Agreed! I was like, "Couldn't you have just shot him in the foot or something?" The fact that they used that as a plot point in the next books made it even worse. Why rest a huge emotional upheaval on something that could have been so easily avoided?

It also helps kids figure out what turns them on, so they know what they like and won't be as easily influenced to do things that make them uncomfortable. Learning to get yourself off is one of the most empowering things you can do.

Definitely. They're so bombarded by the gender roles at every turn from every little bit of media. It's exhausting for me to watch. Makes me want to, if I decide to adopt kids, just go live on some deserted island.

I try to encourage the kids I watch to explore things outside of their very pink or very blue worlds. They're both very young (1 and 2), but they both like a range of activities. I think they'll be pushed to fit into gender roles more as they get older, but I hope I've given them a strong foundation that says, "You…

Having a snack in their highchairs, actually.

Ill will isn't necessary for a morally reprehensible act. Should we give people time to understand these issues? Sure. But it's important to be educated about these things.

Most of those reasons are related to cleanliness of the area. STDs and UTIs, specifically, are related to the cleanliness of the penis.

Ugh, that's horrible. I'm not a parent. I am a nanny, though (currently in the middle of a 13.5 hour shift with my little charges) and I couldn't imagine something horrible like that happening to the little boy I watch.

That's another part of the debate that's difficult. There's a lot of conflicting information. You could call up sources that back up your stance, I could call up sources that back up mine.

That's true. I only referred to it as a procedure because it can sometimes be necessary later in life, and it's usually performed by a doctor.

Okay, we'll try another analogy.

I'm not gonna get judgey. It's a moral decision for me, and you don't have to share my morals. I think it's unnecessary, and if a man wants the procedure in the future, it should be his choice.

The difference is that circumcision is unnecessary, especially for the health of other children. That is not the case with vaccination.

Circumcision isn't about religion, it's about supposed cleanliness. It was easier to remove the foreskin than to keep your infant son's penis clean and to, in turn, teach him to clean it himself. It also involves a lot of touching of the penis and that made older, more conservative cultures squeamish.

Let's say I have a bad peanut allergy, so bad I can't even be around peanuts. You didn't know, so I tell you, and then I ask you to please not eat peanuts around me. If you do, are you disregarding my request? Yes.

If this had been a private decision, I'd be on your side. Here's the thing though: she's going to prison. In order to be placed in the right prison and have the right hormone replacement therapy, she needed to go public with it.

It would have been somewhat understandable if Manning hadn't requested in her coming out statement that she be referred to by her rightful name and with the proper pronouns. We got the news at the same time of that request, and the media disregarded it on purpose. That is shitty.

Here's how I explain it. I'm cis, so I may be woefully misinformed, but this is how I understand it.

Sorry. Long-ass day, haha. I'm also pretty used to defending myself against jokes that actually are demeaning. Also...Jezebel doesn't have a Sexbag column, so that could have resulted in my confusion...

'Kay. Stereotypes are fun. I frequent Jezebel, and my advice, if the genders were swapped, would be exactly the same as it is now. In fact, I have lived this scenario. The only difference being that I cooked because I was afraid my boyfriend would hurt himself or the kitchen when he cooked. I cooked, he cleaned. Point…