Today’s top female characters on television have restored Emily Heist Moss’ faith in being a 21st century woman. Between the crotch-shot sharing ladies of Jersey Shore, the squabbling botox bunch of Real Housewives, the konstantly konniving Kardashians, Big Ang, Honey Boo Boo, dance moms and toddlers twirling in tiaras, you might come to the conclusion […]
For someone opposed to tradition for tradition’s sake, an engagement ring (and all its symbolic history) is on the bottom of Emily Heist Moss’ list of must-haves. My Facebook feed has been hijacked by engagement announcements. In a few years, I know the profile pictures of ring fingers will be replaced by ultrasounds followed by […]
Emily Heist Moss says understanding how broad and beautiful and strange and complicated a “family” can be is the true definition of “pro-family.” How to define a family: I have two parents and one brother. I also have two step-parents. I have one grandmother, one godfather, two aunts, three uncles, and cousins—step-cousins, half-cousins, second cousins—numbering in […]
When we begin every sentence with “I’m sorry, but…” we think we’re being polite, but we’re really just undermining ourselves. Emily Heist Moss explains why all the unnecessary apologizing needs to stop. It’s a muggy Sunday morning in Chicago. There’s an 8-years-old girl in neon sneakers playing tennis with her mother on the court next […]
Bodies should be praised for the amazing feats they accomplish every second of the day, not for how they look in a bikini. So rather than shaming thinness to empower “real” women, Emily Heist Moss asks: Can’t we all just get along? A few weeks ago, a Facebook friend I respect—we’ll call her Tina—a woman […]
Emily Heist Moss has gone on lots of Internet dates. She shares some tips she’s learned along the way. I go on a lot of dates, so many, in fact, that I’ve forgotten most of them. Months afterwards, I see these gentlemen around the city and I can’t place them, wondering if we were in […]
The music we listen to, the stores we buy from, the movies we watch, and the food we eat all say something about our values. What do you want your choices to say about you? Do you have Chad Johnson, Michael Vick, or Ben Roethlisberger on your fantasy football roster? Do you root for Jason […]
Why throw away knick-knacks from exes? You can clear away the objects, but you can’t forget their associations, says Emily Heist Moss. On my bookshelf, there’s a sculpture made of sticks and stone, wire and glue. It’s a bird, arching dangerously away from its small base, precariously balanced, swaying when my errant hip grazes the […]
Having a period is a natural part of a woman’s body, so Emily Heist Moss wants to know: Why are some men so afraid to have sex during a woman’s period? “It’s a timing issue, if you know what I mean…” I told him, gesturing toward my pelvis. “Is that code for you’re on your […]
This originally ran on the Good Men Project. Republished here with permission. Telling your daughter she can be strong and capable will never be the same as letting her find it out for herself. What is your body for? Ask a little boy and he will tell you it is for running and jumping and […]
This piece originally appeared on the Good Men Project. Republished with permission. When I was 18, I waited tables at an Italian restaurant in my hometown. The staff was the typical collection of teenagers, college drop-outs, townies, and single moms you’d expect at a suburban casual dining establishment. Our boss, Jeff, was an outrageous flirt, […]
This piece was originally published at the Good Men Project. Republished with permission. I was a fifty-fifty child. After the divorce, my parents divided custody down the middle; my younger brother and I migrated like clockwork between their homes every three and a half days. It was logistically exhausting—which house are my cleats at? Where’s […]
