money

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,

I'd be interested to read a column about wedding etiquette, because it's ludicrous what couples expect their friends to shell out.

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:

I think I'm about to lose all my friends, and I don't know what to do!

If we, like Betty Suarez and Peggy Olson, possess talent and ambition but not fashion-model looks, is there hope for us in image-conscious workplaces?

My friend and colleague Omar Gallaga's 2010 essay on the costs of presenting to people for free has stayed with me for a little while. The same is true for Courtney Martin's column about misconceptions about the costs of online feminism. They each reminded me that there's no such thing as free work.

Women who bring home the bacon: Hot or not? The research is mixed. Some guys say, "Yes, please help me through this 'Mancession.'" Others say, "Me, GUY. You LADY. HULK SMASH." (Translation: Please, let's just keep participating in Patriarchy, it's fine just the way it's always been. Let me hold that door open for you, girl.)

It's Money, Honey from BitchTapes on 8tracks.

It's Friday, which means (at least for some of us) that it's payday! Which for most of us also means being able to pay rent, go grocery shopping, and splurge on a microbrew instead of PBR at the bar this weekend. This playlist, inspired by Hall & Oates' "Rich Girl," is all about women's relationships with the green: wanting and needing it, wishing and working for it, pretending to have it, and not caring either way.

If you've ever felt like the cost of being a woman was somehow higher than that of being a man, guess what? You were literally correct! Via Psychology Today:

The January 2010 Consumer Reports has an article that's sure to provoke some outrage. "Roam any drugstore and you'll see products that seem to be twins, except for one thing: One is for women, the other for men. We discovered that products directed at women-through packaging, description, or name-might cost up to 50 percent more than similar products for men."

WTF?