It's Not About Chivalry and Resisting Temptation: Here's What Good Men Really Do

The epitome of all that is masculine goodness: my husband.

Even the most cursory perusal of Facebook yields the conclusion that we have a serious problem of masculinity. Men are encouraged by popular culture, by other men, and by the women who let them get away with shitty behavior to act like overgrown manchildren. For some men, this cultural indoctrination turns abusive. Because there are so many men who just aren't up to being decent relationship partners, many women have learned to accept less than they deserve. The result is an entire cottage industry of blog posts telling women how to tell if a guy is a good one and encouraging them to only pick men who do relationships right.

Street Harassment: Take 2

Earlier today, I put my post on sexual harassment on Facebook, and I got a pretty overwhelming response. The reaction reminded me yet again that I have awesome friends. But we also ended up talking about self-defense strategies and the like quite a bit. I wrote my original piece not to garner sympathy, but to emphasize that this is a social problem that many -- if not all -- women struggle with at one time or another. I didn't do a particularly good job addressing some myths about street harassment in my first post, so thought I'd give it another go.

Catholics Come Home: Why I Left the Catholic Church and Won't Be Going Back

My relationship with religion has been a source of pain and frustration for as long as I can remember. I went to a Catholic university and attended 12 years of Catholic school. For most of my life, I was in church every Sunday. I took my confirmation seriously, and aspired to die a martyr. I was obnoxiously, unceasingly devout.