July 2009

July 31st 2009

Relationship Role Models: Class Act and The Diplomat

- Stefanie

Stefanie talks role models...

I’ll stand by you. . .

The other day I was having coffee with my friend, Class Act. She was telling me a story about a recent hospital visit.

Class Act had to have emergency surgery a couple days before her boyfriend, The Diplomat, had to go on a month-long business trip. One benefit of having friends who are like family is that Class Act would be well taken care of in his absence. Regardless, The Diplomat felt pretty bad about it. Class Act and I both thought that was pretty cute but not surprising for a “good egg,” as our friends describe him.

July 29th 2009

Looking for Relationship Advice? Try Oprah

- Anya Alvarez

I sat down at my computer and typed “relationship advice” into Google. Over three million websites contain this phrase. Too much at once. Way too much.

I’m 20 years old and a junior at the University of Washington. For the past four years, I’ve helped young women leave abusive relationships, so you wouldn’t think I’d need Google to help me figure out how to have a relationship. But I’m clueless. The longest relationship I’ve been in lasted four months. I thought we were boyfriend and girlfriend but in the end, found out he thought we were “casually dating.”

I knew I wasn’t the only one experiencing relationship woes, so I turned to some popular magazines and two TV shows.

July 28th 2009

Share Your Sex Ed Horror Stories!!!

- admin

Did your parents ever try to have "the talk" with you? Have you blocked out all memory of it except for how painfully awkward it was? Send us your most cringe-worthy tales about the attempts of your parents, school sex ed teacher, or other well-meaning adults to tell you about the birds and the bees. If your story is cringe-worthy enough, you might just see it featured on our website...

Here are a few of the stories we've received so far:

"'The talk' with my mom consisted of her handing me a copy of Where Did I Come From? and telling me, 'Your body is a temple.' I was 14 at the time." ~ Lynn, 26

July 27th 2009

Women's Magazines: Friend or Foe?

- Laura Sessions Stepp

I sometimes wonder how much longer women’s magazines will be around.

Worry about how you look? Who you love? What your life’s work should be? If you’re under 30, you’re probably more likely to search the Web first than the newsstand mags your mom read such as Glamour, Marie Claire and Seventeen.

July 25th 2009

Proper Gentleman Thinks 'Expiration Dating' Is a Euphemism for 'One-Night-Stand'

- Stefanie

Another of Stefanie's crazy stories.

The other day Miss Imagination Station, Proper Gentleman, and I were talking about expiration dating. Proper Gentleman is moving to another state soon, and we thought he might like to try it, especially since he is both nice and hot (which is almost unheard of in the District of Columbia). We were surprised to find out that he had no idea what we were talking about.

Expiration dating is when two people start a relationship that has a defined end date; i.e., one of the people is moving soon. It is also a good excuse to hook-up with someone you have always been attracted to but never wanted to date.

Miss Imagination Station: “How do you not know what it is!?”

July 22nd 2009

Masturbation!

- Liz Sabatiuk

In honor of the recent flurry of discussion about a pamphlet about sexual pleasure being used for sex ed in the UK, a few words on masturbation. To borrow an excerpt from my post on the topic for Pregnant Pause, "many public health experts agree that masturbation is healthy and natural, though that perspective is not always presented in adolescent sex ed programs.

July 17th 2009

" I'm Sorry. I Can't. Don't Hate Me" . . . And Other Great Break Up Lines

- Stefanie

Never Gonna Give You Up, Never Gonna Let You Down . . .

I think everyone can agree that break-ups are not at all enjoyable. Whether it has been a long-term relationship or just a few dates, having to tell someone that “you just want to be friends” or being told that “I’m just not that into you anymore” sucks for all parties involved. (RE the title quote, many would agree that being told via post-it sucks even more than average.) However, after a few days, months, weeks, or years have passed, break-up stories can be pure comedy. Here are a few of my favorites.

July 15th 2009

Cohabiting: How Serious Is It?

- Liz Sabatiuk

Research shows that a growing number of Americans view cohabitation as an alternative to marriage. And if you're in your twenties, you probably don't need a study to tell you that cohabiting unions have become the most prevalent type of relationship among twenty-somethings. Naturally, this has led sociologists and cultural commentators to wonder whether cohabiting has come to serve as a stage before marriage, or even as a substitute.

July 13th 2009

True or False: 50% of Marriages End in Divorce?

- Laura Sessions Stepp

A colleague of mine at The National Campaign was fuming.

“If there’s one thing every high school kid will tell you,” he said, “it’s that 50 percent of marriages fail. It’s a lie.”

Well, it’s not exactly a lie, if you look at marriage data from years ago, or combine all education and income groups. But it’s also not true if you take a closer look at recent marriages.

Saying it over and over – as parents, politicians and pundits do – is akin to a college professor telling her class that half of them are going to fail her course, or a boss reminding recent hires that within a few years, half of them will be fired.

July 9th 2009

History Boy and Nice Girl Find the Line Between Casual and Casual

- Stefanie

Another of Stefanie's crazy stories.

Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?

The other day History Boy and I were talking about "Define the Relationship" talks, or DTRs. A DTR usually happens when two people are trying to decide whether they should just be friends/just hook up or start dating/be a couple. The general consensus is that they are complicated and mildly traumatic.

So anyway, History Boy had a DTR with Nice Girl and it went like this:

History Boy: “You know we have been hanging out a lot, and I think we should talk about where we stand.”

Nice Girl: “I agree.”