“Facebook just became totally worth it,” wrote Christie, my grade-school best friend, this morning. Until last night, I hadn’t seen or spoken to Christie in more than 20 years. But thanks to the Internet, we reconnected earlier this month when I found her online and requested her friendship. For three hours, we shared adult beverages […]
Ruth Gierisch
Posted inNews
Defense of Marriage: Act I
When my sweaty-handed, shaking bride-to-be presented me with a ring and a proposal in December 2007, I said yes. Honestly, I’d never imagined myself a bride, as the state I’ve lived in for 30 years doesn’t acknowledge gay marriage. Regardless of what North Carolina deemed acceptable, we decided to stand in front of our friendsin […]
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Adventures in the Skin Trade
I can’t say why I got my first tattoo. I wasn’t exactly the ideal candidate. I was an honor roll student at the time, and I attended church regularly. Plus, I had a part-time job at this frou-frou women’s clothing store in Randolph Mall. I had to wear pantyhose, for Christ’s sake. And tattoos weren’t […]
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Nature’s course
I get up at 6:20 each and every weekday morning. But if it were up to my dog Mugsy, this ritual would be postponed by some serious snooze button action. Once I’m up, I have to physically rouse him. It takes more than a measly alarm to jump-start that furry butt. I yawn and stretch. […]
Posted inGuides
Field trip
I spent my 26th birthday in a topless bar. Me, a women’s studies minor, self-proclaimed feminist, lesbian. Me, who’s spent many an hour in heated debate with the “unenlightened” over “the wrongs of the adult entertainment industry.” In college, I was the girl on campus wearing the “Ball-busting Feminazi Bitch From Hell” button on my […]
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Love thy enemy
A Zen-master I’m not. You’ll not catch me doing yoga or tai chi any sooner than you’d see me sitting around sipping green tea and listening to Yanni. But when given the opportunity to take kickboxing lessons, I signed up without hesitation. What could possibly be more relaxing than beating hell out of a rubber […]
Posted inGuides
The Forbidden Stories of Marta Veneranda
As a lover of gay/lesbian literature, Chicana literature and scandal, I am perhaps the perfect reader for The Forbidden Stories of Marta Veneranda. The book’s premise is that Marta, a graduate student working on her thesis, has collected “forbidden” stories from various individuals within her Cuban, New York community. Since we often guard our sexual […]