Sex and the State's most-loved of 2023
Inspired by a recent
thread, here are my most-loved Sex and the State newsletters of 2023, from least to most loved.10.
Having kids doesn't make people happier
Watch me read this. This is a story about a girl named Cathy who tried to talk herself into pro-natalism and then wound up right back where she began. I was chatting in the Center for New Liberalism Slack Group (join us!), as one does, about loneliness, of course, and my interlocutor said, in essence, more liberals should get married and have kids.
15 hearts.
9.
Friday diary 46: I'm quitting my job. My coworkers suck.
Last week I essentially attempted to explain why I have yet to reach Substack stardom. Well, superstardom anyway. “Hundreds of paid subscribers” (very slightly over 200) is pretty dang good for a newsletter about public policy and my vagina. Here’s the thing. Absolutely to brag, I tend to do what I set out to do. It’s called hyperfocus sweaty, look it up.
15 hearts.
8.
Criticizing the military industrial complex isn’t anti-veteran
Happy Memorial Day. Watch me read this. I come from a military family. Both my grandfathers were fighter pilots in Vietnam. Neither ever wanted to talk about their combat experiences. My dad is career Army and I grew up in Huntsville, a military town.
15 hearts.
7.
Friday diary 34: Esther Perel is the GOAT
I thought maybe I’d go audio first with this newsletter. But within a day I missed writing too much. So I’m back to sensemaking through typing words onto a screen, baybee. My dad left my mom when I was around seven. She never really dated afterward. But when, as an empty nester, she moved out of our house I found hundreds of self-help books on romantic relationships. It was like finding out a carpenter had read hundreds of books on physics.
15 hearts.
6.
Why men don't help out around the house
Welcome to Sex and the State, a newsletter about human connection. To support my life’s work, upgrade to a paid subscription, buy a guide, follow me on OnlyFans, follow me on Twitter, support me on Patreon, or just share this post 🙏 ~~~~~Sex and the State is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a fr…
17 hearts.
5.
Cathy reads books: Manhood by Sen Josh Hawley
Watch me read this. It has come to my attention that I owe Ryan Michler a sincere apology. When I reviewed his book, The Masculinity Manifesto, I truly had no idea what I had. While the review was far from scathing, after reading Senator Josh Hawley’s Manhood, I now realize even my light criticisms were far, far too harsh.
18 hearts.
4.
For the last fucking time, hookup culture is a myth
Watch me read this. It’s not every day that I see an article that’s quite this chock full of conservative malarky on sex and marriage. But boy does Brendan Case deliver. “Restoring marriage as a cultural norm will likely demand a sexual counterrevolution to overthrow the regime of ‘cheap sex,’” Case writes.
18 hearts.
3.
One reason the left stays losing
Watch me read this. Republicans are banning shit like books, dressing in drag, and the accurate teaching of history. Leftists are up in arms, as they should be. But leftists need to focus less on the what and more on the why. Because while Republicans are doing shit that only appeals to the fringiest fringe, Democrats can only get weaksauce through. The l…
18 hearts.
2.
20 hearts.
1.
Wrapping up my porn career
On July 8th, 2019 sex worker and writer extraordinaire Maggie McNeill published my first guest post on her blog, The Honest Courtesan, wherein I came out to the world as, well, a whore. I checked, and was surprised to realize it was a mere eight months later, on April 25th, 2020, bored in my studio and still saving up to retire early, that I started my …
34 hearts. Y’all were really happy to see me keep my clothes on.
I’m happy to have hearted all but two of these (which I also read and like but didn’t heart for some reason - maybe I was listening 🤷🏼♂️)