincare revolution with cleaner, more sustainable materials. As beauty experts and self-proclaimed science enthusiasts (and hey, we really, really love skin products), the editors of Shape are here for it.
2024 Shape Beauty Awards
Our dedicated team of testers evaluated both new-to-market and trusted beauty products, curating a list of over 50 must-haves to enhance your natural beauty.
What Happens When You Share Drugs on Facebook?
Devastating encounter with the ex. I need Xanax or Klonopin rn. Please, someone, anyone, message me. Freaking out over manuscript deadlines. Who can spot me some Xanax?
Women are finding online friends with benzos.
Excerpt from THE BOARD BOOK Special Edition—The Go to Market Mandate
Excerpt from my essay, “The Man, The Myth, the Ms. Published in HuffPost
There's a Greek myth that goes like this: On a mountaintop in the Peleponnesus peninsula of Greece, a man, Tiersias happened upon a pair of copulating snakes. Fascinated by what he saw, he stayed on the mountaintop for hours to watch them. After a while, the snakes sensed his presence and attacked him. Tiersias killed the female snake with a powerful blow. For this act, the gods changed him into a woman. Tiresias became a priestess of Hera, living as a woman for seven years. During this time, she married and bore children. When one day she went walking on the mountaintop, she discovered another pair of copulating snakes. This time Tiresias killed the male, and the gods changed him back to a man.
Because Tiresias had lived both as a man and a woman, he could offer the gods unique insight. For this reason, he was called in by Zeus and Hera to settle an argument: who enjoys sex more, men or women? Tiresias replied that women receive the greater pleasure. "Of ten parts a man enjoys one only."
Now I'm not one to think of sex as competitive sport, but come on, that should make women feel pretty good. The reality of it is, an alarming number of us don't feel like Women On Top. There are many troublesome ways contemporary girls and women are experiencing sexuality and their sexual identities. Why is this happening? After all we're women of the 21st century, we're savvy, smart, and sexy; we're daughters, even granddaughters of feminists who've come before us.
About a year ago, I spoke with Gloria Steinem about my dilemma at a talk she was giving at Baruch College. As a writer whose made millions off the semantics of feminism, Ms. Steinem didn't surprise me she looked at me deadpan and said, "Women have been dealing with this problem since the beginning of time." But, much like the message of her talk that day, Ms. Steinem radiated with optimism for the future of feminism. And as for how she saw the face of feminism today, she said, "Every self-respecting face is a feminist." Then she reminded me about Tiresias.