Liberating Motherhood

1 week ago | zawn.substack.com | Zawn Villines

To misogynistic men—and that’s most of them—the women they marry, form partnerships with, and have children with are much more like appliances than people. To the male apologists of the world, this might sound like extremist feminist nonsense. To any woman who has lived with a sexist man—and often, to any woman who has lived with a man who falsely claims to be a feminist—this is an obvious reality. We don’t have to speculate to draw this conclusion, either.

1 week ago | zawn.substack.com | Zawn Villines

Content note: This is a piece about men scheduling sex as a way to convince their partners to have sex with them. I also talk about therapists suggesting putting sex on the calendar as some sort of meaningful solution to sexless relationships. It is not about busy couples who have a weekly date night because they both want sex and want to make time for it. Please don’t argue in bad faith and pretend that’s what this is about. A lot of heterosexual men are lying to themselves about sex.

1 week ago | zawn.substack.com | Zawn Villines

I’d love to have an open, honest conversation about plastic surgery, fillers, Botox, etc. in Patriarchy and feminist thinking. I am very torn between the thinking that women should do whatever they want to feel comfortable with themselves vs. hating that we live in a culture where people feel like they have to do those things to feel comfortable, loved, seen, and accepted. Because Patriarchy. Am I a bad feminist if I want to try Botox? Feminism exists to serve women.

2 weeks ago | zawn.substack.com | Zawn Villines

My husband and I have a really great connection about 80% of the time. He’s fun, funny, and does a lot of household labor. I like him. But the other 20%, he’s verbally abusive. He calls me a bitch and a cunt, lashing out with verbal aggression when I ask him to do things he doesn’t want, ask him to justify himself, or otherwise annoy him. I have an anxiety disorder. I understand that I can be annoying, but I’ve set a boundary around verbally lashing out, and he just ignores it.

2 weeks ago | zawn.substack.com | Zawn Villines

I’ve been driving for 25 years. I’ve had one car accident that wasn’t my fault, and got one ticket when I was 17. Yet every time I parallel park—something I do quickly and with ease—I see men watching me in my minivan, judging me, waiting for me to make the mistake that never comes. Last weekend, I took my toddler to Home Depot, where they have the shopping carts with the little cars attached that kids can pretend to drive.