Category Archives: essays

Selfish, Shallow, and Self-Absorbed: Sixteen Writers on Their Decision Not to Have Kids

A few years ago, before I hit the big 3-0, one of my older students asked if I had kids. I told her no, and she immediately started scolding me, saying that time was running out and that I needed to start trying to get pregnant so that I wouldn’t be too old to enjoyContinue reading “Selfish, Shallow, and Self-Absorbed: Sixteen Writers on Their Decision Not to Have Kids”

Quickies: The Year of the Hare & I Remember Nothing

The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna Publisher/Year: Penguin, 2010 Format: Paperback Pages: 194 Source: Library What it is: While he’s on assignment with a colleague, a journalist named Vatanen realizes he’s tired of his life. The two hit a hare while driving down a road in the middle of nowhere, and Vatanen gets out of the car walks into theContinue reading “Quickies: The Year of the Hare & I Remember Nothing”

Bad Feminist

On my first night in Naples, I went out to dinner with some kids (the thing about backpacking as a thirty-something is that almost all of the other backpackers are at least a decade younger than you). We were at a restaurant, and somehow the conversation briefly turned to “real feminists,” which, to the guy in ourContinue reading “Bad Feminist”

Against Equality: Queer Critiques of Gay Marriage

With the recent Supreme Court ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), gay marriage has been in the news a lot lately. It’s a hotly contested topic, and most people fall tend to fall into one of two categories: the pro-marriage equality side sees it as a civil rights issue, while the other side usuallyContinue reading “Against Equality: Queer Critiques of Gay Marriage”