I Quit Social Media and Lived to Tell
In this excerpt from the memoir I QUIT EVERYTHING, the Gen-X writer—a retired drummer and vocalist for several alt rock bands—reflects on the addictive nature of social media, and the liberation of signing off.
First Person
I Wasn’t Ready to Turn 40
Getting older often feels like a rude awakening. But for this writer, who was about to surpass her late mother’s age, the number 39 took on a whole other meaning.
That Time Barbie and I Had an Epiphany
The writer never imagined identifying with Barbie. But Greta Gerwig’s thought-provoking portrait of the doll’s rude awakening of experiencing misogyny in the real world mirrored the author’s own coming-out experience.
Will My Old IUD Become a Relic?
Coming of age in the 1970s, this writer never understood why she kept her old IUD all these years. Now she does: Since the Dobbs decision, many GOP lawmakers have set their sights on birth control.
What Will It Take for Men to Believe Women?
Cis-men dismiss women as hysterical when we tell them our lives are in danger. Then they act surprised when our worst fears are realized.
Sometimes the Weirdest Advice Is Best
When it came to delivering a baby, the author learned she had to push the crap out of herself.
I’m a Beautiful, Confident Black Woman. White People Are Offended
Eurocentric ideas of beauty have historically warped the way non-white people evaluate their own physical features.
What Distinguishes Hard Work From Ambition?
The daughter of "hard-working immigrant" parents whose lives were devoted to the family business is now a writer who fears turning down an assignment. But only she is considered "ambitious."
Goodbye to All of Them
People leave New York City all the time. It takes a special brand of narcissism to believe this big-old city cares why you left.
I Am Here to Remember the Forgotten
The writer reflects on how to grieve and most faithfully honor the life and work of L.A.-based artist and activist Diviana Ingravallo, who emerged during the AIDS pandemic and died an indirect casualty of COVID, rendered invisible by legacy media.