Sex and the Single Woman

One of Bustle's Best Books of May A feminist anthology inspired by legendary Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Browns Sex and the Single Girl, featuring twenty-four new essays on the triumphs and heartbreaks of modern singlehood from acclaimed and bestselling authors, including Kristen Arnett, Morgan Parker, Evette Dionne, and Melissa Febos. Sixty years ago, Helen Gurley Brown's Sex and the Single Girl sent shockwaves through the United States, selling more than two million copies in three weeks. Helens message was radical for its time: marriage wasnt essential for women to lead rich, fulfilling lives. Now, in these critical, wry, and expansive essays, twenty-four writers reconsider Helens advice and how it applies to their own paths, fielding topics that she couldntor wouldntconceive of in 1962: contraception and abortion (an omission demanded by her publisher), queer and trans womanhood, polyamory, celibacy, interracial dating, bodies of all kinds, consent, sex work, IVF, and the pop culture that both saves and fails us. Eliza Smith and Haley Swansons revisionist anthology honors Browns irreverent spirit while also validating our modern experiences of singlehood, encouraging us all to reclaim joy where its so often been denied.