I'm a 21-year-old Florida girl that has had problems with self-esteem since I was little, due to the fact that I never fit in with my peers and was always treated differently - even picked on. This issue carried into my dealings with men as I got older; I tended to bow down to whatever they wanted.

I became sexually active at 16, and since then I've been with 11 men. The last man I was with was in September of 2010. I thought he was the one for me, but everything fell apart when he got deployed to Afghanistan. Even though I know all men aren't dogs I tend to treat them all that way.

I know it's nobody's fault but mine for how often I was hurt. I'm so emotionally scarred that at this point in my life I'm not sure I'd be able to trust anyone enough to ever get married. I don't even feel like I'm worth marrying even though as a little girl I would always fantasize about it.

I've become extremely bitter. So much has been going wrong lately that I feel like I've lost a part of myself somewhere in my past. But I'm too beat up and scared to go back and find it. When you feel down and worthless, can your scarred heart ever be restored?

–Scarred and Lonely

One of the most difficult jobs is being a parent, and with so many diverse parenting styles, one has to weigh the success and validity of each unique parenting approach. Ronda Holder, a Tampa-area mom, has chosen a new method: public student humiliation.

Frustrated with her son's failing grades, and with the intent of getting him to take his studies more seriously, she made her son, James Mond III, stand on a busy intersection with a large sign around his neck that read:

I did 4 questions on my F-CAT and said I wasn't going to do it ... GPA 1.222 ... Honk if I need an education.

This wasn't the first form of punishment wielded by the 33-year-old hairstylist and her husband who, in the past, had resorted to grounding him, taking away his cell phone and lecturing him over and over to get him to raise his grades. With all of this punishment, what they did not do was help him do his homework. Although Holder claims the punishment is working, the lack of improvement in his grades would prove otherwise.

Rebecca Brody and Mason Jamal lace up, face off and go at it on issues pertaining to men, women, love, and relationships.

I'm a 29-year old-lesbian. On more than one occasion, when out with my girlfriend, I've heard men make derogatory comments like, "what a shame, coochie is a terrible thing to waste." When will men get over the fact that women can be happy and satisfied without them?

Can a woman be satisified without a man?

You just spent a year planning the wedding of your dreams. You donned a gorgeous white dress, straightened your bowtie, walked down the aisle, said your 'I do's', smeared wedding cake on your face, toasted with champagne, thanked family and friends for an assortment of kooky gifts, and rode off into the sunset to live happily ever after.

Now what?

After the whirlwind of a wedding, most couples are happy to just get back to normal life, but according to Terri Orbuch, director of the landmark Early Years of Marriage (EYM) project, there are specific behaviors a newly married couple need to adopt.

Based on the research of 373 couples who were interviewed and observed over the course of 24 years, she has learned what makes marriages healthy, strong and able to be maintained over the long haul.

Though Valentine's Day has already passed, I'm still in the mood to see movies celebrating love. Having stumbled into The Adjustment Bureau, starring Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, and Anthony Mackie, I got more than I bargained for.

Most Valentine's Days I find myself cringing at the selection of love movies that, like bubble gum, start sweet and soft, then morph into a stale, hard rock, leaving a bad taste in my mouth. This year, however, Cupid has brought us a smart, savvy love thriller sprinkled with philosophical musings and a universal existential question: Do we control our fate, or does fate control us?

My boyfriend claims that I wear provocative clothing, and he doesn't like all the male attention I get. I've been dressing the same way since he met me, and he wasn't complaining when we got together.

Should I tone it down for him or just stick to being myself?
- Black Voices reader

Watch Mason Jamal and Rebecca Brody chop it up as they take on the issue of the week. Give your own advice in the comments section below.

I have been with this man for four years. He is 36, and I am 22. I feel like I'm not even his woman. He puts everything before me.

We have only spent one holiday together during the course of these four years. He did not attend my college graduation, and my on last birthday we weren't talking because of an argument, so he only texted happy birthday.

We barely spend time together, and it seems like I am always working on his time. Last night I asked him if I could spend the night, and he told me that he wanted to get some rest - and couldn't rest if I was there because we like to have sex a lot.

I feel like sex is the only thing we have.

I've been married for 25 years to my high school sweetheart. His dad is a cattle farmer, and he helps him do chores on a daily basis. If dinner isn't getting cold while I wait for him to come home from the fields, he's canceling our plans to eat out. I've told him we needed more time for us, but his dad would guilt him into working.

My husband had nothing to do with our first child until my son started calling his grandfather "Dad." After our second child came along, I did everything for the kids while he worked in the field all day. Now, he comes home, eats, showers, and goes to bed. He makes promises to me that his parents help destroy. In fact, every time we go on a trip, his parents find out where we are and call for him to come home.

I really feel like his parents have ruined our lives. He has missed out on being a father to our children, he doesn't spend any time with me, and by now I have so much anger built up that I'm ready to blow my top. When I try to talk to my husband about it, he gets mad and nothing changes. I want to get out and enjoy life, but it's not fun doing everything by yourself.

I love him, but I'm not in love with him anymore. What can I do? Is it too late to start over now?

-Kim

What do you do when your sex drive seems to have disappeared? Rebecca Brody explains.