By Eleanore Wells

We have stayed too long on dates we didn’t want to be on just so we wouldn’t be seen as too picky, difficult, and whatever other hostile descriptions single women are sometimes labeled.

The documentary “MAKERS: Women Who Make America” premieres next week; unpacking the myth of women as terrible drivers; a flashback to 1949 lists on how women can be more attractive to men; male stereotypes that Hollywood needs to rid itself of; and the beauty of educating girls in our world’s poorest countries.

Divorced at 52 after nearly 30 years of marriage, I found the transition to dating . . . awkward, at the very least. For one thing, I couldn’t begin to compete with younger women’s tight buttocks, flat stomachs, and firm breasts . . .

Valentine’s Day is about sharing our lives and love with others. Which is what every day should be!

At some point in the relationship, every man I’ve ever gone out with has looked at me sadly and concluded, “You aren’t very romantic, are you?”

This week’s Wednesday 5 went to the source about women in combat, cried at a sweet love story from an old friend, found an authoritative guide to great local bars, took some lessons from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and got excited about this year’s Athena Film Festival.

Yes, there were dates over those ten years, some of them better than others, and some of them even making my heart beat a bit faster. But never, in all these years, did I put on Great Date. There was always a hesitation, a doubt, the fear of wasting my favorite (and discontinued!) lipstick on something that would not be worth it in the end.

Some of the ads are so silly I wondered if the writer was actually looking for love or just clowning around. Probably a little of both. But, really, who cares? If you must look for love with a personal ad, why not have a little fun with it?

This week: the myth of “empty-nest syndrome,” a single father appreciates the talents of mothers, the list of 2012 films by female directors grows,1960s style is reinvented for the modern woman, and our Eleanore Wells embarks on the adventure of dating in 21st century high-tech world.

Wednesday 5: Women changing the business of media, why technology supports ageism, the humanity in Marie-Antoinette through her last letter, how great Hollywood would be if women ran it, and more women in their 40s are having affairs (and great sex).

This week’s blogs celebrated a 14-year-old’s successful petition against impossible beauty standards; provided a defense of Singledom; took a judicious look at “having it all”; and extolled the joys of creativity and compassion.

What’s the female equivalent of a dirty old man? “Dirty old lady” doesn’t have quite the same ring—but, whatever it’s called, I think I became one the other day. (What I’m thinking is more salacious than “cougar.”)

By Eleanore Wells

In WVFC’s latest excerpt from “The Spinsterlicious Life,” Eleanore Wells reflects on how older spinsters feel as they see their fortysomething girlfriends walk down the aisle.

By Eleanore Wells

I don’t think I ever actually thought that marriage and kids were necessarily bad things, but they never seemed to be for me . . . and I really was puzzled why just about everybody else in the whole wide world felt that it was for them.

By Cecilia Ford, Ph.D.

Feeling anxious and uncomfortable after an overly early sexual encounter is as true for men as it is for women; indeed, it is often the reason men back off. They think they want sex right away, but it’s no good for men, either.