ARTICLES

The Miniskirt Dilemma
Hellion Magazine April 21st, 2011
http://www.hellionmag.com/html/features/theminiskirtdilemma.html/

"Ever since I watched Cameron Diaz surreptitiously pull her mini-dress down during her appearance on Lopez Tonight (January, 2011), I’ve asked myself: are miniskirts by definition disempowering to women?...They are fashion industry’s little darlings, publicly unveiling women’s bodies, taunting us every summer to ask: how short is the new short, and how short is too short?"

"Jane Eyre (2011) is expertly painted in dark, hypnotic hues, its haunting vistas of a hard merciless terrain mimicking the suffering of its heroine, but the essential story of a man falling in love with a woman for her mind and soul is missing."

http://www.hellionmag.com/html/features.html

Lady And The Swan
The Ithaca Post January 27, 20011
http://theithacapost.com/2011/01/27/lady-and-the-swan/

"Black Swan...reveals an old-fashioned American stereotype of female sexuality that pits the virgin against the whore in the singular body of Nina, the dutiful ballerina played by Natalie Portman."

The Wall Street Makeover
The Ithaca Post November 17, 2010
http://theithacapost.com/2010/11/18/wall-street-makeover/

"Stone's second Wall Street movie was not merely a reflection of the director's age-old prejudices, but an uncomfortable mirror exposing sweeping social trends that threaten to propel women back to their original pre-feminist roles, zapping us into the Stepford wives of the 1950s."

Flavor of the Week: Whoa, Mama!
ANNA FISHBEYN asks New York moms what's happening with their babymakers; August 18, 2010
http://www.nypress.com

"There's a silencing of women's sexual appetites in society, especially the women who've just had children, in part because there's real discomfort with an image of a sexually potent mother."

NOVEL

The Matrimonial Flirtations of Emma Kaulfield

Emma Kaulfield (a.k.a Elena Kabelmacher) is a self-proclaimed "hard core" feminist and a free-spirited artist, a wild, gorgeous and precocious Russian immigrant longing to become more American than the native Americans and escape her oppressive Soviet past. However, when her grandmother sets her up with her version of an ideal man, a certain Alexei Bagdanovich, Emma is thrust into a speedy engagement and the planning of a spectacular Russian-flavored wedding in Chicago. But in New York, Emma secretly begins a torrid affair with Eddie Beltrafio, an American investment banker whom her superstitious and puritanical family would never approve of. Engaged to one man, in love with another, hosting the Bagdanoviches at her parent's house, meeting the Beltrafios for lunch, haunted by childhood memories and her parent's extramarital affairs, Emma Kaulfield redefines the traditional rules of dating and puts a feminist spin on the word, "harem" Through humorous dialogue and riveting emotional confrontations between diverse families and cultures, The Matrimonial Flirtations of Emma Kaulfield brilliantly portrays the complexities of living simultaneously in two worlds, and the unexpected affinity and understanding between two individuals who come from these remarkably different worlds.

Read Excerpt from Novel

Praise for the Novel

" Joseph Brodsky had been born a woman and immigrated to the US at the age of nine, his name would have been Anna Fishbeyn. Like Brodsky's oeuvre, Anna's work conveys both unflinching fearlessness and deep passion 'for life, for word's' all expressed with raw ingenuity, especially via language itself. It is both an adventure and a joy to read."
- Samantha Schnee, Founding Editor and Vice President of Words Without Border

"The Matrimonial Flirtations of Emma Kaulfield is a fearless portrayal of one woman's struggle to become an American, a feminist, and an artist against the backdrop of the Russian immigrant world. Fishbeyn's astute eye for humor and decidedly original language make this novel an extraordinary read."
- Adrienne Brodeur, Author of Man Camp