How email destroys relationshipsA reliance on digital technology is destroyed our ability to feel empathy, according to new research. And as empathy disintegrates, so does trust and close personal relationships.
Sex & Relationships
The day Lady Gaga made it into Australian parliament
Last week, NSW Labor MP Greg Donnelly remarked that singers like Beyonce and Lady Gaga are encouraging sexual violence against women with their raunchy attitudes. Um, that’s not quite how rape occurs, writes lauredhel.
History’s greatest sex lives
From Genghis Khan — a direct ancestor of 8% of Central Asia — to the LA basketballer who claims to have slept with 20,000 women, Nerve uncovers the most influential sex lives in history.
Wankley Awards: The media on Borders’ Control a Woman
Press a button and a woman’s boobs will grow and she’ll fetch you a beer. Yes, such a product exists! And as lawyer Katie Robertson learnt this week, you can just press a button and create a little media storm as well.
Wordwatch: gay, or ssam and ssaf?
Apparently young folk don’t use the word “gay” anymore — it’s “same sex attracted males” and “same sex attracted females”. Should we now saw SSAM and SSAF? asks W.H. Chong. And will they have ssaf sex?
Wilson: Bingle is not fair game
Lara Bingle may have given the AFL a free kick in standing by its pin-up boy Brendan Fevola — but her “dubious scruples” don’t justify the AFL in taking it, says Caroline Wilson.
Louis Nowra’s wife: Yep, my husband is a misogynist jerk
In a bizarre piece, Mandy Sayer — wife of Louis Nowra, author of the controversial Germaine Greer piece in The Monthly — fights the criticism of her husband in the media. Yes, he’s a woman-hating jerk who does all the cooking, cleaning and shopping at home. Ahem.
‘Threatened’ Tony has opportunity to repent — in budgies
Tony Abbott’s comments on homosexuality — saying he felt “threatened” by gays — have been roundly attacked as homophobic. Now Tony has a chance to repent, resplendent in the latest designer speedos. Will he accept?
The front cover photo that infuriated Washington Post readers
Which controversial photo on the front cover of the Washington Post would anger readers and cause 27 cancelled subscriptions? Apparently two men kissing was enough to freak out the US capital.
Oh la la: the sexy nature of French politics
A political sex scandal would send the media crazy in the USA or Australia, but although the French blogsophere is buzzing with news that both Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni are having affairs, none of the mainstream media will touch it. Why?
If Abbott wants to woo women, he should start with wages
While the debate has this week returned to maternity pay for working women, the issue of equal pay standards remains. Progress on women’s pay has been stalled for 30 years, writes Eloise Keating.
When children’s books go gay
It’s been 20 years since Heather Has Two Mommies was first published. Expert on children’s literature, Ellen Handler Spitz looks at how the genre of gay kids’ books has progressed (or not) over the past two decades.
Razer: The Monthly‘s Louis Nowra needs a good vajazzling
Forget what Louis Nowra and The Monthly say, writes Helen Razor: Germaine Greer is a bright and occasionally charming old ratbag who should be revered.
Greer: I didn’t liberate women
It’s been 40 years since Germaine Greer wrote her pivotal feminist text The Female Eunuch. But while the West has since undergone a “feminist revolution”, she’s not taking any of the credit.
My life as a teenage nude model
A sad look at Kristy Logan’s brief career as a nude model. She may be middle-class and educated, but she can still be empowered by taking her gear off and channelling Bettie Page, right?
Going to the chapel of love and hate
Gay marriage got the go-ahead in Washington, D.C, but as the first married gay couples excitedly walked out of city hall, the crazy ‘God hates gays’ protesters were waiting. Amanda Hess explains what happened next.
Why we need more vaginas on television
Thank god for Hungry Beast, writes Clem Bastow. Finally, an Australian TV show that can deal semi-seriously — and amusingly — with the issues of labiaplasty without being gross or sexy.
Why I’m live tweeting my abortion
Abortion is still a massive taboo and Angie Jackson is doing her best to break it, with a website and Twitter feed documenting her abortion experience. Can she help to demystify abortion?
PHOTO GALLERY: Cougars through the ages
From Queen Elizabeth I to Mae West and Liz Taylor, More wraps the 500 year history of the older woman/younger man cougar phenomenon. The last decade seems to be the most fruitful though…
The pink list: Centrelink couples register scaring the pants off gays
I know it’s supposed to be all hugs and puppies for the gay community these days, but the ‘pink list’ being created by the government through Centrelink is a huge cause for concern, writes Sue-Ann Post.
Naked Aboriginal kids on postcards: the line between art and exploitation?
You can buy postcards featuring naked Aboriginal kids in newsagencies and Australia Post shops across the country. Why aren’t these pictures treated with the same outrage as Bill Henson’s photos of naked teens?
lol 
The heart breaking horror of Valentine’s day
Feeling a little lonesome after the lovefest media scam that was Valentine’s Day yesterday? Then head to Gawker and giggle at the hundreds of Valentine’s Day horror stories. Love stinks.
What happened to abortion being the woman’s choice?
Why is it that male pro-choicers keep their mouths shut publicly, while plenty of celebrity men seem to lining up to give their anti-abortion stance? Hugh Ryan examines the gender divide in the abortion debate.
Is the ‘working women need to be pushy bitches’ myth true?
A blog post about how women need to be pushier in the workplace got the blogosphere riled up this week. But with research showing that alpha-women earn more than their demure colleagues, will we have to raise our daughters to be aggressive jerks?
Gays in the military: Tellers get fired, Askers get nothing
Since the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy was enacted in the US military, over 13,500 people have been discharged for making their homosexuality public. But does anything happen to those who break the “Don’t Ask” rule?
