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The Romance Revolution

The Romance Revolution Is the romance novel a tool of the patriarchy? Or exactly the opposite? That depends… Origins of the Romance Novel In the early twentieth century, novels for women provided messages of purity and refinement. Publishers were reluctant to run afoul of purity associations run by prominent men of the time. But then came the first “best-sellers:” So-called “sex novels” that focused on women’s sexual desires and pleasures. The success of novels like May

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7 Things I Learned from Dating and Writing

7 Things I Learned from Dating and Writing Carolyn Lee Arnold’s new book, Fifty Dates After Fifty, has been called a “frolicking, racy memoir.” As a fifty-something woman, Carolyn learned that you must kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince—so the key is to enjoy the frogs along the way. And it turns out that first dates are a lot like first drafts. Many thanks, Carolyn, for your vibrant wisdom on both fronts!

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First Do No Ageist Harm

First Do No Ageist Harm Last year I signed up for an online clinical study about brain health and answered a series of questions. The study materials said the research would help discover treatments for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other brain disorders. Back then it seemed like a public service to provide information that could help fight disease. I recently completed a follow-up set of questions and came away with a different perspective. Life after full-time

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Stella Fosse 11 Comments

10 Steps to Write a Great Seasoned Sex Scene

10 Steps to Write a Great Seasoned Sex Scene At their best, sex and writing have a lot in common: two forms of play that engage us creatively with others. Both make us vulnerable. And there is no subject we can write about that makes us more vulnerable than sex—even more so for older women who write about sex in a youth-obsessed culture. On the flip side, it’s the most fun you can have with

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When I am an Old Woman I Shall Dye My Hair Purple

When I am an Old Woman I Shall Dye My Hair Purple In early 2000 I flew to San Francisco with my newly adopted baby. At 46 and still jet lagged, I pushed her stroller through our Oakland neighborhood. “Your granddaughter is beautiful,” said a woman on a park bench. Granddaughter. Right. I went home and dyed my gray hair red. It was my first experience, not of trying to look younger, but of trying

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Awaken the Power of Older Women

Awaken the Power of Older Women. I am in several online groups for older women where the prevailing content is jokes at our expense. Incontinence is a recurring theme, along with making fun of older women’s looks and desires. Self-deprecating humor is great, up to a point. But too much of it degrades our self-image. Why is an advocate for older women’s empowerment on those groups? For one thing, I was naïve enough to think

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The Musings & Ponderings of Stella (And Friends)

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The Romance Revolution

7 Things I Learned from Dating and Writing

First Do No Ageist Harm

10 Steps to Write a Great Seasoned Sex Scene

When I am an Old Woman I Shall Dye My Hair Purple

Awaken the Power of Older Women

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