A few pages into Wild, I decided I was no more ill-prepared to venture into wilderness than Cheryl Strayed.

I mean, there are smart risks and stupid risks. It’s fine to do a giant hike, but there is no harm in taking a few shorter hikes first so that you can learn how not to die in the wilderness. “Inexperienced hiker doesn’t know what she’s doing, dies, because of fucking course she does” isn’t what you want on your…

I think it’s a much worse idea to try to go on a long hike with zero hiking experience. It’s lucky that this author was forced by circumstance into day hikes only, because lengthy hikes can be dangerous, and it is incredibly foolish to decide that

Nah girl. I’m an anthropologist.

The original article was bullshit, because it’s not “anthropology” if you’re just gossiping about your neighbors. And this article is bullshit, because it is written with palpable, near-orgasmic glee at the opportunity to hate on these women. As far as I can tell, there is zero evidence that this is an actual trend…

What if the loved one is your fiance? Does he or she get a say? Or what if “feels strongly” means “would be delighted if it were done” rather than “is refusing to go to the wedding without it happening”? You’re not allowing for nuance here; you’re assuming that a bride who wants to accommodate a family member is a…

Yeah, don’t call it anthropology if you’re totally immersed in the field and have zero methodology. Call it “some bitchy, judgmental observations I’ve made as a way of maintaining a feeling of separation and moral superiority so I don’t have to acknowledge that these are my actual peers.”

I tried to do this, except I also put my bridesmaids in touch to choose a color that looked good on all of them, and they ended up choosing to all wear the same dress! It’s a really cute dress; I kind of want it myself, so I understand why they all went for that one. But still, I did not anticipate that they would choo…

I feel like you meant “ethnically” there, but I am going to go ahead and assume that you actually do date ethically diverse men, because I absolutely love that as a new dating category. Like, on one’s dating profile, one might say, “I prefer men of the moral realism school of thought, but as a non-cognitivist myself,…

I can totally see how this might be right for some people, but I take umbrage at the idea that it is right for everyone. There are plenty of people in my family who are really wonderful and lovely, and doing something I don’t particularly care for is worth it because it matters a lot to them. If your family are being…

This might also be a different conversation from the perspective of people who have only had sex within relationships. Like, my partner probably has no idea how many people I’ve had sex with, because I’ve only mentioned significant sexual partners, and that is maybe 1/3 of my sexual history? But if I had only had sex…

This perfectly articulates the frustration I often try to express when people become mockingly critical of the South. In a community that is generally pretty good at recognizing the systemic issues that can keep a large group of people down, mocking Southerners for their ignorance or “backwardness” is surprisingly…

One time when my Mom was both nursing AND pregnant, a woman pulled this shit on my then-9-year-old cousin at a Mardi Gras parade. My Mom saw and marched over there WITH A BREASTFEEDING BABY, grabbed the woman by the ponytail, and told her, “Give that toy back to my nephew right now.”

...Leslie Knope? Is that you?

YEAH! It’s never worth it to see if you can come up with an alternate solution that makes your loved ones happy! Instead you can just tell ‘em to go fuck themselves!

Holy crap, that is glorious!

Possibly the wisest thing m father ever said to me was that you should always look back on yourself 5 years ago and cringe in shame, because that’s how you know you’re growing.

Good God, those are gorgeous!

It kind of does though? It is probably already a little rough to go to a wedding without your spouse, but, you know, you do it. Maybe you prepare yourself mentally beforehand, decide to lay low, whatever. And then, with no warning, there is an event that specifically highlights the fact that your spouse is not there…

I love this! Thank you so much for this idea! I have been really stressed about what to do about this, because people feel strongly about the bouquet being used somehow, and I haven’t been able to come up with anything. I love this though!