When I was in college, still unsure of my sexual orientation, and chronically single, I tried to explain to my friends why my parents frowned upon me dating non-Jews.My friends, who were just trying to help me get over my lack-of –dating woes would say, “Why? I don’t get it. You’re liming yourself […]

             In the past week alone, three people have asked me when I’m getting married. Not one, not two, but three. Why is everyone in my life is harassing me about my lack of a ring? It’s because I live with my boyfriend.
            It’s really that simple. It’s not a judgment issue; I […]

I wish I had met my friend Liza ten years ago, when I was 18. Over dinner recently, she shared with me the best relationship advice I have ever heard.
Her advice was so simple, it was almost frightening that in my 10 years as a card-carrying member of the adult nation, I had […]

“Surprise!” I shouted as my fiancée walked in the door.
“I made latkes!” I announce. Since it is nowhere near Channukah, and I spent hours peeling and pureeing potatoes, I figured Brett would be thrilled –and he was… until he walked into the kitchen.
[…]

Getting engaged to a non-Jew poses the following question: How do I take a traditional Jewish ceremony and modify it to suit all the people involved?
First there’s me, a practicing Reform Jew. Secondly, there’s my fiancé, a non-religious man who grew up Catholic. Third, there’s everyone attending the wedding, a mix of religious backgrounds. […]

I’ve heard that the world of online dating can be good for some people, but unfortunately, I haven’t had the same luck as others have.
You can ask my friends, I’m generally perceived as a nice guy (which you don’t know from reading about me on a dating site). I’m average looking, and in good […]

It may have started with the Pagans, dancing around a Maypole every spring, but it’s modern start was strip clubs in Canada in the 1980s, then the UK strip bars in the 1990s, and now, my gym in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
 For nearly thirty years, pole-dancing has spread in popularity across Europe, the United […]

On a mild winter’s evening, two women sit in the dark corner of a bar in the West Village. Sitting on bar stools, they laugh, flirt, and sip their cocktails.
One of the women leans over, takes a sip, and says “I had my first sexual experience with a woman when I was 15.”

This was […]

Few subjects in a woman’s life are discussed in such dichotomous terms other than her period. It’s discussed glowingly: it’s the start of her womanhood, a connection to the tides and moon, and something that gives her the ability to create a life. It’s also discussed with frustration and embarrassment: first periods, accidents, and the euphemisms used just to avoid saying “period”: Aunt Flow, my monthly friend, on the rag, shark week.

In May of 1998, I graduated from Millikin University with a degree in Chemistry. By July I moved cross country to southern Colorado to be a residence hall director. At only 22 I was considered the “adult” living with 150 college freshman. I also signed up for Dream Group—a form of group […]