After the publication of his fourth and most successful novel The Slap, which was turned into a TV miniseries in Australia and kicked off the 2012 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Christos Tsiolkas complained of the poverty of criticism of the sex in his book. I agreed. The novel itself is written in eight parts, telling ...
Contrary to popular belief, the tradition of a bride in white does not originate in any cringe-y symbolism about her virginity. This has made me wonder (in a pensive, sitting-on-my-bed-à-la-Carrie-Bradshaw kind of way), do brides, then, simply take part in this tradition for tradition’s sake? I got to thinking about this recently when I was ...
France has gotten rid of the terms “Mademoiselle” and “nom de jeune fille” in all official documents. The French terms for “Miss” and “maiden name” are sexist because they describe the marital status of a woman. “Miss” implies that a woman is available, something that not every woman wants shared. The idea of a maiden ...
Wedding veils have been a point of contention for progressive brides since the birth of feminism. “I didn’t want to walk into this life-changing event looking like I didn’t have my eyes open,” my mother, married in 1970, told me. “It didn’t make sense to me that I should want to hide myself or imply ...
We all know and (probably) loved the blockbuster hit The 40-Year-Old Virgin. The story goes something like this: he is a virgin at age 40, all of his co-workers make fun of him once they find out, he falls in a love with a woman and they wind up happily married, dancing around the screen ...
Virginity loss has been the bane of many young people’s existence. Once friends take the plunge and spread legs, there is a fire that begins to burn inside, pushing you to join the club. But is the club really so fantastic any way? Obviously, sex is wonderful. It allows you to make mature decisions about ...
You can fake interest, fake an orgasm, and now you can fake your virginity. Surely many women will feel it’s ridiculous to order a false hymen in the mail, but for others coming from cultures where pre-marital sex is unacceptable, it may be a blessing. For just $29.95, women can order a fake hymen from ...
As much as we like to think that the union of two loving partners is the star of a wedding ceremony, let’s not deny it. The dress takes the cake. So for the ladies who really want to make an indelible impression on their guests, I present: the vagina wedding dress. Yes, this otherwise rather ...
Parents, it turns out your kids actually do listen when you talk to them about sex. Almost everyone has had “the talk” with their parents. It is not always pleasant and may result in nausea or extreme embarrassment. My mother never lied to me about how babies were made, and I appreciate that honesty now ...
Feminism has grown from a fringe movement to a way of life. While most people understand the ideals and support them, whether or not they use the F-word, there are the people who are convinced that Feminists want to take over the world — rather like an alien invasion. The iconic image of Feminists are ...
It’s that time of year, when spring blossoms counteract the car pollution, beer gardens are filled with humans on...
The latest film in the American Pie series, American Reunion, contains a shocking scene – male full-frontal nudity including...
Dear Madame X, I have just started seeing this girl. She seems great, but she recently told me she...
Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved arrived in my hands via a public library, when I was a broke teenager with...
My attention was drawn this week to an article about the reaction at a Canadian university to proposals to...
Airport security. Bloody nuisance. Also a conspiracy designed to subjugate women. Allow me to elaborate. Despite flying quite a...
The Cannes film festival has kicked off this week with controversy over the lack of films made by women...
Dear Madame X, I seem to be only attracted to men who are macho assholes. I like them at...
