The XX Factor

More Kids Equals More Happiness?

Samantha Henig — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:29:00 GMT

A post from DoubleX writer Bonnie Rochman: Well, fire up your engines, ladies, because now there’s a new bit of research supporting a third conclusion: that being married with children is the key to happiness . In contrast to previous research that indicates...(read more)

Sesame Street Turns 40, and My Kids Aren't Staying Tuned

Samantha Henig — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:03:00 GMT

A post from DoubleX writer KJ Dell'Antonia: I admit it--I wanted my kids to watch Sesame Street because I knew it was at worst harmless, and at best educational--although I've never believed watching TV could make kids smarter , I'm willing to accept...(read more)

The Cute-ocalypse is Coming

Kerry Howley — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:48:00 GMT

Like Lauren, I enjoyed Jim Windolf's insightful attack on cute culture, but I find the otters-holding-hands/Iraq War connection to be a bit of a stretch. Windolf suggests that we're asking for forgiveness through penitential offerings of cuteness, but...(read more)

The Dangers of the Cute-R-Net

Samantha Henig — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:51:00 GMT

A post from DoubleX writer Lauren Bans: Several times a week I walk by the marketing section of my office and see a group of grown men and women in their business-casual attire standing over someone’s computer screen giggling and cooing. Almost daily,...(read more)

Polygamists are Packrats

Samantha Henig — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:05:00 GMT

A post from DoubleX writer Sonia Smith: What have I learned over the past week watching polygamist Raymond Merril Jessop’s trial in the sleepy west Texas ranching town of Eldorado? Members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints...(read more)

In A Long-Term Relationship, Do Women Lose Their Sex Drive More Quickly Than Men?

Samantha Henig — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:14:00 GMT

A post from DoubleX Desire Lab blogger Daniel Bergner: There’s a theory that has some currency among sex researchers and therapists: that, over time in monogamous relationships, women lose desire more than men do. Not much data exists; I’m aware of only...(read more)

We Shouldn't Judge Abby Johnson Yet, We Need to Know More

Rachael Larimore — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:28:00 GMT

Amanda , Before I begin, I want to clarify something. I’m not “anti-choice.” I am anti-abortion. That might sound like semantics, but I think it’s a sign of the gulf between abortion-rights supporters and abortion foes. “Anti-choice” has a connotation...(read more)

Pagans Were the Real Winners in Last Night's Election

Kerry Howley — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:42:00 GMT

Dan Halloran is the next City Council Representative for New York’s 19th district. He is a Republican. Also, he is the "First Atheling," or prince, among members of a local pagan group that worships Norse gods. "It is our hope," he explained on his now-missing...(read more)

Women and Virginia Governor-Elect Robert McDonnell

Hanna Rosin — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:36:00 GMT

The turning point for the Virginia governor’s race came in August, when the Washington Post published a copy of Republican Robert McDonnell’s master's thesis , in which he argued that working women were detrimental to America, among other retrograde points....(read more)

Even The Very Worst Prosecutors Can't Be Sued, For Good Reason

Samantha Henig — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:03:00 GMT

A post from DoubleX writer K.J. Dell'Antonia: Supreme Court followers (and NPR listeners) heard an outrageous story today—that of an innocent man who spent more than two decades in prison for a murder he didn't commit before evidence of the apparent gross...(read more)

"Precious" Gets A Few Things Wrong

Samantha Henig — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:20:00 GMT

A post from DoubleX writer Beth Fertig: In the new movie Precious , Clareece Precious Jones is beaten by her mother and raped so often by her father that she’s pregnant with his second child. She’s also illiterate. I’ve spent the past three years profiling...(read more)

Maine Voters Rejected Gay Marriage

Emily Bazelon — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:35:00 GMT

When the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriage in 2003, the polls showed disapproval by a margin of 53 percent to 35 percent. After the ruling went into effect, legislators geared up to reverse it by amending the state constitution....(read more)

Fishy Story From Former Director of Planned Parenthood

Samantha Henig — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:58:00 GMT

A post from DoubleX writer Amanda Marcotte: I'm sorry, Rachael , but this story you linked about Abby Johnson's sudden conversion from a Planned Parenthood director to an anti-choice fanatic has more holes in it than a piece of Swiss cheese after being...(read more)

In Support of a More Stringent Use of the Term ‘Douchebag’

Samantha Henig — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:48:00 GMT

A post from DoubleX writer Lauren Bans: There’s a funny spoof video up on Boing Boing framed as a PSA of sorts in support of douchebag solidarity. It features a handful of self-pegged douchebags, one pumping iron at the gym, another riffing for the amusement...(read more)

The Obamas Do Not Have a Post-Feminist Marriage

Liza Mundy — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:52:00 GMT

Just one small response to Hanna's excellent observations in today’s DoubleX discussion of an alternate universe in which Hillary had become President : I can't resist disagreeing with her that the Obama marriage is post-feminist. I don't think any marriage...(read more)

1950s Dating Horrors

Emily Yoffe — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:47:00 GMT

Hanna , I am the product of the “simpler” '50s dating culture. My parents were young, hot for each other, met their families' requirements of looks (her) and potential earning capacity (him), and married at ages 19 and 20. Their union produced four children,...(read more)

A Defense of "Cougar Town"

Willa Paskin — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:09:00 GMT

Emily Nussbaum makes the case against Cougar Town in this week’s New York : Courtney Cox’s Jules Cobb is no Samantha Jones. “The Samantha Jones iconography has gone retro, regressing to a Cathy cartoon in heels,” Nussbaum writes. “Jules Cobb, the divorced...(read more)

You Can't Wish the Crazy Away

Samantha Henig — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:04:00 GMT

A post from DoubleX writer Amanda Marcotte : I usually love Charles Pierce's writing, but this recent piece in which he tries to pin some of the blame for the surge in right wing paranoia simply fails to make its point, and veers ever so slightly into...(read more)

What if women had gone to space first?

Samantha Henig — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:57:00 GMT

A post from the DoubleX staff : According to a recent issue of Wired magazine , women performed just as well as men in late 1950s astronaut training tests. What if a woman had been the first American in space? ... (Read the rest of this article in DoubleX...(read more)

Do Women Really Ask for Raises Less Often Than Men?

Samantha Henig — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:10:00 GMT

A guest post from DoubleX intern Danny Townsend : In the New York Times last week, Joanne Lipman declared that women's progress has stalled because " we've focused primarily on numbers at the expense of attitudes. " She tells one story with a precise...(read more)