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This Valentine's Day week, love was on our minds . . . but in a very Ravishly kind of way. Which is to say, for every sweet post about motherhood, there was a more cynical post about pondering love while splayed out on a dirty linoleum floor. Also fair game this week: body image, BDSM, and Zumba.
Enjoy!
Being Thin Didn't Make Me Happy, But Being "Fat" Does
Contributing writer Joni Edelman challenges our cultural assumptions about weight . . . with a twist on the "before" and "after" photos.
Choice quote: "The world wants you to want to be thin. There are whole industries built on your insecurity. They are bullshit."
Be Mine, And Hers, And His: The Requisite Valentine's Themed Post On Polyamory
Staff writer Jetta Rae DoubleCakes gets real and raw about her choice to be polyamorous. Despite what the headline suggests, this is decidedly not your typical Valentine's themed post on polyamory.
Choice quote: "Your monogamy has an entire culture of triage built around it, desperately trying to hold heteronormativity in place as it hemorrhages, free-falling into chaos. The future is upon us. The future is beautiful. The future wore three matching wedding dresses and is having a baby."
Death By Zumba
New York Times writer and Ravishly contributor Deb Amlen embraces her inner sloth spirit animal and calls this dance craze what it is: a peculiar form of sweat-infused hell.
Choice quote: "The perky and buff instructor mambas effortlessly back toward the front of the room, disappearing into a mist of sweat droplets, only to be replaced by visions of my dead grandmother eating a pastrami sandwich. She lived to be 97. I might not survive the remaining 10 minutes of this class."
Forget 50 Shades: Feminist Adult Film Producers Pick Their Favorite BDSM Erotica
Hey, did you hear that the 50 Shades of Grey movie is coming out this weekend? And that the story is mood-killing drivel? For those looking to revel in quality BDSM flicks, co-editor Nikki Gloudeman turned to three female porn producers for recs.
Choice quote: "What, then, are BDSM devotees—or at least those curious about BDSM—to do? Is this truly our only outlet to see depictions of a pain room or the sweet-sharp pleasure of a good spanking? No! Fear and fret not, for there is another way."
Top 10 Romance-Killing Valentine's Day Gifts
Co-editor Katie Tandy proves that the bowels of Etsy + Valentine's Day = guaranteed hilarity!
Choice quote: "Sometimes love is the wind beneath your wings . . . and sometimes it's the pits. Sometimes you want to shout your love from the rooftops . . . and sometimes you want to strangle it, stuff it in a small sack, then put it in a locked box and chuck it into the ocean for some poor scuba-diving bastard to find in 30 years."
