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    Rebecca Adams

    Rebecca Adams

    Voices Staff Writer, The Huffington Post

  • Before You Complain About Your Body, Think About This

    A little body positivity goes a long way.

  • A Very Good Reason To Be Friends Before Dating, Courtesy of Science

    Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin and Northwestern University brought in 167 dating and married couples and asked them how long they had known their partner and how long they'd been romantically involved. After that, the couples were interviewed on camera so that a team of coders could "scientifically" rate how physically attractive they thought each person in the couple was on a scale of -3 (very unattractive) to 3 (very attractive). To make sure one partner's attractiveness wasn't influencing the coders' perceptions of the other partner, the researchers had a second team of raters judge each person while one half of the screen was covered so that they could only see one person at a time.

  • 25 Women Bare Their Gloriously Unretouched Thighs

    When you think of your thighs, what descriptors comes to mind? One word many women associate with their thighs is "complicated." It can be hard to be 100 percent into your thighs when the only ones we seem to see are attached to airbrushed models in magazines and advertisements. Quite often, those "perfect" thighs don't even exist without the help of crafty retouchers.

  • Science Finds Yet Another Reason Men Need Feminism

    Academic studies can be fascinating... and totally confusing. Traditional masculinity -- you know, being tall, athletic and hyper-sexual -- seems to lack a lot of the nuance that make all kinds of men great. Previous studies have even suggested that men react to masculinity threats by exhibiting homophobia and increased aggression.

  • 'Feminist Mad Max' Will Help You Navigate The Post-Apocalypse

    "Mad Max: Fury Road" has been hailed as the year's "most surprising feminist triumph" by Vanity Fair and "a feminist piece of propaganda posing as a guy flick" by decidedly more hostile audiences. In any case, considering that Vagina Monologues author Eve Ensler consulted on the film, it's clear that "Mad Max" isn't your typical gun-filled, action-packed summer blockbuster. Thankfully, Tumblr noticed and brought us Feminist Mad Max, an account devoted to memes highlighting the badass women who dominate the movie.

  • Here's One Reason Why People Cheat.. And Why Affairs Can Be So Traumatic

    It's hard to quantify just how many people cheat, but with older estimates ranging from 40 to 76 percent, it's safe to assume there's a lot of infidelity going on. Simply put, betrayals are complicated.

  • 8 Things Parents Of Kids With Tourette's Syndrome Want You To Know

    Tourette's syndrome is a neurological disorder that's accompanied by involuntary movements, or tics, which are "frequent, repetitive and rapid." That doesn't mean, however, that people with Tourette's are constantly shouting -- despite what that common stereotype might have you believe. To get a fuller picture, we spoke to a few parents who are leaders of various chapters of the Tourette Association and broke down what parents of children with TS want you to know about their child's condition. 1. Tourette's syndrome is not uncommon.

  • Bathroom Graffiti Study Suggests Men Really Like 'Your Mom' Jokes

    Academic studies can be fascinating... and totally confusing. Bathroom stalls are one of the few corners of the IRL world where people can scribble out their unfiltered, anonymous thoughts with no expectation of repercussions or judgement. If these are spaces where people can express their controversial or socially unacceptable feelings, will there be a discernible difference between the secret thoughts roaming in the minds of men and women?

  • The Sexless Marriages Nobody Talks About

    Heather, 32, told The Huffington Post that when she and her husband first met 15 years ago, they had sex anytime they could. Heather isn't happy about it, but her husband isn't interested in sex and doesn't want to talk about how to fix what she sees as a major problem. "I get a variety of answers," Heather said.

  • Having More Sex Won't Necessarily Make You Happier

    Considering all of the health and mood benefits of orgasms, this sounds logical enough, but research has yet to establish that having more sex actually causes people to experience a boost in happiness. Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University recruited 64 married heterosexual couples between the ages of 35 and 65, asked how much sex they were having and told half of those couples to double their sexual activity for the duration of the 90-day study. To keep track of how often the couples had sex and their happiness, the researchers had all couples answer 10-minute surveys each morning during the study.

  • Yes, Women Are Just As Into Casual Sex As Men Are

    Academic studies can be fascinating... and totally confusing. When it comes to casual sex, researchers have long referred back to the seminal 1989 study which suggested that men are more likely to accept a sexual invitation from a stranger than women are.

  • The One Thing We're Still Not OK With When It Comes To Sex

    Academic studies can be fascinating... and totally confusing. To find out, a set of researchers turned to the General Social Survey, a longitudinal survey of over 33,000 adults between 1972 and 2012, which asked participants about sexual norms (among other things).

  • Breastfeeding Might Guard Against Certain Types Of Breast Cancers

    The list of health benefits associated with breastfeeding is a long one -- preventing postpartum depression, reducing stress and promoting weight loss are just a few. Now, mothers can potentially add breast cancer resistance to that lengthy list. A new study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, found that breastfeeding was associated with a better prognosis and higher survival rates among breast cancer patients with certain types of tumors.

  • This 71-Year-Old Walked Over 1,000 Miles To Prepare For The Camino

    This is one story from Huff/Post50's new series "This Will Be Our Year: 15 Women Over 50 Shaking Things Up In 2015." We'll be following 15 remarkable ladies throughout the year as they make a radical change in their lives, whether it's embarking on a 500-mile hike, starting a new career or attempting to find love on the Internet. Linda Anderson, 71, is going on a 500-mile hike in Spain.

  • Dear Women, You Don't Have To Aspire To Be Cool, Beautiful Or Anything As You Age

    In order to encourage women to stop concerning themselves with staying beautiful as they age, one writer has suggested women instead strive for "eternal coolness." As Phoebe Maltz Bovy writes in The New Republic, "The coolness pageant of life is about one's similarity to Patti Smith, not to a swimsuit model. Sure, being "cool" requires some effort but the tyranny of "cool" is not nearly as bad as fighting a losing battle against naturally sagging skin and a bit of weight gain, Maltz Bovy argues. Striving to embody the "it" factors of the "cool" women Maltz Bovy cites, like Kim Gordon, Chloë Sevigny and Smith, isn't liberating.

  • 6 Myths About C-Sections, Busted

    Just this month, a religious group known as Disciples of the New Dawn sparked controversy perpetuating a few of them while targeting mothers who opted for C-sections. Myth No. 1: You won't be able to have skin-to-skin contact after birth. If a woman wants to ensure she gets skin-to-skin recovery after a C-section, she should feel empowered to ask.

  • How Facebook Stalking Could Lead Women To Objectify Their Own Bodies

    Facebook stalking is real, people, and it has real effects on your body image. A new study has found that Facebook usage is positively correlated with a tendency to compare appearances with peers and engage in self-objectification (viewing your body as an object to be gazed upon). Unsurprisingly, participants spent roughly 2 hours a day on Facebook. The only media that led to body comparisons and self-objectification were Facebook and fashion magazines.

  • Men With Stressed Out Wives May Have High Blood Pressure As A Result

    A new study suggests that men whose wives are stressed are more likely to suffer from higher systolic blood pressure than those with more relaxed spouses. No, the women didn't simply nag their husbands until their blood pressures spiked. The University of Michigan researchers behind the study hypothesized that the spike had more to do with the fact that these husbands relied on their wives for support so much so that when their female partners weren't as available to tend to their emotions, their heart health took a hit.

  • 13 Breathtaking Photos That Show Parents What Happens When You Slow Down

    Between shuttling kids to various schools and activities, running a household and, you know, earning a living to afford these things, parents today have plenty of distractions. Photographer Winky Lewis and writer Susan Conley are the creative forces behind the project, which chronicles their parenting experiences in Portland, Maine. Each week for one year, Lewis would snap a photo to capture the lives of their respective children -- Lewis has two sons and a daughter, and Conley has two sons.

  • Why We Need To Be Talking About Postpartum Depression In Dads

    Although studies estimate that as many as one in 10 fathers suffers from postpartum depression, many dads go overlooked and untreated because such little research has been done on the issue. A new study, however, shows that dads' "baby blues" can affect their ability to parent and cause anxiety and behavioral issues in toddlers. Researchers from Northwestern University looked at 199 couples during the first six weeks after their child was born and again after 45 months, when their babies had grown into toddlers.