Did you have a great Valentine’s weekend? Before we get into the news, let’s take a minute to appreciate this bit of adorableness courtesy of Blue Ivy and Beyoncé. (more…)

In which fashion is tone deaf not once, but twice. (more…)

I feel like I’m reading a lot of stories and seeing a lot of media that feature women who complain about a lack of engagement ring. One reason for this might be a lack of representation of women proposing to men; the only pop culture portrayal I can think of is Monica proposing to Chandler on Friends. And he was already planning on proposing and had a ring. (To be fair, I don’t watch much TV…

Q: Any advice on how I can train my husband to be less of a slob? (more…)

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A dear colleague-turned-friend of mine is planning to head to the jewelry store this weekend to…

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This week’s sampler platter of news errs more on the pop cultural than usual, I admit, but they all…

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Living with my MIL was tough. Not living with her has been tough, too. (more…)

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If there was ever a week to remember not to read the comments, it was this week. So much concern…

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From a very young age, I remember being subjected to the idea that I needed a man to “rescue me”…

When I was a kid, I didn’t think of marriage. I didn’t daydream about my perfect day or sketch my perfect dress. My feelings on marriage were that it was something I might do in the distant future. The very distant future. Then — I’m sure this will come as a shock — I met Mr. Juniper. A year later, we married. The turnaround of my thoughts on marriage came less from romance than they did from practicality. I hadn’t ever been one of those who said, “it’s just a piece of paper!” but I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the institution. Whereas now? Now I appreciate more of the importance marriage holds. Read more. 

Q. What does it feel like to have cum inside your butthole? Can you feel it squirt out inside? What happens to the cum if it doesnt come out of your butt? Does it feel good to have cum in the butthole? Read more. 

What happened this week? Find out and discuss! Read more. 

I’m starting off this week with that lighthearted anecdote because, well, this is a tough. It is also one of those women’s issues that sits right on the fence between “respect for cultural differences” and “outrage at a massive human rights violation.” I try as hard as I can to be aware of my privileged Western perspective, and to not pass judgment on cultural practices, but after conducting my research for this week’s piece, I really want to put non-consentual bride kidnapping up there with FGM on my list of “Never Mind Respect For Other Cultures, This Practice Is WRONG.” However, there are already a number of articles out there on this topic completely bereft of cultural relativism, and I don’t want to add to that. So in the next few paragraphs, I’m going to try to explain the history of and motivations for bride kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan, as well as, of course, look at women’s rights activists in the country working to end the practice.

Conversely, as gender inequality is reduced, the institution of marriage as economic (and social) insurance becomes increasingly unnecessary. There's no need to marry for economic reasons when your economic prospects look bright, or at least not dismal. There's no need to marry when you are still considered a full and important member of society on your own, rather than as a companion to your husband. There's no need to marry when your relationship is publicly acknowledged by your daily, mundane actions witnessed by your family and friends. As women are increasingly viewed as complete and vital citizens in their own right, and not just in relation to their husbands and children, the institution of marriage (which exists solely to codify those relations) becomes increasingly outdated and irrelevant. Rebranding marriage in terms of romance, couched in the language used to market diamonds, seems like grasping at straws, and I believe it tries to tie secular marriage to religious marriage in an attempt to speak to people's emotional sides.

Google has about 95,800,000 search results for "wedding planning," but if you replace the word "wedding" with the word "marriage," the number drops by half and the top hits are still all about party details and dresses. Which is great... if the most important part of your marriage is the very first day of it.