TresSugar

Heartwarming Children's Books: NOT Just for Kids

DearSugar — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 11:00:00 -0700

I know kids' books can seem a little childish with all the bright colors, huge text, and cartoon-like people, but many of them have hidden messages that adults can really take to heart. These are some of my favorites. Check them out the next time you're in the bookstore and I guarantee they'll spark some memory or feeling inside you. They'll have you tearing up and saying "awwww" in no time. They also make great gifts for the people in your life who have everything.

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East vs. West: Berlin Wall Divided Two Attitudes Toward Nudity

TresSugar — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:00:49 -0800

When the Berlin Wall fell 20 years ago last week, East and West Germany had to integrate two very different cultures. Freedom may have spread quickly through the East, but nudity - the East's favorite and perhaps only freedom - never caught on in the West.

Freikörperkultur (FKK), or liberal body culture, was really the only way to rebel in the East, where the most quotidian details of people's lives were observed by the Stasi, East Germany's secret police. Though the East German government forbid FKK at first, many government officials were into walking around nude, so they protested with the argument that "doing FKK" did not mean you weren't a good communist. Good point - don't they put kids in school uniforms to level the playing field? What's more egalitarian than wearing nothing!

Yet on the west side of the wall, the attitude toward nudity was more on par with America and its don't-even-discuss-it-in-public ethos. A West German interviewed a former East German for Vice magazine to find out what's so great about wearing nothing. Check out some of the highlights after the jump.

Gender Roles - Love 'Em Or Leave 'Em?

OnSugar Blog — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:10:00 -0800

Here's a poll from OnSugar blog Rantings of a Single Girl.

Let's go back to the 1940s for a minute. My grandmother was married, raised a kid, ran a farm, taught school, and kept a clean house. All while my grandfather was away at war. After my grandfather came back from the war and had recovered from his wounds, they went back into their traditional roles. He ran the farm and did all the "manly" things. My grandmother raised my aunt, taught school, and still had dinner on the table by 5:30 PM every night. All while pregnant with my dad.

I'm exhausted just talking about it.

I bring all this up because I've been thinking about gender roles lately. I look at my parents. Granted, my dad still does majority of the "manly'" things around the house and my mom does the household things, neither one is afraid to help out the other. My dad does housework. My mom can swing a hammer when needed.

And that's what I like.

I'll never be able to date a guy who believes in traditional gender roles. As much as I like cooking and being in the kitchen, I don't like being expected to be there. If we have kids, I'm not going to be the one who raises them. I certainly expect their father to help out. At the same time, I don't expect him the only one who takes out the trash or fixes things when they break. I think 50/50 is a good blend.

So could you be with someone who firmly believes in traditional gender roles? Or would you rather share the load?

Want to see more? Start following Rantings of a Single Girl or start your own OnSugar Blog. Maybe your stories will be posted here on TrèsSugar!

Little Girl Questions the Fairytale Ending

GiggleSugar — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:00:00 -0700

Drop Dead Fred, a wickedly immature comedy about maintaining imaginary friends into adulthood and blaming "them" for one's obscene behavior, was one of my fave movies in the early '90s - naturally. The irreverent tyke in the following scene portrays the protagonist as a young girl. Her response to her mother's lame-ass bedtime story is quite possibly the best advice any growing girl (or grown woman) could ever hear. Listen. Very. Carefully.

Website du Jour: When Love Breaks Down

TresSugar — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 02:00:00 -0700

"Before there were blogs, there were zines," writes the blogger behind When Love Breaks Down, a bitter but hilarious breakup blog with a twist. The breakup happened more than 10 years ago, and the blog is based on pages ripped from a zine the writer published back in 1998.

Each post features a page from the zine in all its cringe-inducing glory, complete with modern-day commentary, like this annotation on the entry above:

I really thought once you had a kid, you would grow up. Or at least have a conversation about leaving your family, at least a conversation, before you just up and do it. Before you just cheat and leave. I mean, that’s Lifetime movie plot, not real life.

Zines were totally the blogs of the 1990s; everyone was doing it! To learn more about the back story, keep reading.

Favorite Weird News Story of 2008: Mom Steals Kid's ID to Become Cheerleader

CitizenSugar — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:30:45 -0800

The Nebraska butt bandit proved unsuccessful in leaving his Vaseline-enhanced butt mark as CitizenSugar readers' favorite weird news story, instead losing to the mom who stole her daughter's ID to become a high-school cheerleader.

The 33-year-old Wisconsin mom faced felony identity-theft charges this year for taking her daughter's ID and enrolling in high school - just so she could be a cheerleader. She even attended cheer practices before school started and went to a pool party at the coach's house! It wasn't until the $130 check for her uniform bounced, and she only attended one day of classes, that people began to suspect.

I'm sure more weird news awaits us in the coming year - until then check out the Best of 2008.

Source

Calling All Neurotics! Another Thing to Worry About

TresSugar — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 09:00:00 -0700

As a self-described neurotic, news that my neurosis may lead me to an early grave did not surprise me in the least. Unlike many neurotics who may read this story, however, I will not be adding "fear of premature death" to my list of things I like to worry about. There are too many things there as it is!

So who, exactly, is neurotic? Anyone who is constantly worried, anxious, or prone to depression, according to these researchers. (According to Freud? Neurotics are the normal people, if by "normal" you mean average!) But it’s not anxiety or depression that will necessarily do them in - it’s that they tend to drink and smoke more than “normal” folks do - with smoking being the worst thing they can do to themselves. (25 to 40 percent of the link between being neurotic and an early death was related to smoking - not drinking.)

Participants were asked questions like "Do you usually worry a long time after a distressing incident?” and "Are you sometimes sad without any particular reason?" to determine how neurotic they were.

Neurosis, I think, gives people an interesting edge, so as long as they cut down on the boozing and the cigarettes - worry away! I'm kidding. Kind of.

Source

John Hughes: Influential Director - and Pen Pal

TresSugar — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 08:00:12 -0700

Director John Hughes, who passed away Thursday at age 59, made a big impact on those of us who grew up watching his films and crushing on his characters. But he made an even bigger impact on Alison Byrne Fields: he was her pen pal.

As she recounts on her blog, We'll Know When We Get There, Fields and Hughes sent letters back and forth between 1985 and 1987, after Alison poured her heart out to Hughes praising The Breakfast Club. Initially, she got a form letter back and wrote Hughes again, chiding him. Find out what happened next.

Why Do Some Women Prey on Boys?

TresSugar — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:00:00 -0700

Another day, another news story about a woman getting sexually involved with a teen. This time, a babysitter has been arrested on charges of molesting a 14-year-old boy who was in her care a couple years ago.

Summer Nelson, 28, of Post Falls, ID, was friends with the boy's mother and babysat him and his younger siblings. Nelson began to have sexual relations with the boy, even telling his siblings she was in love with him.

We routinely hear about men's pedophilic sex crimes, and it's still shocking to hear about female perpetrators of sex crimes even though women commit the crime in fewer numbers. Why do they do it, and does the sexual abuse affect boys any differently than it affects girls who are sexually abused? To find out, read more.

"These women are psychologically not much older than their victims," says Richard Gartner, a New York psychologist and author of Betrayed as Boys. "They're attracted to kids they can handle."

Women who have sex with minors often feel socially and sexually inadequate, says Susan Strickland, a forensic social worker in Atlanta. One woman, who received 30 years for plying her daughter's underage teen friends with alcohol and having sex with them, told police that it was the first time she'd felt popular and part of a group.

Abusers often come from strange families with few boundaries. Women who molest prepubescent kids, especially, were more than likely sexually abused or traumatized as kids themselves. Whether consciously or not, abusing minors may be a way to regain the power the women lost when they were abused.

And what about abused boys? Although we live in a culture that tells boys that they should never turn down sex, or that it is a fantasy for a sexier older woman to want to have sex with them, this makes the trauma even harder to handle. They end up having trouble developing age-appropriate relationships and, as adults, they're more likely to be depressed, anxious, and addicted to drugs, pornography, or casual sex.

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What's the Best Explanation For Sanford's Disappearance?

TresSugar — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:45:00 -0700

Update: During his emotional press conference, Gov. Sanford admitted to having an extramarital affair with a woman in Argentina.

I've heard of guys up and disappearing before, but the story of South Carolina governor Mark Sanford's disappearance takes it to a whole new level. This week, the governor's staff insisted that no one had heard from him since last Thursday because he was (nude?) hiking the Appalachian Trial. That story fell apart when a local newspaper found him last night at the Atlanta airport returning from Argentina, according to the governor.

On the one hand, I'm sure I'd want to just get away from the glaring public eye if I were a politician, too. But something seems fishy considering he left without telling his wife, kids, or, staff. I'm having trouble buying that he secretly went to Argentina all by himself just to relax. There are many strange details: his wife is not shy about being pissed, his cars were reportedly found at the Columbia, SC, airport and the Atlanta airport, and his staff has been lying about knowing his whereabouts.

Many theories are spinning in my head. Was the governor taking tango lessons? Dealing with an affair gone wrong? Having a nervous breakdown? Or just taking a little solo vacation . . . for a week . . . without telling anyone . . . when he's the governor of South Carolina?

While we wait for word from the governor (apparently he's having a press conference soon) let's indulge in some idle speculation. What you think best explains this strange story?