Chelmsford Public Library

"If you lean in, will men just look down your blouse?", questions and thoughts for loud, smart women in turbulent times, Gina Barreca

eng

no index present

non fiction

"If you lean in, will men just look down your blouse?"

936430055

Gina Barreca

questions and thoughts for loud, smart women in turbulent times

"Gina Barreca is fed up with women who lean in, but don't open their mouths. In her latest collection of essays, she turns her attention to subjects like bondage which she notes now seems to come in fifty shades of grey and has been renamed Spanx. She muses on those lessons learned in Kindergarten that every woman must unlearn like not having to hold the hand of the person you're waking next to (especially if he's a bad boyfriend) or needing to have milk, cookies and a nap every day at 3:00 PM (which tends to sap one's energy not to mention what it does to one's waistline). She sounds off about all those things a woman hates to hear from a man like "Calm down" or "Next time, try buying shoes that fit". "'If You Lean In, Will Men Just Look Down Your Blouse?'" is about getting loud, getting love, getting ahead and getting the first draw (or the last shot). Here are tips, lessons and bold confessions about bad boyfriends at any age, about friends we love and ones we can't stand anymore, about waist size and wasted time, about panic, placebos, placentas and certain kinds of not-so adorable paternalism attached to certain kinds of politicians. The world is kept lively by loud women talking and "'If You Lean In, Will Men Just Look Down Your Blouse?'" cheers and challenges those voices to come together and speak up. You think she's kidding? Oh, boy, do you have another thing coming"--, Provided by publisher

pt. 1. I'm not needy, I'm wanty -- Does beauty really equal bondage? or "How I learned to stop worrying and loathe the spanx" -- Unlearning the kindergarten lessons of life -- The cheap-motel backside of Facebook -- Women carry everything we need to start life in a new state -- The 150,000 dollar Park Avenue purse -- Women's bodies -- from an amusement park to a terrarium -- Let the good times in -- Bring your sense of humor ... and nineteen more rules to live by -- Achievement dysmorphia -- Occupy vogue -- Loud women talking -- Growing old gaudily -- Turn it up; I'm dancing -- When faith's needed, I don't have a prayer -- pt. 2, Sex is not the answer. "Sex?" is the question -- The female orgasm, in her own words, explains how she is not elusive -- Rules on love, laughter, and using your words -- Define that feeling -- Sixteen things women hate to hear (even when we like or love you) -- Sixteen things men hate to hear (even when they like or love us) -- The truths about relationships nobody wants to admit -- Why are men masters of the breakfast domain? -- "Happily married" is not an oxymoron -- Save the last class for me -- Relationships, roundabouts, and banana boats -- pt. 3. Amateur traumatics -- Never talk politics with your family -- Why work matters -- To a young friend who is not happy at her job -- Why I hate nature and love electricity -- Six things you need to know about changing your life -- You're not perfect, either, lady! -- Pack only the liberty bag: advice I'd give to my younger self -- Shrinkage -- After loss -- Spring cleaning for the soul -- Deal with your "emotional allergies" -- Put the brakes on being busy -- Snappy answers to stupid questions -- pt. 4. He didn't lead me into temptation: we took a shortcut -- Bad boyfriends at any age -- Ten reasons to thank the one who walked out -- When it's over -- Timeline of a breakup recovery -- Hearts and parachutes -- How to get what you want -- pt. 5 If you run with a bad crowd, can you call it exercise? -- Why friends can (sometimes) be better than family -- And if you envy your friend? -- Sitting down with your demons -- Gifts of omission -- When a friend faces divorce -- Girlfriends: as essential as cupcakes and revenge -- pt. 6. If you met my family, you'd understand -- Why I tell stories -- Marrying Italian -- "Listen to this one ..." -- My mother's dreams -- Sex talk in the park -- When a mother doesn't like being a mom -- Questions I wish I'd asked -- What makes an apology real? -- "You think I have all day?" -- The hummingbird effect -- pt. 7. Seeing something, saying something -- If you lean in, will men just look down your blouse? -- Good girls say no -- and women should, too -- Why we know that when guys make slurping sounds at us on the street, it isn't a compliment -- Never mind mindfulness -- A good eater's guide to actual food -- Please don't eat the placentas! -- Words rich people use that poor people don't -- A proactive, impactful look at words I despise -- Moments of the irrevocable -- Five reasons to hate Twilight -- Fifty shades of stupefaction -- Good dirty books versus bad dirty books -- Essential must-not-reads -- My bikini bridge is the verrazano -- Epilogue: What everyone must stop doing right now -- Acknowledgments