girlfriends

Welcome to the latest installment of Ms. Opinionated, in which readers have questions about the pesky day-to-day choices we all face, and I give advice about how to make ones that (hopefully) best reflect our shared commitment to feminist values—as well as advice on what to do when they don't.

Dear Ms. Opinionated: My best friend just broke up with me. She has been with a guy for 8 months now, but after their first date, I expressed concern that he was still married and had an toddler. I was clear that he may be a great guy but he was still married. Our friendship fell apart after that: she disappeared, and then reappeared in my life months later still upset because she said I didn't know him. She is acting like his child's mother but has yet to talk to him about marriage, finances, kids, etc. They are moving in together at the end of the month. Yesterday she broke up with me. I'm kind of devastated but I knew it was coming.

Welcome to the latest installment of Ms. Opinionated, in which readers have questions about the pesky day-to-day choices we all face, and I give advice about how to make ones that (hopefully) best reflect our shared commitment to feminist values—as well as advice on what to do when they don't. This time, what to do when a friend asks you to look into her boyfriend's past and then won't listen to what you find.

Ugh. As a rule we usually we try to avoid over-the-top misogynist websites, but there is a blog post today on Manolith.com that is emblematic of so many things that are problematic in lad mag culture that it could not be ignored. The post, titled "15 Annoying Things Most Girlfriends Do (That You Have to Put Up With)" covers just about every "socially acceptable" woman-hating base out there. You've been warned.