Montague, I think people in general are confused when they can't get a read on another person. We all read each other's cues all day, every day, without giving it a second thought; we are finely tuned social machines. And Americans in particular tolerate a lower level of "reserved" than, say, Europeans do. Women live…

What I find most fascinating about her response is that it wasn't really a denial of the allegation. She talked about what her husband thinks, what her children think, the fact that she's married, and made a reference to her appearance. She never said, "I didn't cheat" or "I'm not gay."

I'm with you. I wish this debate weren't drowning out the need to do everything in your second paragraph.

I concur with your point about discomfort. I don't care that gay marriage or women's suffrage (or revealing clothing) make people uncomfortable. I think, in fact, that discomfort is a valuable feeling when we really engage it.

Ossifrage, I don't think that's a valid analogy. I think clitoridectomy should be outlawed and punished 100% of the time. I also agree with Irishish that circumcision should be illegal without consent. Likewise, intersexed infants and children should absolutely not be altered. All of this comes from the same idea:…

It just sounds like you have a highly developed sense of privacy, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I don't even think it necessarily has to do with how you're raised; people are just different.