Women

SLUT. It is an ugly little word we've seen pop up with increasing viciousness in the past year. Whether it is being spat through radio airwaves at college students on birth control, tweeted at tweens' favorite cheating celebrities or sneered in high school hallways everywhere, the word is quickly becoming synonymous with a girl we don't like or a woman we don't want heard. But at 11 a.m. Saturday, Chicagoans are gathering at the Thompson Center to say "enough with the name-calling already!"

Have you heard? Young women are rocking it! A bevy of articles in 2011 described Millennial men stuck in extended adolescence, living in their parents' basements, passing time until their bands make it, developing PBR guts and PlayStation thumbs. And while the boys floundered, the Gen Y women flourished, graduating college, holding down stable jobs and having fantastic hair days. As Blue Ivy would say if she could talk: Girls run the world. Except that we really don't.

Windsurfing has been an Olympic sport since 1984 for men and 1992 for women. All competitors use the same board, which is designed to be effective even if there isn't much wind for the race. The Neil Pryde RS:X is the class of board used in the Olympics. The board is 9 feet, 5 inches long and 3 feet, 1 inch wide and weighs 34 pounds. The sail height is 17 feet for men and 16 feet for women. There are 10 races and the top nine finishes count toward advancing to the medal round.

Michigan Avenue and Oak Street are two of the city's most popular strips for window-shopping, but some of downtown's best boutiques are tucked among galleries and restaurants on the streets of River North. Expect an impressive selection of designer threads, with pricetags to match. Start your trip in front of the glossy red façade and massive circular windows of Ikram (15 E. Huron St. 312-587-1000). This women's boutique features jewelry and clothing hand-selected by local fashion legend Ikram Goldman, known for outfitting Michelle Obama for the 2009 inauguration and other occasions.

Mila Kunis and Miranda Kerr: We wouldn't want to take on either of these women in a beauty pageant. Fortunately, Esquire won't make us choose. Kunis last month was named Sexiest Woman Alive by the American edition, and Kerr picked up the U.K. version's title this week. Since both of these women clearly are winners in the first place, we decided not to hold a traditional faceoff. Instead, check out all the ways they're strikingly similar. Age Kerr: 29 (born April 30, 1983)

Chicago's female population has spoken: The perfect Chicago man is well-educated with money to burn. Dating website WhatsYourPrice.com , which late last year revealed what Chicago men consider to be the perfect woman, has turned the tables. Based on a survey of 4,000 Chicago women, the site says the most important thing women look for in the perfect man is education, with 27 percent of women saying a graduate degree is the most important factor for landing a first date. Closely following is income, with 25 percent indicating an income of $150,000 to $200,000 is a desirable quality that leads to a first date.

Thinking of waiting to tie the knot? You're not alone. About 20 percent of American adults ages 18-29 are married, compared with 59 percent in 1960. Other results from a Pew Research Center study released in December found that the median age for first marriages is expanding. The median age at first marriage For women in 2010: 26.5 For women in 1990: 23.9 For women in 1960: 20.3 For men in 2010: 28.7 For men in 1990: 26.1 For men in 1960: 22.8 Number of newly married U.S. adults 2010: 4.2 million 2009: 4.4 million 2008: 4.5 million Pew asked 2,600 American adults in October if marriage is becoming obsolete.

Earmuffs! There is a new F-word in town, and it is dirtier than Rick Santorum's name, more loaded than Mitt Romney's wallet and more vile than the inside of Rush Limbaugh's mouth. Yes, "feminist" has taken over as the year's most foul word. Whenever a student tries to argue for access to safe and effective birth control, an unapologetic woman runs for president, or a Girl Scout tries to sell a box of Thin Mints, out pops that dirty little three-syllable word - fem-in-ist - usually along with a few choice adjectives.

A whopping 75 percent of cold-hearted women say they probably wouldn't date a guy without a job, according to a recent survey conducted by It's Just Lunch dating service. "This is the rare area, compared to other topics we've done surveys on, where women's old-fashioned beliefs about sex roles seem to apply," Irene LaCota, a spokeswoman for the dating service, told Business News Daily. Wrong. I have no doubt that there are some women out there who are "old-fashioned" - aka gold-diggers.

I see tons of beautiful girls in passing. (Starbucks, restaurants, department stores, walking down the street, the list goes on). My question is how do you approach these girls when you have no time or reason to start talking to them? You're only around them for like two seconds before they continue on their merry way. Is there a way to approach girls in these situations without seeming like a creep?--Casual Observer As with most things, it's not what you say so much as how you do it. If you approach a girl with the sole intention of getting in her pants, she will know it and get defensive.