This is why I tell people all the time that the single most important conversation to have with one's partner is what their opinions are regarding division of labor. I absolutely do not budge on this with my husband, to the point where I'm sure some of my friends think that I'm a nagging harpy.

Thanks so much for this! When my son was a baby (like, under 18 months) I had no qualms about leaving him in someone else's care, strangely - he was just a baby, he didn't need special care, just feed him and change him and make sure he gets his naps. He's two now, and I feel like we both get more out of our time…

As for the culture stuff - it isn't hard to opt out.

Yeaaaah... I think of some people I know and their families, and it's easy to say no to watching the kid for a couple hours (because it takes too much awareness of consequences to realize what the desperate mother might do instead), but when getting the call to bail them out of jail would step up.

Ha! My husband just got a BMW (works at a dealership, got one for cheap) and he said people on the road treat him so differently. Like if he needs to get over one lane, no one will let him in (whereas in the piece of shit Honda he used to drive they would).

Dude, *if* she did anything wrong, her level of "wrongness" is so far below the other driver's as to be completely insignificant.

That, and... I just like the taste of diet soda better. All the sugar in real soda makes me feel sick to my stomach.

I was, fortunately, never harassed about my pregnancy (was free to enjoy my coffee in public), but the single most obnoxious thing about it was that every random stranger I stood in line next to asked me the exact same questions:

Where are our brave keyboard warriors complaining about this misandrist objectification of men? Fapping. They are fapping.

Women dont want to see dick.

I didn't know I was pregnant until I was six months along (On birth control, erratic cycle, no morning sickness, marathon training keeping me from gaining weight), and during that time I drank. Typically one or two glasses of wine most nights, but seeing as how my wedding, bachelorette party, and honeymoon occurred…

IT JUST KEEPS GOING.

I worked in Arizona and spent a lot of time at the legislature, and all of the really, really dumb ones could be spotted before they even opened their mouth. They just had that "look" in their eyes, like their brains were constantly churning with paranoid hysteria, to the point where they couldn't focus on what was…

So, wait - do you have to show the bartender the negative pregnancy test before he will serve you? FUCK THAT.

I had an IUD pregnancy as well! Kind of. The best we could figure is that I was (just barely) pregnant when they put the IUD in - early enough that it didn't show up on a pregnancy test.

I was 25 years old, happily married, in a stable job with a loving family to fall back on if need be, and I still was absolutely fucking terrified when I found out I was pregnant. My heart goes out to this woman.

I privately sit and pray each abandonment day, hoping that their mothers know that they are safe and loved.

I love the phrase "JAQ off." How appropriate in so many situations.

But it's kind of cylical, isn't it? Readers don't know her name so are more likely to click on headlines identifying her only as the girlfriend, so journalists don't use her name, so readers don't recognize her name...

I can see that. I think it's just the mismatched messages. Like I said elsewhere, it seems like the woman is just affirming whatever the man says. If they were each speaking independently, it wouldn't bother me.