In a somewhat grotesque parody of a popular American TV sitcom, I shall shortly be launching a spin-off blog from The Girls Online. It will focus on my experience as a Jewish singleton living in London. Yes, I KNOW I seem like an unlikely authority on this subject; my relationship history may as well be renamed a non-relationship history, I am the most cynical, unromantic and commitment-phobic girl I know, and following my recent 5-minute foray into internet dating, have called off the search and closed my window.
However, what I do have, aside from nearly 20 years of dating experiences and many tales – some amusing, some tragic – is an insatiable interest in and curiosity about the world and the people around me. Each person and experience in my life has (I hope) taught me something new and forced me to examine my own identity: as a woman, as a Jew, as a friend, a lover, a sexual being and a thinking person.
The new blog will examine some of these issues further, and will also explore other themes. Can women “have it all”? (short answer – no) Why, when I am so good at forming and maintaining relationships in general (it has been my key strength in my career for example) am I so incapable of having a serious relationship with a man? What internal identity struggles are forced to the surface by the whole (non-?)Jewish dating scene? How much of where we end up in our lives – and specifically with whom we end up – is down to social pressure and sheer fear of being “alone”?
And, in a fun twist, I have persuaded (bullied?!) a male friend to share the blog space with me, in an attempt to balance out the viewpoints. For as I said to someone last week, I’m not one for crude categorisations, and I rally against arguments based on biological essentialism, but honestly, sometimes, when it comes to men being a complete mystery to me, the evidence is sometimes overwhelming…
Watch this space.
However, what I do have, aside from nearly 20 years of dating experiences and many tales – some amusing, some tragic – is an insatiable interest in and curiosity about the world and the people around me. Each person and experience in my life has (I hope) taught me something new and forced me to examine my own identity: as a woman, as a Jew, as a friend, a lover, a sexual being and a thinking person.
The new blog will examine some of these issues further, and will also explore other themes. Can women “have it all”? (short answer – no) Why, when I am so good at forming and maintaining relationships in general (it has been my key strength in my career for example) am I so incapable of having a serious relationship with a man? What internal identity struggles are forced to the surface by the whole (non-?)Jewish dating scene? How much of where we end up in our lives – and specifically with whom we end up – is down to social pressure and sheer fear of being “alone”?
And, in a fun twist, I have persuaded (bullied?!) a male friend to share the blog space with me, in an attempt to balance out the viewpoints. For as I said to someone last week, I’m not one for crude categorisations, and I rally against arguments based on biological essentialism, but honestly, sometimes, when it comes to men being a complete mystery to me, the evidence is sometimes overwhelming…
Watch this space.
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