I always was afraid to cut my hair very short, for similar reasons. I was worried it would make me look fat, or that I just wouldn't look like the adorable pixie cut ladies I saw. Finally I took the plunge a couple of years ago and it. is. amazing. I LOVE my hair. I have so much more confidence and I feel so cute and…

Yeah, I hate wearing helmets too, for all the reasons you mentioned.

If you live in North Carolina you can pretty much do anything and call it homeschooling, so maybe that's an option?

Did my response sound snarky? I didn't mean it to.

That's funny, because I teach college freshmen, and I was pretty impressed. Not, y'know, that it was well written, but it was much better writing than a lot of what I see.

Once a student plagiarized an article by the US ambassador to South Africa. When confronted, she claimed that HE had stolen it FROM HER.

...though to be fair, we are both archaeologists and a month after we started dating, we went off to Wyoming to roam the mountains looking for artifacts, so I guess that's kind of fantasy-esque.

I met my husband at 21 when we were assigned to sort about 5,000 pieces of mail by zip code for a mass mailing. He laughed at my 'Emperor's New Groove' reference. His apartment was clean and he had a savings account. Wins all around.

I'm the same way! I always feel obligated to clean up before guests and to bring the appetizer to the parties. Even though my spouse does 99% of the cooking.

Another data point for you: my husband's parents are in a pretty traditional marriage where his mom stayed at home (she worked until my father in law got a job that could support them both - he retired on Friday and I have been itching to ask if this means he is going to start dividing housework with her or if she…

Moronic family members are the worst. When I was about eight my grandparents came to visit. I ran and hopped onto my grandpa's lap, and he pushed me off, saying, "You're too fat to do that".

When I was in college the girl in the next dorm room had an obvious issue. Her weight plummeted, I would see her at the gym grimly speedwalking on the treadmill with her backbone and ribs visible through her shirt, and we would hear the fighting through the walls when her parents came to visit and they argued about…

HAHAHAHAHA no that would be COMPASSIONATE and LOGICAL.

When the time comes, I fully intend to tell people we are naming our unborn child "Zeitgeist".

That IS a fascinating question! Why are constraints so effective for some but not for others? I would argue that here is where biology might come into play and the imperative to act as a sexual being despite constraints.

Please note I never said - nor do I believe - that sexual arousal is "all a cultural construct". Biology dictates that we will become aroused as a means to reproduce, and culture provides the focus for that arousal. I have no idea if you can purposefully train someone to not be sexually aroused by anything, but I…

Yeah, I think there's something to that argument. Status is an element to this equation.

I like to avoid sloppy language, which is why I included 'straight'. I think it's important to be clear in discussions like this and to avoid needlessly pushing any buttons.

It is true that [straight] men are aroused by women's bodies - biology. But the PARTS that cause arousal are different depending on which culture you grow up in. In cultures where bare breasts are common, breasts aren't considered as arousing as other parts of the body. Some cultures point to the nape of the neck or…

I do that with my husband too. I used to be the one always trying to track him down in stores. Now I make him come find me. Haha!