Women searching for self-respect in a misogynistic …

 world should check-out Netflix’s ‘Miss Americana’ and ‘Sex Education.’

Netflix’s hit series, ‘Sex Education’ (renewed for 3rd season) and Taylor Swift’s documentary, ‘Miss Americana’ tear down what dark curtains hide. But before you grab the popcorn and settle in, we suggest you read two, tell-it-like-it-is articles by one ‘wild and crazy,’ honest-talking, independent, single woman from Tennessee – not Taylor Swift, Melanie Hamlett.

“I cannot change the world or dismantle the patriarchy alone, but I can do my part to ensure that I like and respect myself.” – Melanie Hamlett

I got tagged, tapped or “bumped into” Melanie Hamlett somewhere in the online swirl and the discovery has been enlightening. I’ll tell you more about her in a second but first let me introduce you to two articles she wrote, one in Harper’s Bazaar, one in Decider. Both worth your time – if you give a damn about building your self-respect and advancing your sex education.

Sex Education – the TV-series

First, let’s fess up, most of us are fucked up when it comes to Sex 101. We don’t have much knowledge in the art or science of sex and the majority of the adult population wouldn’t get a passing grade if we had to take a test. Most are good at fucking but clueless when it comes to understanding sex. We just do it. What’s to know? It’s easy and comes naturally. Except, studies show that 49% of women are not satisfied sexually. And worse, not talking about it. But not Melanie Hamlett.

Melanie’s article about the TV-series Sex Education is a quick study in honesty.

“Finally there’s a show that speaks to the sex drive of women previously forgotten about. This is huge because you so rarely see horny women over the age of 30 having sex at all, much less a LOT of it, because we’re just a bunch of unfuckable, dried up hags in the eyes of Hollywood.”

You know you’re in for a good read when Melanie writes, “I’m not a mom or as predatory as this MILF [Gillian Anderson/Dr. Milburn on ‘Sex Education’] but I am a woman over the age of 40 who has the sex drive of a 14 year-old boy.” This 3 minute read extracts with raw honesty how the series “speaks to the sex drive of women previously forgotten about” and “the real live experiences of complicated, diverse people.”

Read it and up your grade in sex education.

Taylor Swift’s documentary, ‘Miss Americana’

“Like Swift, I found myself in the traps of the victim narrative, which is so much easier than admitting to yourself that your need to be liked was the root of your problems. Swift owns up to this, and I respect the hell out of that.” – Melanie Hamlett

Taylor Swift (Frahm/Getty)

Melanie was not a Taylor Swift fan but that changed when she watched – begrudgingly at first – Swift’s documentary, ‘Miss Americana.’ The two women had a common bond that’s all-too common among too many women: Low self-respect and a high need to be liked.

Again, Melanie’s open, fluid narrative offers you, in a 5 minute read, a book full of insight. This article could kick-start any woman’s self-respect into high gear in her fight to be rid of the “toxic identities” and the “misogynistic boot on a woman’s neck.”

Swift says in Miss Americana, “I had to deconstruct an entire belief system for my own personal sanity,” and Melanie says she used to be a lot like Swift. “I was too afraid to say no, and I loved feeling important. Some people call this people-pleasing, but I wasn’t really trying to please anyone; I just needed them to think I was amazing.”

Two women, very different and yet, marinated in the same noxious, contaminated self-abasement.

Read the article then watch ‘Miss Americana.’ It might just provide a swift jolt (pun intended) to your self-respect.

Attention all thirty-something women – forty-somethings too. Hell, all women!

Melanie Hamlett: Comedian, storyteller, journalist.

Melanie seems to be a live-life-like-it-is woman, who in her articles and comedy act, tells it like it is to anyone who will listen. And we all should listen. And don’t just read these two articles, go to her website and get ‘educated’ about life in the female lane, the one most of us are not self-respecting enough to drive in. If Taylor Swift can switch lanes we all can. Melanie did. And, guess what, now, in her forties, she’s getting married.

I immediately liked Melanie when reading what she wrote, listening to her comedy and connecting with the way she undresses sex. Honest. Incisive. Real. I was a follower after reading that she changed her opinion of Taylor Swift (I’m not a Swift fan) and the Sex Education show (I respect people who admit they’re wrong). She bought into ‘Sex Education’ after viewing a scene in which she decided Dr. Jean Milburn (Gillian Anderson) was a “smokin’ hot mom and boning a much younger dude and shamelessly not giving any fucks ….” I have an affinity for candor, especially when it comes to sex. Honesty is a cornerstone of a long-term relationship and the keystone of great sex. Anything less is fake and the enemy of true love.

After thirty-something there should be no room for fake and dishonest, only real. Absolutely not after forty!

Read ‘Sex Education’ article >>

Read Taylor Swift article >>

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