I remember a few years ago reading a piece by a woman who was apprehensive about turning 30. It was sent to me by a number of other female friends. Most sent me the link along with comments such as,
Women and Feminism
Communication: How to Avoid an Awkward Date from Hell
Last week a debate about what constitutes sexual assault and what doesn’t erupted on social media. I won’t rehash the horribly written article about Aziz Ansari and I won’t hyperlink to it either. That site has gotten plenty of traffic in the past week. I don’t want to debate the language, tone or content of the piece. Whatever could be said about it has been said about it. I’ve officially reached Aziz fatigue.
What I do want to continue however is the discussion about the weird grey area that exists between enthusiastic obvious consent, and less than thrilled uneasy consent. This is a very real problem for both genders, although women have been conditioned to accept it more so than men. Most of us have been there. We agree to do something sexually that we’re not sure we want to do. Again, I’m not referring to the Aziz article or anything in it, I just wanted to explore what many of us talked about in discussions about awkward sexual experiences. In a perfect universe we should strive for obvious enthusiastic consent, but we’re also not going to get rid of hundreds of years of social conditioning overnight. We are currently in a strange new world where some of the shame and stigma regarding human sexuality has been lifted, while still living with outdated perceptions of gender norms and what constitutes appropriate behavior.
The most compelling insight on the piece came from a surprising source – the sex positive community. I have a few friends who are so sex positive they have orgies for fun. They plan sex parties for a living. Many of them are in polyamorous or non-monogamous relationships with multiple partners sometimes of both genders. Some of them have worked as strippers, prostitutes, dominatrixes and even sexual surrogates. They speak of their sex lives as easily as most of us would talk about our pets or hobbies. They openly brag about having over 100 sexual partners or more. The general tone that I got from nearly all of them was.
What we have here is a lack of communication.
For decades it’s been drilled in our heads that we are not supposed to talk about sex. Human sexuality is rarely something we have frank and open conversations about, at least with new sexual partners. We are fed a myth our entire lives that amazing sex can be had with total strangers with very little communication. The exact opposite is true.
Sex is like rocket fuel to humans. It’s so important to us it’s literally how we create human life, yet at the same time we try to treat it like it’s something we can engage in without a second thought. Of course we can but we need some ground rules with a new partner if that’s going to happen. No one would think to jump out of an airplane without first being shown how to use a parachute. I don’t know why we can think we can magically enter into highly emotionally charged situations without figuring out appropriate boundaries first.
This list is about some of the strategies a person can use to avoid awkward, clumsy and uncomfortable consensual sexual encounters.
Everything on this list with a couple of exceptions is meant for BOTH GENDERS. Although I wrote this with straight couples in mind, some of the same principles could be applied any sexual orientation or gender identification.
*This list is only in regards to consensual sexual encounters. No amount of communication will deter a sexual predator. In those cases the only thing a person can do is physically fight back, escape a situation or scream for help if that’s an option. I want to make this distinction now as I don’t want anyone to think a person can simply talk their way out of a sexual assault. I speak about this as a survivor of sexual assault myself. Sexual assault is a criminal act where one half of the situation is given no agency, no control, no voice and no choice.
Tips for avoiding awkward sexual experiences.
Ask for what you want.
There is nothing wrong with simply asking for what you want. Both partners should be direct and open about boundaries and comfort levels.
The phrase “Do you want to have sex?” can be very sexy. It’s also incredibly unambiguous. The phrase “Can I kiss you?” can also be smolderingly hot if said in the right situation. It’s also perfectly acceptable to say what you don’t want. The best way to do this is to use clear language that cannot be misunderstood. Words like “No” “Stop” or “I don’t want to do this” are hard to misinterpret. Again this goes both for men and women. Men also find themselves in situations where they are not comfortable. Neither partner can assume the other one knows what they want without direct communication.
You are NEVER obligated to do anything you don’t want to do.
It doesn’t matter how much someone spent on a date. It doesn’t matter what you’ve already done on a date. Making out doesn’t mean you consent to oral sex. Having oral sex doesn’t mean your consent to anal sex. Having anal sex doesn’t mean you consent to new partners being added to the mix. If you don’t want to reciprocate or you’re not feeling it you can say no. You can stop at any time in the date. It might be awkward or strange to end the date abruptly, but the momentary awkwardness will be easier in the long-term than going through with something you’re not sure you want to do.
You don’t have to be polite if you don’t want to do something.
This is the only guideline on this list that is directed at women more than men. As women we are programmed almost from birth to be nice, sweet and accommodating. When you enter into a sexual act you are kind of putting yourself on the edge of a proverbial cliff. You don’t really know how your partner might treat you or react. During a sexual encounter a human being is about as vulnerable as they are ever going to be. This is not the time to worry about being polite. If you are freaked out or scared, you can just let it all out. No need to worry about how you’ll be perceived. Speak your truth. Stand up for yourself. If someone expects you to have unprotected sex and you insist on using protection say NO as loudly and as strongly as possible. There is NO WAY IN HELL you should put yourself in a potentially medically dangerous situation just to seem nice.
Real life is not a porn movie.
Porn is probably the worst teaching tool for having great sex. In most porn scenarios next to no dialog is spoken. A man somehow just knows that it’s OK to do all sorts of violent and depraved things to a woman he’s just met, he might even include another male partner without even remotely checking in with the woman. This is of course a fantasy.
Real life is not a fairy tale.
You might get lucky and have some incredibly romantic near perfect dates that end in beautiful, connected, and full-filling sex with someone you barely know. It does happen. It’s quite rare. Most amazing sex happens with someone you know well and have been having sex for some time.
When in doubt – check it out
If you suspect your partner is not into something stop and ask them. One of the craziest stories I’d ever heard came from a friend of mine who told me that in the middle of sex a new partner smacked her across the face. She stopped him immediately and said, “What are you doing? Why are you doing that?” he claimed his last partner was really into it. My friend told him she wasn’t. He stopped. She never had sex with him again. Because he immediately stopped the behavior after she requested it, she doesn’t consider this sexual assault. It’s a great example of a man assuming she would like something his last partner enjoyed. These assumptions happen all the time with both men and women. It’s ALWAYS better to check in before you take the risk of entering into behavior that could be seen as predatory, violent or criminal.
If it’s bad early on, it will probably stay bad.
I hate to say it but you can tell a lot from a kiss. If a man or woman’s idea of a hot kiss is your idea of a disgusting one, you’ll probably never connect sexually. It’s fine to simply make up some excuse and get out of the situation before you find yourself in a much more awkward experience later that night. Everyone goes through this. If a partner looks great on paper and you like him or her otherwise but her or she repulses you sexually, you’re probably better off not taking things further.
Excessive alcohol use can blur your judgment.
What I just typed is common sense. What I just typed has also been labeled as sexist, regressive, abusive and part of rape culture. The problem with the simple statement of “Don’t get drunk” is it’s often only told to women. Of course women should be able to drink alcohol if they want to and even get drunk. This exact same advice should also be given to men. Just as it is far more difficult to drive a car or walk down stairs, it’s also much more precarious to enter into a sexual situation when we are severely intoxicated. No one is perfect and people will sometimes accidentally drink too much. The dangers of excess alcohol are just a good thing to remind yourself of if you’re about to go out with a total stranger. I want to stress this again. BOTH GENDERS should heed this advice.
Gender specific “rules” that should be thrown out the window
For women
- Men won’t respect you or ask you out again if you have sex too quickly after meeting them.
- Don’t go out with him if he asks you out with less than three days notice for a date
- Don’t go home with a man on a first date.
- Don’t make out with a man on a first date.
- Tell him you’ve had three sexual partners in your past. (For most of us that would be a lie)
- Don’t openly talk about sex or act interested in sex.
- Never really say what you feel always play the game
- (Many more rules/assumptions too many to list here – basically that women must remain virginal, pure or at least appear so. Women must also act coy, not be direct and constantly appear nice)
For men
- If a woman goes home with you on the first date she wants to have sex
- If a woman has sex with you on the first date she has less value
- Any woman can be convinced to have sex with you if you just keep trying
- If a woman has more than three sexual partners in her past she has less value
- If a woman makes out with you that means she wants to have sex with you.
- If a women dresses in a revealing manner she wants to have sex with you.
- If a woman has joked or flirted with you that means she wants to have sex with you.
- Never really say what you feel always play the game
- (Many more rules/assumptions too many to list here but basically that men should pursue, pursue, pursue even when things seem pathetic. Basically the cliché of a boss chasing his secretary around the desk.)
These are all antiquated ideas about love and sex. Most of these “rules” leave both genders confused and frustrated. The best way a man can find out if a woman wants to have sex with him is to ask her directly. Even though it’s usually wise to avoid sex with perfect strangers, I’ve known several long-term loving relationships that started out just like that. We have to stop thinking in rigid terms of gender roles and old-fashioned codes of behavior. We have to smash the ideas of playing hard to get, acting like we don’t really want sex when we actually do, and generally blurring the lines of open communication. We have to speak up as openly and clearly as possible and empower ourselves to say no when needed. Again this goes for both men and women.
The last guideline really has nothing to do with awkward sex but is more about the flip side.
You can have great sex with people who are terrible partners
This is probably one of the toughest lessons in life that both men and women learn the hard way. I think all of my friends have had amazingly hot, passionate sex with people who were absolutely horrible to them. Sex is great, but if someone is really treating you like garbage outside of the bedroom you’re better off without them. You can always find another partner who you will click with completely who won’t emotionally abuse or neglect you.
I’ve read a lot of articles regarding this topic that were all saying the same things I’m saying here. This is also extremely obvious advice, I admit that openly. I just wanted to get this out in a way that didn’t seem preachy, use words like patriarchy, misogyny, toxic masculinity or any other ism. Even though this is a widespread problem that is deeply entrenched in our culture we don’t have to think in terms of lofty goals to solve it. It starts with each and everyone of us. If we all want to have good sex we just need to start talking to each other about everything and anything. Don’t feel weird asking questions and never assume you know what’s going on in anyone else’s head.
Follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/JulietJeske
Add me on Facebook Juliet Jeske Facebook Fan Page
To call the Aziz Ansari date from hell sexual assault in an insult to survivors of sexual assault.
A couple of days ago a the website babe published an article entitled
“I went on a date with Aziz Ansari. It turned into the Worst Night of My Life”. The premise of the article was about a young photographer referred to only as Grace who went on a date with the television star Aziz Ansari. I admit I don’t know much about Ansari’s work. Apparently he’s fashioned his image as some sort of woke male feminist.
As soon as the article hit the internet the outrage machine was in full force. People were decrying that Ansari was a rapist and that if anyone disagreed with them they were a rape apologist or supporting rape culture. The term “victim blaming” was thrown around quite a bit. I read and then re-read the article and kept coming to the same conclusion. This doesn’t read like sexual assault it just seems like a bad date.
When I posted my misgivings about the article on my Facebook page, a few woman I know shared similar views. Some even said they found it insulting as survivors of sexual assault themselves that something like this was being lumped in with real abuse.
I won’t break down the whole article beat by beat as I’m sure many others have done the same. What I couldn’t help but notice though with each re-reading:
- Ansari was overtly blatant about his intentions. He went for sex almost as soon as they entered the apartment. He mentioned a condom and performed oral sex on this woman within 10 minutes of them being alone together.
- The woman was playing coy. She had high expectations for this date. He was a celebrity. She had bragged about this date to her friends. She was under the impression that Ansari would be more like his stage persona, and less like the man who was acting like an entitled prick. She never really gives him a hard “No, I don’t want to do this” until after she’s performed oral sex on him twice, admittedly not whole heartedly.
From his perspective he’s not going to necessarily know she’s not into this if she has had his penis in her mouth twice that evening. Of course any woman at any time during a sexual encounter has the right to slam on the breaks and end it. Just because a woman agreed to make out with a man doesn’t mean she wants to have sex with him. Just because she might consent to oral sex, doesn’t mean she wants to take things further. What’s missing here is communication on both of their parts.
Ansari isn’t being subtle. If anything he’s being too overt. He’s acting like an spoiled brat who is used to having women throw themselves at him. He’s probably assuming this woman is a huge fan of his and this is just as exciting for her than it is for him. Ansari with all of his flaws is communicating nearly everything he wants. He isn’t telling this woman he’s madly in love with her. He didn’t bother with any pretense of wanting to get to know her better as a person. He wants sex. He wants sex immediately and keeps stating his intentions openly.
The woman is not communicating her needs as clearly. She only does so when things get so bad for her that she finally snaps. She moves away and mumbles, she tells him to “chill out” but she doesn’t tell him NO. She doesn’t use the one word that can’t be mistaken for any other meaning. The one word that he cannot misunderstand. She continues to make out with him and engage in sexual contact with him.
The real tragedy for me in this whole thing is not that she was sexually assaulted. I still don’t think she was sexually assaulted. Honestly if this really is the “worst night of her life” as she is quoted in the article then she has lived a charmed life. By the time I was 22 years old I’d had several bad dates like this one. I’d also survived molestation, sexual harassment, sexual assault and attempted rape. In all of those encounters I had no control whatsoever. It didn’t matter what I said or did, the men who were abusing me wouldn’t stop. I wish I could have started crying and asked for a cab to make it all stop, but no amount of tears or denials worked.
The real tragedy is that as a woman she’d been conditioned, probably since birth, to not speak up for herself in the moment. She somehow thought she could turn this horrific situation around by playing coy. She also thought that he might pick up on the fact that she “went cold” and stopped responding sexually. Again she was answering clear oral communication with vague non-verbal cues. She thouhgt she might change his mind by staying in sexual encounter but still stopping short of sex. She felt she had to “play nice” and not speak up for herself. The other tragedy is that Ansari had also been conditioned to believe that women can be coaxed into sex if men just keep pushing. Although her actions would be confusing to most men, when she finally said “Let’s chill out.” that should have been a cue for him to maybe ask her directly and bluntly what she wanted in that situation. Instead it was his turn to be vague and pretend they were really going to just watch television.
This was not an assault, it was a miscommunication of epic proportions with both sides making mistakes. I also honestly feel bad for the woman in this situation. I’m sure she was hurt and disappointed by all of it. He didn’t treat her well but sadly there will probably be far more dates like this one in her future. If a man says he wants to have sex 10 minutes into the encounter very little is going to dissuade him from his mission. He made his intentions clear early on. If she didn’t want to have sex with him, that should have been her cue to leave. Most women will find themselves in these situations countless times. At least Ansari didn’t mislead her, lie to her and tell her he had deep feelings for her, have sex with her and then never speak to her again. That move is also quite common and insidious with men of all ages.
If women want to be taken seriously as equal members of society we can’t pretend we are suddenly hopeless lambs without agency or power. If we don’t want to do something we have to say NO. We have to sometimes say no loudly, repeatedly and say it with purpose. Women don’t owe a man sex if he just bought us dinner, lives in an expensive apartment or is a television personality. We don’t owe a man a reciprocal blow job if he’s already gone down on us. If we aren’t comfortable we need to say so and not wait until the next day, ruminate over the whole thing and then decide we are violated. If a man has made it clear to us that he wants to have sex and nothing more, then we can make the choice to agree to it or not.
Honestly I fear that the article will be used by MRA (Mens Rights Advocates) who try to argue that date rape doesn’t really exist. That date rape basically boils down to women regretting their choices from the night before and then crying rape/sexual assault after the fact. Sexual assault is a vicious and ugly thing to endure. It robs people of control over the most personal part of themselves, their body and dignity. I don’t see that type of ugliness in this scenario. I see instead a young inexperienced woman who was still holding on to an idealized fantasy of how the date should have gone, and a entitled, immature man intent on getting laid. When she finally gave him a forceful NO he stopped. She went home and cried and he probably jerked off to porn. It was an awkward and uncomfortable sexual experience for both of them, not a criminal act.
This whole thing reminds me of a time when a friend of mine went out with another celebrity I won’t name. He was quite a bit older and also presented himself as a woke type who respects women. On their date after dinner and drinks he sat down next to my friend in her apartment and put his arm around her back. Before she knew it he was on top of her and had whipped out his erect penis. Now my friend is an athlete. She used to compete in professional pole dancing competitions. Before he knew what hit him, she shoved him off with all her force and screamed “GET OFF OF ME! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” His response was a meek “Sorry, sorry, sorry. I thought that’s what you wanted.” It wasn’t. They never went out again, but now my friend had a hilarious story to tell at parties. In her case he wasn’t a rapist either, just a clueless entitled idiot who backed down the second he got a hard refusal. These things happen, they’re called bad dates, not sexual assault.
Follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/JulietJeske
Add me on Facebook Juliet Jeske Facebook Fan Page
Why Monica Lewinsky is NOT my feminist hero.
Last week was apparently the 20th anniversary of the Lewinsky-Clinton scandal. I’m not sure why we need to celebrate or commemorate such a fiasco but this morning I discovered this tweet by Eve Peyser, a staff writer at Vice.com
There’s a lot in this one tweet. For starters I don’t how it’s very feminist to make negative blanket statements about two entire generations of women. To encompass all baby boomers and generation X women in one sweeping generalization like that is really condemning most women in the United States.
I’m not a fan of broad generalizations about any group, and I have a more nuanced view of the Lewinksy scandal so this was my response to that tweet.
(I actually made a mistake when I wrote my tweet. For years I always thought I was slightly younger than Lewinsky. I only discovered when researching this article that Monica and I are actually the exact same age.)
For starters I didn’t learn about the Lewinsky-Clinton scandal from textbooks and news articles. I lived through it. I won’t delve into the minutia of the entire ordeal and I might get a couple of small details wrong but the basics go like this. A young privileged woman (Monica Lewinsky) open and aggressively pursued a married man (President Bill Clinton) who had a long history of infidelity and womanizing. The GOP leadership was already investigating Clinton for a past real estate deal when they stumbled upon evidence of the affair. When Clinton denied it, Republican representatives filed for articles of impeachment on grounds that he’d lied under oath. Every torrid sexual detail was exposed. Several horrible people profited from tell all books and tabloid exclusives, but when the dust settled Clinton, although permanently tainted from the scandal, stayed in power. In the upcoming years several of the men who lead the charge against Clinton, ended up in far more lurid sex scandals of their own.
Lewinsky received a disproportionate amount of negative press for her role in the affair. She was called everything from a slut, whore, home-wrecker, and opportunist. The press mocked her weight, clothing, and appearance. Her personal life was dissected and analyzed and nearly everything written about her was negative. Intimate sexual details between her and the president were printed for all of eternity in the special prosecutor’s report. Her face graced the cover of newspapers and magazines for months. Lewinsky tried to profit off of her notoriety by selling her own line of handbags, a venture which quickly failed and did nothing to improve her image.
After millions of tax dollars were spent on the investigation, the whole mess ended up backfiring for the GOP as the general public sentiment could be reduced to the simple question:
Was all of this necessary for a blow job?
Now back to the idea of Lewinsky being bullied and slut-shamed. Regarding the charge of bullying. Although the press was overly harsh toward her, most women I knew had mixed feelings. Social media didn’t exist at the time and none of us could really have done anything but sit back and watch the train wreck. I’m sure Lewinsky got mountains of hate mail but no one could tweet at her, make video rants about her, mock her online, share unflattering photos of her, or dox her personal information. The general public wasn’t nearly as interactive in such affairs in the 1990s. We just didn’t have the means to get involved.
As far as slut-shaming is concerned, that’s also a bit complicated. There is a faction of third wave feminism that promotes the idea that anything sexual a woman does should be championed or celebrated. For centuries female sexuality has been viewed as evil or something to be controlled. There is nothing wrong of course with two adults in a consensual sexual relationship. Things get blurry however when sexuality crosses over into unethical behavior. A person can think whatever they want about the institution of marriage, but they don’t exist in a cultural vacuum where everyone shares the same belief system. Knowingly having an affair with a married person is a high risk behavior. When one enters into an adulterous relationship with someone they know is married they are suddenly involving other people without their consent. Although they might get away with their affair, it could also have extreme negative consequences for both the spouse and children of the person they are sleeping with. Infidelity is a selfish and unethical act that involves lies and betrayal. Deception destroys trust in any relationship, and can cause untold damage to the faithful spouse. Two atheists can tear each other apart in a marriage without the concept of religious sin or morality ever entering the picture. Simply put an extramarital affair might be fun for the two people involved in it, but it might also wreck emotional havoc on an entire family.
I also don’t think Lewinsky is the best example for the #MeToo movement. Clinton never threatened Lewinsky’s job. There’s no evidence that he did anything of the sort. He never told her he’d destroy her career, harm her family or ruin her reputation if she didn’t go along with his advances. She has never testified to as much, and there’s nothing in the Starr report that would indicate it. Lewinsky was much younger than Clinton, but he didn’t exactly coerce or force her. If anything she was a starstruck girl who got a rush and sense of self-importance by having sexual relations with a very powerful man. She openly bragged about their affair, about flashing her thong underwear during meeting with him. She also boasted about “bringing her presidential knee pads to the White House” before she even met him. Lewinsky probably did have emotional scars from a previous relationship she’d had with another older married man. She probably had a warped view of relationships with older men because of her past. Clinton had a long history of inappropriate behavior with women. It was unprofessional and foolish to get involved sexually with a young subordinate. As the POTUS he had more important things to worry about. He used poor judgment, lied to his wife, lied to the American people and ruined his own legacy in the process. He had far more life experience and more at stake, and should have used restraint. He wasn’t the first president to have an extramarital affair, and Lewinsky if far from the first woman to have sex with one.
What also compelled me to reject the label of “feminist hero” toward Lewinsky are Lewinsky’s own words and actions since the scandal ended. At first she tried to ride her notoriety with a line of handbags. That wasn’t exactly a bold step forward for feminism or women’s rights. It was a crass attempt to cash in on the media attention. That venture failed quickly and she faded into relative obscurity. When she returned to tell her story many years later she was contrite. She took ownership of her mistakes and failings. She started a platform to raise awareness of the dangers of public humiliation in the media.
The irony is of course is that although she was humiliated by a vicious press, Lewinsky’s actions also caused great humiliation to Bill’s wife Hillary and their teenage daughter Chelsea. Hillary was far from unscathed from this whole mess. Although Hillary has been long-suffering through Bill’s many dalliances she chose to stay in the marriage and forgive her husband. She has also bore the burden of his actions and poor choices. Bill’s past with women was constantly brought up during her failed presidential attempt. Her moral center was questioned even though she’d done nothing wrong but try to defend her husband. As much as Lewinsky might feel she has to endure a permanent scarlet A on her chest for her youthful mistakes, Hillary also wears the badge of enabler, doormat, or frigid shrew.
Lewinsky didn’t improve the plight of women, and she didn’t do anything heroic through her extended ordeal. She did have enough personal strength and insight to take responsibility for her actions many years later. She’s also tried to improve the lives of others through her anti-bullying campaign. If anything she’s a survivor who tried to use her personal pain for good, but to call her a hero is a bridge too far.
If millennial women are searching for an actual feminist hero of the #MeToo movement the choice should be obvious. Just a few years before the Lewinsky-Clinton scandal a young attorney testified that she was repeatedly sexually harassed by her boss Clarence Thomas. She spoke up because he had just been nominated to a position on the supreme court. Anita Hill sat alone in front of the all male senate judiciary committee and the world to describe her ordeal in brutal detail. During her brave testimony she was viciously picked apart by the press and Thomas’s supporters. She also endured an avalanche of scrutiny of every detail of her life, background and personal relationships. She went through as much grief as Lewinsky if not more. In the end Clarence got his seat on the court and Anita Hill never changed her story. At time of her testimony 60 percent of Americans believed Thomas over Hill, yet after her testimony, the number of women filing harassment claims with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission doubled. Anita Hill is a feminist hero in every way possible, in fact she’s a feminist superstar.
Follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/JulietJeske
Add me on Facebook Juliet Jeske Facebook Fan Page
If you think Gender did NOT play a role in this election…
Today a white left-leaning political comedian posted the following on social media.
Voting for Hillary Clinton was not an act of feminism. Now it’s time to prove your true feminism.
I wasn’t the only woman on his thread to react negatively to his statement. I posted two comments. One was along the lines of
Wow that’s tone deaf
Then I waited a moment, thought about it again, and completely unloaded a rant about feminism, putting up with misogyny, and how liberals are far from immune from white male privilege. I kind of lost my shit and blocked him. I didn’t know this man well but there was something about the paternal quality to his request that set me over the edge. He might believe he has empathy for feminists, but he honestly has no idea what it would be like to put up with sexism EVERY SINGLE DAY OF HIS LIFE. He also doesn’t understand the complexities that gender played in this election.
Voting for Hillary was not a feminist act, but watching this election cycle unfold has been intensely difficult for many women. To act as if Hillary’s gender did not play a role in how she was perceived by the media and the public at large is a complete farce.
To give an example, let’s take both Trump and Hillary at face value. Now imagine them switching genders. We would then have a wealthy, bombastic, outspoken political novice with five children by three different husbands. Her current spouse would be a former model, over two decades younger than her, and a stay-at-home dad.
She’s a self-purported billionaire, born into wealth with a self-aggrandizing ego the size of the moon. She announces her candidacy with an overbearing, profanity laden, extended rant in which she tears apart entire ethnic groups, and repeatedly declares the United States is deeply broken. Over the course of her primary battles, she encourages violence against protesters and stokes the flames of racial tension. She also flings personal insults at her opponents, mocks a disabled person, and gets in late night twitter battles with private and public citizens. She even insults the mother of a dead soldier and a Gold Star family. Any time she is criticized, she reacts in an emotional and dramatic way often resorting to harsh language and personal insults.
The same candidate doesn’t bother to prepare for all three presidential debates, and only keeps her cool for the first 25-30 minutes each time. Instead of discussing her policy specifics she hurls insults at her opponent and moderators. She is caught in lie after lie during interviews, and gets basic facts about US foreign policy completely wrong. This woman even goes so far as to speak admirably about dictators and despots while managing to insult our allies. She never releases her tax returns, despite promises of the contrary, and openly admits that she hasn’t paid federal income tax for the past two decades. She’s caught on video bragging about sexually assaulting much younger men; and audio footage is released in which she admits to walking in on teenaged boys just to get a peek of their naked bodies. Nude photos of her unemployed, formal-model husband are released to the press. In speeches and interviews she declares that she does not seek help or advice from others, and that she is the only person who can solve all of the country’s problems. Then to top it all off, she’s endorsed by the KKK and the Alt-right movement.
If anyone believes for a moment that the female version of Trump would have lasted more than a week in this primary battle they are living in a bastion of male privilege or they’ve wrapped themselves in a blanket of patriarchal delusion. In reality if Trump was a woman, he would not even be considered a viable candidate based on his two divorces, and five children by three different men. That fact alone would have caused the public to turn against him. Even ONE emotional outburst or twitter war would have doomed her candidacy. Women are simply held to a different standard than men.
Watching the fall of Hillary on Tuesday night felt personal. What I saw was a professional and immensely qualified woman get trounced by a boorish, thin-skinned, sexist man-child who had no intellectual curiosity or desire to learn anything new.
Every woman, Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal has been made to feel lesser at some point in her life based solely on her gender. We have worked twice as hard, only to have someone reduce us to our looks or break us down into body parts. We’ve sat silently in the room when a man in a position of power makes degrading remarks about our gender. We’ve had to overlook and ignore sexually inappropriate behavior because we didn’t want to lose our jobs or get a bad grade in school. When we have spoken up for ourselves we are labeled as bitchy, shrill, difficult, mannish or worse. We’ve had to walk down the street as strange men hurled insults at us, blocked our paths or even grabbed us simply because we didn’t stop to chat, smile, or make eye contact with them. We’ve consented to sexual acts we didn’t want to do because we realized giving in would be easier than fighting back. We’ve had every boundary pushed and ignored by men who decided we were more object than human being. Many of us have been sexually assaulted, beaten or stalked by men we knew and trusted. We have learned to fear all men in certain situations – to not walk home late at night, to be constantly aware of our surroundings, to not get too drunk, to worry about our drinks getting drugged, to avoid wearing short skirts or low-cut tops, to understand that we could be sexually attacked by a random stranger.
White men in this country have the gift of being neutral. They are judged on their words and actions. Everyone else, in every demographic, is filtered through a lens of gender or ethnicity. Throughout the entire ordeal of the process the public and press measured Hillary by a totally different standard than they did Trump. With all of his talk about the media bias against him, the overbearing white male could say and do anything, while the woman had to carefully watch and monitor her every move. Even then she was criticized for being too inauthentic, robotic, and finely polished. Voters would declare they just didn’t like her, they didn’t know why, but something about a strong and an accomplished woman shook them to their core.
So yes, voting for Hillary was not a feminist act, but watching her lose to an undisciplined, abusive, ignorant, sexist, racist and xenophobic bully hurt me deeply as a woman. I couldn’t help but think of all the times in my own life I’ve been underestimated, torn down, humiliated, picked-apart and ashamed just because I was born female. I could list all of the incidents but this article would become far too long, and every woman I know could also fill several pages with stories of her own.
The smug white progressives can save their advice for how I, or any woman should process this loss. For me Hillary represented all of us, with all of her flaws and shortcomings she was the woman working twice as hard getting half the credit. She won’t be the last woman to run for president, but in many ways she was the sacrificial lamb for the next woman to follow. Maybe by then, our first female president will be judged more on her words and actions, rather than the narrow constraints of what it means to be a woman.
Follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/JulietJeske
Add me on Facebook Juliet Jeske Facebook Fan Page
What I’ve learned as I enter the Disney Villainess stage of my life…
If I was a character in a Disney princess film, I would most likely be the villainess. I kind of fit the profile.
- I live alone.
- I am childless.
- I live with two cats.
- I’m not just single, I’m divorced.
- I look young for my age.
- I dress young for my age.
- I own a lot of fabulous heels, dresses and coats.
- I love makeup.
At first glance these traits might seem like nothing but put them all together and I’m basically the Evil Queen in Snow White,
The twisted Fairy Maleficent
Or even the aging Mother Gothel in Tangled.
This is me in a mermaid costume, you can see it now right?
In Disney’s universe and in many of our iconic fairy tales the most dangerous threat to a young maiden’s well-being is a scheming, jealous, aging beauty.
The bitter fallen woman antagonist is so ingrained children’s fables you’d think there be some basis in reality for the archetype. We all know bitter angry women but where are the marauding mobs of middle-aged gals destroying modeling schools, poisoning cheerleaders, or torching beauty pageants? There is the popular Real Housewives series on Bravo but those ladies are mostly Disney villainess types attacking other Disney villainess types.
In the real world around 77% of murder victims are men, and men commit about 90% of all murders.. Statistically speaking women have far more to fear from the men in their lives then they do from other females.. Intimate partners, former intimate partners, relatives, neighbors and co-workers are the most likely to murder or maim any woman. Female murder victims (41.5%) were almost 6 times more likely than male murder victims (7.1%) to have been killed by an intimate. Men are also more at risk of violence from men they know well, as more than half of them are killed by an acquaintance, but for the most part women aren’t much of a threat to either gender. Of course women do make up 10% of murderers and 15% of serial killers but it does seem odd that most fairy tales showcase the exception and not the rule.
Our most iconic fables were obviously written by men, in a time when women were lucky if they even had a rudimentary education. The theme of an older jealous homicidal female might have made more sense when women had far fewer choices. Until fairly recently most women had four basic paths in life – wife, nun, prostitute or domestic laborer. Women and girls also had little agency in their choices. Most families decided the fate of their daughters, as women had few rights to make their own decisions.
Since it’s 2016 and I’m not limited to whatever choices my family wants for me, I don’t see young women as adversaries. I see someone who will soon learn how hard it is out there to just exist as a woman. I know she’s going to go through situations where she won’t be taken seriously, when she’ll have to use her husband or boyfriend as some type of mouthpiece to get her point across. I know she’ll face disappointment after she sees man after man promoted ahead of her for no reason. I can hear her sigh with disgust when she reduced to nothing more than breasts, butt and legs. I can feel her cringe as a man in power touches her in a way that makes her skin crawl. I can imagine the many painful years ahead of her when she’s been let down by her husband, becomes frustrated by screaming children and disillusioned by white picket fence dreams.
I also reject the notion that I’m in competition with young women for attention from men. A man’s affections aren’t necessarily worth much. I’ve just seen too many marriages fall apart or turn into something less than fulfilling. More than a few married men have sent me awkward emails in the middle of the night, or dropped their wedding ring into their pockets while chatting me up, or confessed that they hated their wives. After these examples and my own divorce I know marriage is mostly a crapshoot. Some are beautiful unions that strengthen both partners but many are sad and tragic illusions. I also can’t help but think of the bad relationships I’ve had with emotionally needy and draining men who demand constant reassurance yet give little in return. Then there are the pretty boys who have to chase every woman they find to help feed their insatiable egos. A good partner is hard to find for both genders and I’d rather be alone than be in a toxic disaster.
Sure there are some younger women who frustrate me. I do get annoyed when I see them treating themselves like doormats just to keep their boyfriend or partner happy. My heart hurts when I see them trash each other or buy into the notion that women must always compete with other women. I roll my eyes a bit when they seem to crave and demand attention based solely on their appearance. I also remind myself that we’ve all been brought up in a culture that reinforces the notion that women are only valued for their appearance. I try to give younger women a break too when I remember what an insecure, attention seeking mess I was at their age.
I’ve often said I want to rewrite all the fairy tales. If I were a Disney villainess I would wrap the young maidens in an invisible cloak that would warm them every time they makes a misstep or danger approaches. I’d bequeath magic potions to detect date rape drugs, weapons to protect against would be predators, and magic mirrors that would offer daily affirmations not criticism. I’d give them glitter bombs to throw on aggressive cat callers and tutus to slap on angry misogynistic bullies. I’d create a kingdom where there were no glass ceilings, no demeaning remarks by men in power, no boys clubs, no cyber-stalkers, no angry internet trolls, no sexual predators, no gender biases, and no assumptions that women are lesser or only the sum of their physical parts. I’d do it all in my fallen woman finery with dresses that are “too young” for me, tight skirts, high heels, full hair and bright red lipstick. I wouldn’t wear a coat made of puppy skins or a high-necked caped gown but I would include all my sisters young and old to celebrate in the sisterhood of womanhood.
Related Articles:
- Dating After Divorce in a City of Sluts (julietjeskeblog.com)
- Dating After Divorce: Mr. My Bitch Ex-wife (julietjeskeblog.com)
- On Being a Straight Spouse: Broken Memories (julietjeskeblog.com)
- Dating Online: The Coward (julietjeskeblog.com)
- Dating After Divorce: An Open Letter for Married Men Looking to Cheat (julietjeskeblog.com)
- Dating After Divorce: Why is it So Difficult in your Late Thirties (julietjeskeblog.com)
- Life After Divorce: Please Don’t Blame Me for Being Single (julietjeskeblog.com)
- Dating After Divorce on Rebounds and Supernovas (julietjeskeblog.com)
- Dating in New York: Sexless in the City (julietjeskeblog.com)
- Top 10 Rules for Dating in New York City (julietjeskeblog.com)
Follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/JulietJeske
Add me on Facebook Juliet Jeske Facebook Fan Page
Dear Mom: Thank You for Working
I’m writing this in response to the much maligned article that appeared in the Huffington Post “Dear Daughter, Here’s Why I Don’t Work” by Lydia Lovric. The author takes a lot of pride in her decision to stay at home while raising her kids. It’s great that Lovric is happy with her choice, but she also made quite a few condescending and false assumptions about working mothers. I could break down and analyze all the rude things the author implied about working moms, but I decided to write a letter to my mother instead. Since I’m the grown daughter of a working mother. I’m living proof that a mom can work outside the home without harming her kids.
Dear Mom, thank you for working. You had all four of your children during the difficult recession of the seventies. Interest rates were sky-high and the country was facing runaway inflation. When we were toddlers, you had no choice but to stay at home, as the cost of child care would have exceeded any wage you would have earned. Yet, as soon as we were in school you tried desperately to get a full-time job. You didn’t work because you wanted a fancy car, vacations, nicer clothes or a bigger house, in fact you rarely spent money on yourself. Your income paid for things like food, clothing, the electric bill and our mortgage.
Thank you Mom for working and showing me that with enough effort you can accomplish anything. You started out with a bachelors in French, and eventually worked your way up to a Master’s Degree in education. On your own time you got a certification to teach Spanish and enough credits that you almost got a PhD. You did this all while working full-time as a foreign language teacher and raising four kids.
Thank you Mom for working as without your job we never could have dreamed of a higher education.
Thank you Mom for working to support us in case Dad got sick or died prematurely.
Thank you Mom for working as it made us self-sufficient and independent.
Thank you Mom for working because we know it gave you a sense of self. You enjoyed your job even though it sometimes frustrated you.
Thank you Mom for working, as it helped you not obsess over us. Even though you shuttled us around and were active in many of our sporting, social and academic activities, you still had other things to worry about.
Thank you Mom for teaching me that feminism isn’t a bad word. You would never call yourself a feminist, but you believed your daughters should have the same opportunities as your sons.
Thank you Mom for working, but I would thank you if you hadn’t. I know you love and supported all four of your children, and you would have regardless of your work situation. No one would think to ask dad why he got up every day at 5 am to work 8-12 hours a day fixing cars. His choices were always just accepted, while you and every other working mother face scrutiny for everything you do. Many moms don’t have a spouse or partner. They must work and some even work more than one job to support their kids. Some moms choose to work because their spouse doesn’t make enough to support a family. An increasing number of families must have dual incomes for basic survival.
Being a mom is the hardest job in the world, and it doesn’t matter if a mom works one job, two jobs, or stays at home while raising children. Every mother is trying to do the best for her kids and her family, including moms who work simply because they enjoy having a job. Life is one big crap shoot. What is best for one family might be awful for another, and all mothers have their own style of parenting. Instead of criticizing mothers for working, or not working, we should realize we’re all in this together.
I want to thank my mom one more time. Her original plan was that she’d get married, have babies and stay at home to raise them. Her life didn’t work out that way, but was she was the best mom she could be, and I wouldn’t be the woman I am today without her.
Related Articles
- Dear Everyone: Here’s Why I Don’t Want to Read Your Crappy Opinions on What Mothers Should Do – (thebellejar.com)
- Dear Daughter, Here’s Why I Don’t Work (Huffingtonpost.com)
- Dear Daughter, Here’s Why I work (parenting.com)
Follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/JulietJeske
Add me on Facebook Juliet Jeske Facebook Fan Page
Street Harassment: A Challenge to Men
Once while crossing the street in Washington Heights a man screamed out at me, “Hey Sexy!” I was wearing baggy jeans, a sweatshirt, a baseball cap and glasses with no makeup. I looked a step away from a vagrant. I didn’t respond. Just then, I heard the same voice shout back at me, “Ya fat ass. Bitch”
I was crossing the street at the light. Was I supposed to stop, walk over to the sound of the voice even though I had no idea what car he was in. I knew the man was talking to me as there were no other women around, but I looked so grubby it seemed strange that he would call me “sexy.” This same scenario plays out daily, sometimes several times a day no matter what I’m wearing or how I look.
In the worst examples I’ve been grabbed by random strangers. They usually grab me by my arm and try to pull me into them. It’s so inappropriate it borders on assault. If a man did that to another man, he’s libel to get punched, pushed, shoved or slapped. It’s just unacceptable.
One night while walking home from a comedy show a group of young teenagers walked up to me for no reason, and one of them pulled my hair and then ran away laughing. It was near Union Square, the streets were quite busy. My response was to immediately start screaming at the boys. It ended with me chasing them down the block. I did get some satisfaction when they finally decided to start running from me, the look of fear in their eyes gave me hope they wouldn’t try it again any time soon.
The infamous video that is making the internet rounds lately stirred a fairly heated debate among my friends. When I watched the video, I saw a woman dealing with street harassment as she wore a t-shirt and jeans and did nothing more than walk silently through the streets of New York City. What my friend saw was a racially biased video that portrayed black men as the primary source of this type of harassment. Interesting how people from two oppressed groups can see the exact same footage and get something completely different perspectives from it. The video did contain some white men who were harassing the woman, and a few voices were of undetermined ethnicity. However the makers of the video did make a mistake by only using a white woman. It would have been a better experiment to use women of various ethnic backgrounds. Not only would the non-white women still get comments, they would probably get racist remarks on top of it.
Since I’ve lived in New York City for 13 years, I have friends from every background imaginable. Street harassment is something that nearly all of my female friends complain about. It doesn’t matter if they are white, black, Asian, Latina or some combination. Every woman under a certain age regardless of size has experienced it. Some women just block them out, but for many of us the remarks feel like acid, constantly wearing us down as we are just trying to get from one place to another.
I’ve had to deal numerous sexually charged incidents of violence over the years. I would list them all here but I’d rather not. I don’t really want to go there again. A few of them were so bad though, that I was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD is normally associated with men coming back from war, but anyone who has lived through traumatic experiences can develop the disorder. When I was 19 years old I got jumped by a guy after coming out of a bar. I was thrown up against a wall and the man was trying to rip open my clothing. I was too terrified to do anything. Luckily someone else noticed what was going on and the man stopped. But that incident left scars. Now when someone grabs me on the street I explode. I tend to start screaming, my blood pressure rises, my heart races, and I go into full flight or fight mode. I struggle to control myself when this happens, but it’s as if a demon has been unleashed. Luckily for me this usually causes men to immediately drop their hands, and back away.
To really prove this is a universal problem Hollaback should remake their video and show it happens to all women, and that men of all shades of skin engage in this behavior. I could see my friend’s point that it looked biased. What troubled me instead were the comments that so many men were making regarding street harassment.
- It doesn’t exist – women don’t really go through this
- We should be happy to get such attention
- If we don’t respond we are stuck up snobs
- Women have nothing to fear from men
- Men don’t mean any harm by these comments
- Men can’t help themselves when they see women walk by
- Women should just put up with this because it’s not harmful
- If the guys were attractive we wouldn’t mind the comments
- This is just how men act and we should accept it
Several women tried in vain to point out that this really is unwanted attention. Why would women feel less safe when random strangers invade their personal space and try to force them to connect with them verbally or otherwise? Why are we so guarded when walking down the street? Why can a man just walk down the street without experiencing this? Sure some women might make a comment towards a man, but women overall are far less of a threat to anyone’s physical safety. About 90% of all murders are committed by men, and 95% of all sexual predators are men. Now this isn’t to say all men are violent, of course they aren’t. Most victims of violence are men, and most victims also tend to know their attacker and be the same race as their attacker. But the chances of a woman committing the same acts of violence is extremely rare. Violent criminals tend to re-offend, so it literally is a minority of men who are the problem. Because of this, women are far less likely to assume that every man who she encounters is going to be harmless. Every day we have to judge if “Hey Beautiful” just an innocuous statement or if it is the start to a physical assault? Most of us have found that if we engage with men on the street, some will take that as an invitation for more contact. In my own experience I’ve found even eye contact is an invitation to a few deranged individuals. I’ve just been grabbed too many times to assume it won’t happen again. It’s also sobering to note that according to a recent government survey 1 in 5 American women reported to be a victim of rape, or an attempted rape. About 80% of those women reported that it happened before the age of 25. So any cat caller has about a 20% chance that he’s chatting up someone who might very well been a victim of a previous sexual assault.
Instead of logically trying to explain this to the men who don’t understand, I’ll simply say this. If you don’t believe me, and you don’t want to read my stories then I implore you to sit down with your close female friends, your sister, your girlfriend, your mother, your daughter, your niece or your aunt. Ask them if they’ve ever been sexually intimidated by a man. Ask them if they’ve experienced sexual violence. Ask them if they had a man follow them down the street, block their path, or grab their arm when they were minding their own business. I think you’d be surprised what you would find.
And if that still doesn’t get you to change your point of view then think of a young girl in your family. Think how you would feel if your 8-year-old niece had to put up with the same comments. I’ve seen girls who are clearly underage get lewd and creepy remarks from men in their 40’s and 50’s. Think about what that does to their self-esteem to have a man older than her father treat her that way. If you wouldn’t want your mother to put up with this, or your sister, your niece, your granddaughter, your daughter, your girlfriend or wife, then why is it OK to do it to random woman?
Among my circle of friends it’s usually harder to find the woman who hasn’t had some type of scary incident in her past. I know one friend who was attacked with a hammer just last year. She fought off her attacker but had to have staples put in her scalp to repair what he had done to her. I know of another who admitted to being nearly raped by a man who held a gun to her head, and another still who was driven to a remote location and attacked by a cab driver. Most women have stories like these, the incidents are not rare, and it’s exactly why we are on guard when we are walking down the street by ourselves.
Sadly the woman in the video got rape threats in youtube comments. Men trying to defend this as simple harmless behavior in the same breath threatened to sexually assault the woman. It’s as if they are proving our point. If it really was a compliment, “Hey Beautiful” shouldn’t be followed by “Bitch.”
So start a dialog. Start it right now. Talk to your trusted female friends and family members and see what they tell you. Ask your daughter if she’s ever had a man treat her like this. We aren’t going to get past this with a simple “boys will be boys” attitude. I’m willing to concede that a lot of men don’t realize that this is upsetting to some women. Many honestly do think it’s complimentary or a nice thing to do. Women we just want to live our lives like anyone else, and sometimes that means silently walking down the street without interruption.
Related Articles
- Street Harassment: Why “Cat Calls” Suck Big Hairy Balls (julietjeskeblog.com)
- Woman in Street Harassment Video – My story is not Unique (CNN.com)
- If that viral Street Harassment Video Shocked you, then you’re probably a man (www.theguardian.com)
- When saying Smile is the Rudest thing you could say (julietjeskeblog.com)
- You have the Power to End Street Harrasment (Hollaback.org)
- Woman in Street Harassment Video Now Facing Rape Threats (Washington Post)
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Rape Survivors (AmericanAcademyofStressDisorders.com)
- Consequences of Sexual Violence (CenterforDiseaseControl.com)
- Nearly 1 in 5 Women in the US Survey say they have been Sexually Assaulted. (nytimes.com)
Follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/JulietJeske
Add me on Facebook Juliet Jeske Facebook Fan Page
Life After Divorce: The Fetishization of Marriage
If I were to write a fairy tale for young children, especially young girls it would go something like this. Once upon a time there was a young girl who lived in tiny beaten down shack. She didn’t have a lot of money and her parents were poor. She decided she was going to get out of her situation no matter what, so she worked hard and went to school. Despite the obstacles she started her own company and employed a bunch of other poor kids to come and work for her. It wasn’t always easy and she nearly lost everything several times but she kept working hard and survived. At some point she got married, and the guy was alright. She also had children and loved them with all of her might. She taught he kids to dream big, work hard and try to do right by their fellow-man. Her marriage didn’t work out and she got a divorce. She continued to live as happily as with her children and company. When she died she looked back at her greatest achievements – creating jobs for so many other poor kids, and her beautiful children. The end.
It could be easily rewritten where she’s an employee but takes great pride and satisfaction in her work. I could also re-write it where she doesn’t have kids, and gets fulfillment through helping others or by using her creativity. The example of fairy tales is a powerful one for me since I work with kids in my day job. I can’t help but see how much influence our myths, legends and pop culture have on young impressionable minds.
Why are we only told one story our entire lives? With a few exceptions there are few fairy tales or fables that do not include weddings as part of a happy ending. Why are weddings mostly absent in fairy tales geared towards boys? Why do so many of our fables END with a marriage followed by the phrase “Happily Ever After.” Every married or divorced person knows that a wedding is not the ending, it’s the start of a new chapter. A fairy Godmother does not descend from heaven and make everything magical on the day we say “I do.” In many ways everything gets harder, as the stakes get higher.
If our marriages end in divorce we are not lesser than our married counterparts. We all know dysfunctional and damaging marriages. Just because two people remain married doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a happy or healthy union.
The wedding industry is big business the US. With some estimates being as high as $51 billion dollars spent annually. Yet despite all the extravagance and hoopla fewer people are getting married. The media decries this trend as some sort of crumbling of our social fabric. Personally I think it’s a good thing. Marriage is not necessarily the end all, be all of happiness. Not everyone thrives in marriage and it’s much easier to walk away from a relationship that’s not legally binding.
When I was 27 I gave up my job, relocated to New York City and left my friends and career behind for a man I thought I would be with forever. From a young age, we’re encouraged that to sacrifice for love is not only acceptable but a nobel thing to do. Now it’s one thing to stay with a partner in a time of crisis, staying with them during a prolonged illness, or supporting them in a time of crisis. That is a beautiful thing and a testament to the human experience. Our bonds with each other can reach such depths that we do want to sacrifice for the ones we love. At the same time, the emotions I have for my family and friends are just as strong as what I could have for a romantic partner.
We need a new narrative. We need to stop telling the same story. Marriage isn’t the only recipe for happily ever after, and honestly happily after doesn’t exist. We live, we love and go through a lot in our lives and for most of us it’s nothing like a fairy tale. I’d rather have a life with ups and downs than some Disney fantasy anyway.
Related Articles
- Dating After Divorce in City of Sluts – (huffingtonpost.com)
- Dear Susan Patton Take your Advice and Shove it (julietjeskeblog.com)
- Dating After Divorce: Why is it So Difficult in your Late Thirties (julietjeskeblog.com)
- Dating in NYC: How to use the Internet to Catch a Partner Cheating (julietjeskeblog.com)
- Don’t Make Your Crazy Boyfriend Your Job (julietjeskeblog.com)
- Why Divorce is Much More than a Breakup (julietjeskeblog.com)
Follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/JulietJeske
Add me on Facebook Juliet Jeske Facebook Fan Page
Dear Susan Patton: Take Your Advice and Shove It!
Susan, I know you really think you’re helping out young women by encouraging them to nab an eligible bachelor while they’re still in college. Interestingly though the divorce rate is much higher for women who marry for the first time under the age 25. If women actually take your advice they might pick what you think is a brilliant mate, but if they marry him before age 25, they’ll battle the same genius in divorce court later.
Here are your eight reasons why women in New York City can’t get a husband. I know this article was published back in March, but a friend just sent me the link and I felt compelled to respond. I left my husband nearly five years ago, and haven’t had a serious long-term relationship since. You claim to know WHY women like myself are still single, so I’m going to answer each one of your reasons with my own personal experience.
1. We drink too much – I actually don’t drink alcohol often, and do absolutely no drugs. I’m a vegetarian and you would probably encourage me to seem less complicated and start eating meat. Well that’s not going to happen.
2. We spend too much time on iphones and other electronic devices – My ipod has been broken for the past several months. I miss it. The earbuds drowned out the constant cat calls. I live in a less gentrified area of Brooklyn, and it never stops. Am I supposed to stop and engage an intoxicated gentlemen the next time he makes a comment about my ass? Maybe that’s why I’m not meeting Mr. Right!
3. We wear too much black – Of course that’s it. Black makes us look like witches and men hate witches. I know Angelina Jolie gets no attention and she wears black all the time. She even plays a witch in Maleficent and everyone knows, men can’t stand the sight of Angelina Jolie.
4. We are dating too many guys at work – I’m self-employed and have no co-workers so I’m not sure how I’m doing that. I guess I’m dating myself too often.
5. We spend too much time with our gay friends – This is New York City, are you out of your mind? I don’t just have gay friends. I’ve got transgender, gay, bisexual, pansexual, polyamorous and several who identify as gender-flexible. I’m not giving up my non-heterosexual friends.
6. We are ignoring our biological clocks – I know I’m 41 and am well aware of it. Am I supposed to get pregnant by any random man? That would seem a bit reckless. How about I just accept it’s not going to happen and focus on something else. Adopted kids need homes too. I don’t have to grow one in my womb.
7. We hook up too much – OH HOW I WISH THIS WAS TRUE! Honestly I’m fairly picky, I’ve got trust issues, and I just don’t feel safe hooking up with most of the guys who offer it. It’s not their looks so much as its how they treat me. If a guy is rude, I have very little interest in sleeping with him. I also don’t like bad sex, and hookups are like rolling the dice. I don’t know the last time you hooked up with anyone but it can be absolutely dreadful.
8. We overly rely on NYC conveniences – Actually I don’t. Take out is pricy. You also implied this lifestyle is making us fat, but New York City women are some of the fittest in the country. And Susan you are a full-figured gal, I would just celebrate it and stop blaming General Tso’s chicken.
So that’s your eight reasons, and I answered every one of them. Now I have a few questions for you. Susan you’re divorced. How did that go? My divorce pushed me to the brink of madness and into a literal death spiral. I had massive depression, anxiety attacks and suicidal tendencies. I eventually went on antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication. I’m fine now, and drug free but, It was a regular horror show. I’m sure your divorce wasn’t easy. Since marriage is about a 50/50 chance nowadays why would you promote anyone to enter into a legally binding relationship that could end in a catastrophic divorce?
Here are my five reasons, why I doubt I’ll ever say “I do” again.
1. I never want to combine my money with another person – This is the MAIN reason I never want to get married again. I used to work with my husband, and when my marriage fell apart my income evaporated. Now I make my own money and decide how I spend it. It’s amazingly liberating and I never want to go back to even a joint checking account.
2. I don’t want to move – I like living in Brooklyn. If I choose to move, it should be my choice.
3. I’ve accepted I’m never having my own children. – If I do decide to have a child, I’ll probably adopt. The adoption process is long and expensive but having a baby at my age is not without problems. I’ve also accepted that I might never be a parent. A lot of women never want to have kids. I did, but my life didn’t work out as planned. I don’t feel like a failure because I won’t be a parent.
4. I feel complete and fulfilled as a single person – I know this might shock you. I don’t know how you manage as a single person yourself. The daily torment must be getting to you. You must be so miserable that you write books encouraging young women to desperately get what you don’t have. I would love to date someone special but the longer I’ve been single the more I’ve grown to love it.
5. I never want to get divorced again – If someone wants to get married four or five times good for them. The prospect of going through another divorce though is so terrifying to me, I think I’ll avoid doing it again.
Related Articles
- Dating After Divorce: Why is it so Difficult in your Late Thirties? (julietjeskeblog.com)
- 11 Best Quotes from Susan Patton’s New Book (dailyprincetonian.com)
- Dating After Divorce: Comfortably Numb (julietjeskeblog.com)
- Will Someone Tell Susan Patton aka the ‘Princeton Mom’ to Shut Up. (mommish.com)
- Dating After Divorce: Is the Fairy Tale Over? (julietjeskeblog.com)
- Susan Patton Said Women Should Find Husbands in College so I guess I screwed up (twentiesunscripted.com)
- Jon Stewart Belittles Author who says Woman should Focus solely on Finding a Man (politicsusa.com)
Follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/JulietJeske
Add me on Facebook Juliet Jeske Facebook Fan Page