(this essay first appeared in Purple Clover Frank* and I are like an old married couple except that we aren’t married, until recently didn’t live in the same house and for years didn’t see each other every day, or even…
How To Get Away With No Makeup and Hair
Recently, during a debilitating illness and after reading three novels and catching up on all my past New Yorkers, Elles, Allures, and Harper’s, I needed something to binge watch. I was hesitant to start something new as I realized that…
That “Little Pink Pill” Isn’t All It’s Cracked Up to Be
Here is what Viagra does: it allows a man to get an erection so that he can have intercourse with a woman when his body isn’t cooperating due to age, illness or medication side effects. Here is what Viagra doesn’t…
Hey Whiny Parents, Get Over Yourselves!
Full Disclosure: I do not like whiners. Especially adult whiners. Especially adults who constantly whine about how hard child-rearing is. (With this caveat: if you have a child who is emotionally or mentally challenged, stop reading. I do not know…
Dear Jessica Valenti, You’re Missing the Cat Calls?
Dear Jessica: At 36, I was still getting catcalled in the street. At 46, I was being accosted by men on the streets of Paris and in cafes where I sat, by myself, reading and writing. At 50, and divorced,…
Yeah, But I Still Feel Bad About My Face
Some days I look in the mirror and I think: You look pretty good for a woman pushing 60. Other days I glance at myself and wonder: Who is that woman? She looks nothing like me. More than once I…
At Six Months Shy of Sixty, A Six Pack
At six months short of my sixtieth birthday I have a six pack. Well, practically. I can see the ripples of muscle more clearly than I ever had before even if they are covered in a small layer of post…
Psst! You Can’t Handle the Truth About Women!
Hey you. Yes, you. Come here. Yes. Closer. I have something to tell you. Are you ready? Are you sure? Can you handle it? Ok. Here it is. Women over 37 have sex. They have relationships. They are attractive. They…
Wife Bonuses, Mad Men and The Mommy Wars
In a recent Sunday issue of the New York Times two very different articles on women and their households appeared. One, “Poor Little Rich Woman,” is already stirring up controversy for the so-called “wife bonuses” that some of these uber…
Téa Leoni Saves the World
Better than Keri Russell who is tough but on the wrong side, way more interesting than any Wonder Woman incarnation, more fully realized than any of the female FBI agents or cops who abound in television dramas, and far less…