Cynthia Heimel

Cynthia Heimel (née Glick; July 13, 1947 – February 25, 2018) was an American feminist humorist writer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was a columnist and foremost the author of satirical books known for their unusual titles, aimed at a female readership, as well as a playwright and television writer.

Life and career Heimel was born in Philadelphia. She wrote for the alternative magazine Distant Drummer for two years in Philadelphia in the late 1960s. to write alternating columns, "Dear Problem Lady" and "Tongue in Chic." Her first book, Sex Tips for Girls, was largely a collection of her Voice columns. Published in 1983, it was a semi-satirical take on Cosmopolitan (and other "women's" magazines) and their "how to please your man" approach to feminism. Though she gives actual sex tips, Heimel's main focus was sexual self-confidence for women and the idea that women actually enjoy sex, as well as the rigors of dating. In 2008, New York Magazine noted that "Much of the gospel about dating and sex is still achingly current". Heimel later regretted the perception of her after writing the book, "as if I was an expert on sex".

Heimel stated in Advanced Sex Tips for Girls, her final book, that she was not accepted by the feminist movement; that being too sexy to be an academic feminist and too angry for "women's" magazines, she sometimes had difficulty finding outlets that would publish her work; and that for this reason, she accepted an offer to work for Playboy and was the writer of its "Women" column for decades from 1983. Her column was ended around 2000 when the editors of Playboy expressed concern that Heimel's feminist attitudes would put off male readers.

On writing Advanced Sex Tips nearly 20 years later, Heimel said that "The first one is kind of a how-to manual and the second one is kind of a why manual." Publishers Weekly contrasted the two books: "Twenty years ago, Heimel's Sex Tips for Girls was a hot item for women with bad attitude; her down-and-dirty, irreverent take on male-female relations was a welcome relief, after eons of machismo and years of second-wave feminist struggle. Her sequel, however, is a mixed bag".

Personal life Heimel was raised in Overbrook Park, Philadelphia; her mother was a secretary and her father was a pharmacist. She left home at 17 and lived in Center City. She worked as an artist's model before she found work at Philadelphia's Distant Drummer weekly newspaper. She met and married radio announcer and painter Steve Heimel, and they had a son, Brodie, in 1970. She separated from her husband after 18 months when he found work in Houston and she moved to England. After they separated, she lived with Brodie in communes and worked as a secretary and with "lefty social organizations" in London for three years and then moved to New York City.

Works

Books Sex Tips For Girls But Enough About You: Avoiding Fabulousness If You Can't Live without Me, Why Aren't You Dead Yet?! Get Your Tongue out of My Mouth, I'm Kissing You Good-Bye! If You Leave Me, Can I Come Too? When the Phone Doesn't Ring, It'll Be Me! Advanced Sex Tips for Girls: This Time It's Personal

Plays A Girl's Guide to Chaos (1986), directed by Wynn Handman, staged in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Television series Dear John, writer Kate & Allie, writer