Not really. Your childfree friends and colleagues won't be too interested in talking about kid stuff, and your friends who are parents, if they have lives, will welcome the opportunity to talk about something else.

I'm not a big fan of this argument. There are actions we can take to save the planet and its people that would have a much greater impact than foregoing reproduction. For example, regulating big polluters, instituting a carbon tax, and investing in renewable energy would be big steps for the environment. There is…

I interpreted "lots of partners" as an approach to sex and/or dating that privileged the short term over the long term. Like, if she is invested in monogamy she will probably by definition have longer relationships and thus fewer partners. But I agree with you that wording is ambiguous and there is some problematic…

Well put. There is a very fine line here. I'm all for being sex positive, but I wonder if most teenagers are capable of attaining the level of self-awareness, and ability to critically examine the culture around them, necessary for healthy casual sex to occur.

I'm really sorry. My father had the same untreated condition, and as a result of his paranoia and delusions took me out of school in 3d grade to "homeschool" me. It was a really messed up childhood. I hope that your dad gets help.

I thought it was because they used to have copper badges?

I love your alternative etymology of cop out.

Or "I'm possibly human, but maybe a robot. Not sure anymore."

Yet still, your example reveals a bit of xenophobia behind the question. Asking if Swedes have refrigerators or just put things outside carries a slight connotation of "I thought your people were backwards," etc. That's why I find this line of questioning inherently a bit hostile and passive aggressive, always.

I am continually astonished that people act like this. My husband is ethnically ambiguous, and gets the "where are you from" routine all the time. If the person asking is clearly international, or seems especially young and/or sheltered he understands, but otherwise there really is no excuse.

I agree. I really enjoy that mask, in particular.

And Administration!!111

I'm not sure why, but I really enjoyed this comment.

FWIW I have read, understood and discussed with others the Bible in it's entirety, and I'm far from an atheist. I think that it has to do with accepting that much of what's in the Bible is not meant to be taken literally; many of the stories are allegories, parables, etc. Failure to grasp this nuance DOES explain why…

Sigh. Appropriation by fashion industry narratives and the aesthetics they popularize. Please check reading comp and critical thinking before attempting snark.

You officially missed my point by about a million miles.

Of course. That's what I was trying to say about what's so tricky re popular culture's representations of desirable bodies. On the one hand, objectification and racism are definitely bad. On the other, we can all agree that there needs to be more body diversity in popular culture, because like it or not it is…

I am conflicted about this. On the one hand, neither the fetishization of WOC's bodies nor white appropriation of WOC's bodies are new or good. On the other hand, it would be nice if declarations like this actually led to more body diversity (and diversity of editorial/content creation staff!) in the culture/fashion…

I do agree that passive aggressive are key words, here.

Although, given that this particular issue involves teaching/teachers specifically, it seems fair to identify it as precisely one of those female-oriented behaviors and discuss the unique ways that white women are implicated in racism vis-a-vis teaching, cops, etc. Amazon Man is, without a doubt, being ham-fisted,…