The repulsion may not be sexual-based, but it probably is culturally based. The WHO recommends breastfeeding to 2 years (and beyond if desired) because it is an important part of nutrition. Also, toddlers are still intimately reliant on their caregivers despite their ability to hold bottles (which would presumably…

I guess the problem there is that you are asking for the girls to sacrifice the opportunity to actively participate in their own event, in order to educate the boys. I'm generally not a fan of gender segregated schooling, but it seems like in this case it is an important opportunity for the girls to participate…

I use a cream with papain in it, called stop itch (might only be available in Australia). I have heard you can also buy it as a meat tenderiser. It helps with the swelling if applied very soon after the bite.

I have mosquitoes in my garden that bite through jeans, nasty buggers. I have to spray repellent on my clothes as well as my bare skin if I'm going out at dusk.

Our legal system isn't some entity completely separate from our social beliefs and customs. In this case marriage defines a certain type of relationship between people that is commonly recognised in our culture. Religious groups should but out of restricting legal definitions of marriage though, as the law applies to…

Just hanging out the washing in summer can leave you with a burn. Something that still catches me out from time to time.

She probably wouldn't have seen the fire until it was too late. They move very fast, and it's not uncommon for people to get trapped, even in cars. I'm guessing the organisers should have been monitoring the conditions in the general area.

The body of the Irukandji is tiny, so you probably wouldn't see it. I hope your new jelly fish is something much less nasty.

It will probably end up as a plot on a crime show, full of twists and false leads.

To be fair, I would refuse a polygraph too. They just aren't that accurate, so you could get a false fail and just make things worse.

Well I'm glad to know it is possible. Part of my skepticism comes from the fact that when I was in my teens I kept ignoring and minimising harassment and sexism, despite some of it being very blatant. Somehow I managed to reconcile those experiences with my belief that gender equality had already been achieved.

Here in Australia, people love to claim we don't have classes. And we have also had a rash of people with high incomes claiming that they are struggling (because they haven't got any cash left over after paying for their huge house, fancy cars, boats, private school and so on). But you can see the class prejudice come…

I wonder if people like that really have never experienced sexism or harassment, or if they have just selectively forgotten or reinterpreted it.

Yes, I agree, and definitely support any move to improve transparency so that consumers know enough about what they are buying to make informed decisions (without having to spend hours investigating every company and product). But I think it is only the first part of the solution, the rest will require more than just…

Honest labeling would be an improvement on the current situation, but even then there are plenty of people who are happy to buy products made unethically. A better response would be to make these companies legally responsible for violations of labour rights that happen in their supply chain.

In a way your response demonstrates why she may have been targeted so many times. Abusers learn to pick targets who are less likely to be believed, and more likely to be blamed. People like you will say, maybe it was her fault, maybe she brought it on herself.

Is that really all you took from this comment? Even your description of how to handle bullying is wrong. Telling kids to handle bullies by punching them back is a very bad idea. Have you tried reading any recent, research based advice on how to reduce bullying? Much like with sexual assault, placing all of the…

Yeah, I don't believe in god, but we still do Easter and Christmas because they are fun holidays. Cultural and religious practices blur together so much that it's common to continue the cultural practices without religion.

I think the view of atheists as smug and condescending doesn't really have anything to do with atheists as such. I think it might come more from the belief that only someone with a bloated ego would deny the existence of god.