I feel like this is no different than the Catholic Church's regular line on women, which is basically, "you are fundamental within a very narrowly defined gendered role." The parish where I was a member until last year was going to hold a women's group sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy (didn't end up happening as the…

I am not sure I would be married were it not for family pressure, health insurance, and the big one: immigration stuff. I had a relatively cheap wedding, but would gladly have foregone the whole thing—big waste of money to satisfy other people's egos and expectations.

Very interesting about the public transit issue. We have something similar going on where I live in Oregon. People in Clackamas County (more white, more conservative) are fighting a Max Station because it will bring in the "riff raff from Gresham" (read: Black people). It's creepy how transit issues bring out these…

You beat me to it! I am very surprised that someone who played such a complex and fascinating role of a gay man would go for this weirdness. I refuse to think of him as anything other than Charles Ryder, but my opinion of him as a human being just went waaaaay down.

In agreement with MaggieF here.

I've heard about this being the case true when it comes to public buildings. I remember my elementary school library had to be opened up to KKK meetings in the 90s-they insisted that if Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts could meet there, so could they. The school system had to go along with it. It was the same with the KKK…

Some JWs showed up and my house a few months ago (have since amended "no soliciting" sign to include "no proselytizing"), and were talking about Biblical marriage. I didn't want to get into anything that would keep them at my door, but I really wondered what they thought that meant. I mean, wouldn't "Biblical…

It was a strange experience. It clearly had much more to do with the person teaching the class than what would normally have been taught. It makes you wonder how much of what is imparted upon us in class has to do with the curriculum and how much has to do with people's own weird agendas.

I think I love you.

That is a much better and much more empowering response! Looking back, I wonder how much that message of helplessness and passivity hurt those of us in the room. My gym offers a self-defense class in May, so I might sign up for it. I have a lot of negative messaging to undo.

I can post it for you if you want :)

My confirmation class sex ed just talked about rape like it was inevitable. The woman who taught it was very strange and clearly had some issues she was projecting onto a room full of seventh-graders, but she actually said, "When you are raped..." not "If you are raped..." She then went on to tell us that when we were…

Yes. I think this is kind of a confusing article (completely agree with the poster who says Jezebel needs a science writer). Women respond differently to certain pain medications, but pain medications are generally only tested on men. Because of hormone differences and body fat differences in males and females, the…

Is it supposed to be some kind of undersea coral-reef-dwelling animal?

Your tone of self-righteousness and dismissiveness are what are nasty, but what can expect from commenting on the internet?

And yes, if you want to declare an entire country evil and off-limits based on one incident, I guess that's your business, but you don't have to be nasty about it.

I have to go there for family reasons, but I understand how you feel. Of course clothes provide no guarantee of safety (despite what the aunties tell you), and I have been catcalled and groped even in the presence of my elderly MIL. I do think people who travel there should read up on the problem of so-called…

The story is getting coverage because the woman jumped out of the window, but, yes, even Indian media does pay more attention to stories of NRIs or tourists who are assaulted or molested while in India. The first time I was there, two stories on this subject dominated the news: the rape of an Indian-American woman…

Hope this is helpful: I've seen a lot discussion of Lululemon's limited sizes around the internet (i.e. this lady's blog post: http://techmommy.ca/2012/03/09/i-will-never-own-a-pair-of-lululemon-pants/). It really bothered me to shop there because I wear the largest size they carry. They *claim* that making pants…