BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

Misogyny Moment for the end of the year... from SHAKESVILLE: I was wondering how you feel about Dennis Prager's contentio n that men are like animals in order to advance his argument that wives should submit sexually to their husbands even when they don't want to because men can't feel loved if they're not being fucked. (If you're a gay man, of course you don't even figure into Prager's heterocentrist equations, except insomuch as he makes no distinction that he's talking only about straight men; it is simply men whose "sexual nature is far closer to that of animals" and who know that their partners love them "first and foremost by [their] willingness to give [their] bod[ies] to him.") It must be thrilling to have such a prominent figure dedicate an entire column (and this is only Part One!) to coercing a woman to submit to you, irrespective of her desire, lest she risk your (totally justifiable) emotionally withdrawing from her, chea...

One of the things Adult Children of Narcissists (ACONS) have to deal with is the 'WTF' moments. In retrospect I see how I was literally TRAINED to 'accept the unacceptable.' Some of the incidents I remember: My Nmother screaming at me when I was deathly ill and had thrown up blood: "My rug, my rug - you have DESTROYED my beautiful rug." WTF? My Nmother raging at me for weeks when I finally broke it off with a Psychopathic boyfriend who'd been abusing and even beating me (nearly to death) after 3 years of on & off hell. She was angry that I dumped him because "his family has money." WTF? When I was first disabled I was shaking & feverish for 2 days. She asked if she could lay down in bed next to me and I said that was fine. Then she said "are you sick because you are afraid I am going to die soon?" WTF? When I came home from college for a couple months before moving to NYC - I had acquired a small wardrobe purchased with ...