Emilie Littlehales says the only way to combat the sexist tradition behind engagement rings is to strip them of their original meaning. The other day I had this conversation: “So…you’re engaged?” “Yep.” The question came out of nowhere, and I couldn’t help but wonder where this person—a co-worker—had gotten this information to begin with. For […]
Men’s shapewear is more popular than ever, and Emilie Littlehales wonders what it says about men and body image. Lately it feels like every time I think I’ve really gotten it (whatever it happens to be), something happens that ultimately shows me how wrong I was. I guess it’s one of those “the more you know, the […]
Emilie Littlehales says it’s time to reevaluate what it means to “nag” and the impact it can have on gender and relationship dynamics. Curious about the origins of the verb to nag, I decided to look it up. The definitions I found in the dictionaries I consulted (Merriam-Webster, the OED, and dictionary.com) showed a consensus about the […]
Must women transcend their femininity to truly be considered funny? In a recent piece on women and raunch culture, Emily Heist Moss wrote the following: “There’s a danger here that we [will] slide too far past refreshing, humanizing, true-to-life humor, and skid into the arena of that lowest common denominator humor that my mother was […]
If your young niece’s favorite colors were pink and purple, would you deny her a Christmas gift in those colors just to buck gender norms? Don’t tell my family, but of all the people on my Christmas shopping list, my 6-year-old niece and 3-year-old nephew are the most important. They’re also the most fun to […]
Men may joke around more about their appearance, but that doesn’t mean they’re immune to body image issues. Ever since my niece was born seven years ago, I’ve worried about what will happen when another girl teases her about some aspect of her appearance. The way I see it, there’s no chance that it won’t happen; by […]
What do Emilie Littlehales’ feelings about marriage say about her feminism? From what I can tell based on my Facebook feed, marriage season is winding down. It hit its peak in late September and early October—during which time I think roughly 10% of the people I’m friends with on Facebook tied the knot—with the rate […]
As a feminist, I sometimes bristle at my own attitudes and expectations when it comes to certain things. Case in point: how it feels to be the primary breadwinner in my little family. To clarify and provide a bit of context, my “little family” consists of me and my fiancé, who is in the process […]
