Dear Reader,

Welcome to Atlas Magazine’s brand-sparkly-new relationship column, a real-life advice blog that will never run headlines that sound like this:

Perky, Plump or Prosthetic: What does your butt shape say about you?

Ignition: Study shows guys want you to make car noises in bed

Ke$ha’s Top 12 Tips for Seducing Bearded Humans

Why? Because relationships are complex. They’re colorful. They warrant a lot more than endless checklists of flaws to fix and phony flirting strategies to try, usually aimed at self-conscious women waiting in the grocery store checkout line. So unless they’re tongue-in-cheek, I won’t be force-feeding you any quizzes that predict your personality based on your haircut, or your nail polish, or how good you are at making sandwiches. You’re welcome.

I’m female and straight, so I suppose my relationship experiences come from a pretty typical place as far as relationship columnists’ go. But my pledge to you is this: I promise to offer you as many unique perspectives as I can using the resources I have available, and to write as much as possible about the common human experience of caring about other people without assigning arbitrary gender roles or belittling your intelligence.

And I also promise not to take myself so seriously all the time.

So let’s talk relationships! Girlfriends, boyfriends, bestfriends, frienemies, friend crushes, and that flirtatious hipster barista that knows your latte order by heart – they’re all fair game.

All the best,
Rebecca

Questions? Suggestions? Need a venting session?
Email me: isenhart.rebecca@gmail.com
Tweet at me: @rebeccaisenhart