--- title: Parks & Recreation Star Amy Poehler Yes Please: On Motherhood, Divorce description: The Parks & Rec star's new book, Yes Please, is out on Oct. 28 canonical: https://time.com/3542301/amy-poehler-yes-please-sex-tips/ author: Charlotte Alter article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-28T11:16:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:42:47.975Z og:title: Parks & Recreation Star Amy Poehler Yes Please: On Motherhood, Divorce og:description: The Parks & Rec star's new book, Yes Please, is out on Oct. 28 og:url: https://time.com/3542301/amy-poehler-yes-please-sex-tips/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd057fcf02eafb14e/698762f5cd1bba89f46f2dad/457598422.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 2014 ELLE Women In Hollywood Awards - Arrivals og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Parks & Recreation Star Amy Poehler Yes Please: On Motherhood, Divorce twitter:description: The Parks & Rec star's new book, Yes Please, is out on Oct. 28 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd057fcf02eafb14e/698762f5cd1bba89f46f2dad/457598422.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here Are Some Sex Tips From Amy Poehler's New Book (Plus Insight on Motherhood and Divorce)  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Oct 28, 2014 11:16 AM CUT  Amy Poehler arrives at the 2014 ELLE Women In Hollywood Awards at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on Oct. 20, 2014 in Beverly Hills. Amy Poehler arrives at the 2014 ELLE Women In Hollywood Awards at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on Oct. 20, 2014 in Beverly Hills.Steve Granitz—WireImage  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Oct 28, 2014 11:16 AM CUT Amy Poehler’s new book, _Yes Please_ is out today, and the title pretty much sums up everyone’s attitude when we heard the notoriously nice funnywoman was finally writing a book. An Amy Poehler book? Yes please! That’s probably where she got her title. The _Parks & Rec_ star explains where she got her title, in a winning yet insightful passage in the book’s introduction: --- > “” --- But if you can’t pick up the book, or your bookstore is out of it, or you’re waiting in a line behind everyone else in the world and just want to know the highlights, here they are: **On hot sex tips:** In the “World Famous Sex Tips” chapter, Poehler has some choice advice for women and men about how to get it on: For women: --- > “” --- For men: --- > “” --- Also, she advises not to let your kids sleep in your bed, which is probably a good idea for both men and women. **On her mantra for women who make different choices:** Poehler describes the experience of giving birth to her first son, and making choices about delivery that were different from what her friends were doing (she opted for lots of drugs, not a “natural birth.”) --- > “” --- Poehler also notes that her OB-GYN had delivered Sophia Loren’s children, which was fitting because she (Poehler) has “the Angelina Jolie of vaginas.” This celebrity gyno doesn’t end up delivering Poehler’s son, but you’ll have to read the book to find out why… **On motherhood, and why “every mother needs a wife:”** Poehler has an excellent chapter on motherhood, titled “Every Mother Needs a Wife.” At first, she gets into the down-and-dirty of the mommy wars (perfectly lampooning the subtle digs of working and stay-at-home moms.) --- > “” --- But then Poehler gets to what she actually means by “every mother needs a wife.” The chapter ends with a touching tribute to the nannies who care for her children, similar to the tear-jerking toast she gave at the [TIME100](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpV6tsvn-WI "undefined") gala in 2011\. These women, she says, are her wives. --- > “” --- **On divorce:** True to form, Poehler doesn’t dish any juicy details at all about her 2013 divorce from comedian Will Arnett, but does write insightfully about how difficult the process was. --- > “” --- She notes that she isn’t going to get into any specifics, because it’s “too sad and too personal,” but she will say this: --- > “” --- **On awards shows:** Poehler has been nominated for many acting awards (mostly for _Parks & Rec,_ although she was nominated for two Emmys for her time at SNL, and for some movies). Although she has not yet won an Emmy for _Parks & Rec_, she is known for staging “bits” with other nominees to take some of the pressure off who wins. Here’s why: --- > “” --- She describes all the various stunts she’s pulled at awards shows, from wearing fake mustaches to pretending to be in a beauty pageant to switching speeches with Julia Louis Dreyfus, to a fake flirtation with George Clooney. --- > “” --- **On doing drugs:** She’s pretty open about her drug use, which is kind of awesome. The verdict: weed rocks, cocaine feels great but terrible the next day, and everything else ruins lives. --- > “” --- But is she worried that her kids will read the book and think drugs are okay? Nah. --- > “” --- More, please! _Read next:_ [_Marcel the Shell (With Shoes On) Is Back_](http://time.com/3525399/marcel-the-shell-with-shoes-on-new-video/?xid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") ### Here's What 20 Famous Women Think About Feminism  "People have sorely messed up the definition of feminism. It isn’t saying this is wrong and this is right," said Chrissy Teigen during a Variety event in 2014, adding that husband John Legend also identifies: "He’s a bigger feminist than I am! He actually teaches me a lot about the way women should be perceived." D Dipasupil—Getty Images for Extra  The Twilight actress reacted to women rejecting feminism during a Daily Beast interview in October: "That’s such a strange thing to say, isn’t it? Like, what do you mean? Do you not believe in equality for men and women? I think it’s a response to overly-aggressive types." Loic Venance—AFP/Getty Images  "I decided I was a feminist and this seemed uncomplicated to me," said Emma Watson at a UN Women speech in September. "Men-- I would like to take this opportunity to extend your formal invitation. Gender Equality is your issue, too." Anthony Harvey—Getty Images  “I would say on some levels I am \[a feminist\]. Angela Davis is one of my heroes,” Halle Berry told Ebony in April. “And Gloria Steinem—these are people who, as I was growing, I was moved by and impacted by and thought very deeply about.” Joe Scarnici—Getty Images  "I don’t think of myself as being a feminist,” Sinead O'Connor told The Guardian in July. “I wouldn’t label myself anything, certainly not something with an ‘ism’ or an ‘ist’ at the end of it. I’m not interested in anything that is in any way excluding of men.” Jason Kempin—Getty Images  "I wouldn’t say \[I'm a\] feminist, that’s too strong. I think when people hear feminist it’s just like, ‘Get out of my way I don’t need anyone,’” Kelly Clarkson told TIME last year. “I love that I’m being taken care of, and I have a man that’s an actual leader. I’m not a feminist in that sense … but I’ve worked really hard since I was 19." Christopher Polk—Getty Images  Leighton Meester told OOTD magazine in February about her biggest role model. "American writer Betty Friedan — she fought for gender equality and wrote the great book The Feminine Mystique which sparked the beginning of a second-wave feminism,” Meester said. “I believe in equal rights for men and women.” D Dipasupil—FilmMagic  “I don’t know why people are so reluctant to say they’re feminists," Ellen Page told The Guardian in 2013\. "Maybe some women just don’t care. But how could it be any more obvious that we still live in a patriarchal world when feminism is a bad word?” Dave Kotinsky—Getty Images  "For me, the issue of feminism is just not an interesting concept,” Lana Del Rey told Fader magazine in their summer 2014 issue. “I’m more interested in, you know, SpaceX and Tesla, what’s going to happen with our intergalactic possibilities." (Tabatha Fireman—Redferns/Getty Images)  “I would \[call myself a feminist\], yes.” Rashida Jones said in 2013\. “I believe in the unadulterated advancement of women. And we have so far to go still.” Christopher Polk—NBC/Getty Images  “Am I a feminist? F–k yeah, I’m a feminist,” Jenny Slate told MTV News in June. “I think that unfortunately people who are maybe threatened by feminism think that it’s about setting your bra on fire and being aggressive, and I think that’s really wrong and really dangerous.” Jason Kempin—Getty Images  "A feminist? Um, yeah, actually,” Katy Perry told an Australian radio host in March. “I used to not really understand what that word meant, and now that I do, it just means that I love myself as a female and I also love men.” Mandel Ngan—AFP/Getty Images  Amy Poehler says she's confused by how many women deny that they're feminists, “but then they go on to explain what they support and live by — it’s feminism exactly,” she told Elle magazine in January. "That’s like someone being like, ‘I don’t really believe in cars, but I drive one every day and I love that it gets me places and makes life so much easier and faster and I don’t know what I would do without it.’” Jason Kempin—NBC/Getty Images  "We need to stop buying into the myth about gender equality. It isn’t a reality yet," Beyonce wrote in an essay titled "Gender Equality is a Myth" in January. She also famously included an excerpt from Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TEDx talk in her song, "Flawless." Myrna Suarez—WireImage  “I feel like I’m one of the biggest feminists in the world because I tell women to not be scared of anything,” Miley Cyrus told the BBC last November. Julio Cesar Aguilar—AFP/Getty Images  "I wish when I was 12-years-old I had been able to watch a video of my favorite actress explaining in such an intellectual, beautiful, poignant way the definition of feminism."Taylor Swift said in reaction to Emma Watson's speech at the UN in September. "Because I would have understood it. And then earlier on in my life I would have proudly claimed I was a feminist because I would have understood what the word means." Isaac Brekken—Getty Images  “Women saying ‘I’m not a feminist’ is my greatest pet peeve,” Lena Dunham told Metro in 2013\. “Do you believe that women should be paid the same for doing the same jobs? Do you believe that women should be allowed to leave the house? Do you think that women and men both deserve equal rights? Great, then you’re a feminist.” Michael Buckner—Getty Images  "No, because I love men," was Shailene Woodley's response when TIME asked her whether she considered herself a feminist in May. "I think the idea of ‘raise women to power, take the men away from the power’ is never going to work out because you need balance…My biggest thing is really sisterhood more than feminism.” Dave J Hogan—Getty Images  “I’m getting the sense that you’re a little bit of a feminist, like I am, which is good,” Lady Gaga told the LA Times in 2009\. “I find that men get away with saying a lot in this business, and that women get away with saying very little . . . In my opinion, women need and want someone to look up to that they feel have the full sense of who they are, and says, ‘I’m great.’ “ Kevin Mazur—WireImage  “\[Feminism\] means being proud of being a woman, and \[having\] love, respect and admiration and the belief in our strong capacities,” Salma Hayek told Stylist in 2012\. “I don’t think we are the same, women and men. We’re different. But I don’t think we are less than men. There are more women than men in the world – ask any single woman! So it is shocking that men are in more positions of power.” Traverso—L'Oreal/Getty Images  Children yell to players after a game between the New York Mets and Houston Astros at Citi Field on September 28, 2014 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. 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