It would be nice if a harmless version of this eventually became available for use on pet rats! Especially if this method of sterilization reduces the risk of mammary tumors in the same way that spaying does.

Thank you very much. It sound like we have that in common! I'm a bit of a weirdo, so maybe it's just that I have something of an outside perspective on "youth culture".

I'm not sure if this is exactly the right place to post this, but I'm kind of worried that I'm one of those girls, the ones who brag about how they have mostly male friends because internalized misogyny blah. At the moment, I have one female friend. I used to have more, because I lived in a very small community where…

Really? "Problems"? Just because they're part of a privileged class, you're going to dismiss all of their problems? Women cause problems too.

I think you're definitely right that that's where those ideas come from, and that should be acknowledged, but I don't think that justifies dismissing men's issues. (I'm sorry if that's not what you think, I'm not sure to what extent with you agree to other posters on this thread.)

My point is that since it's certainly not every single man, it seems silly to tell men with gender-based problems that clearly, since they're men, it's their fault and they should just go fix it, especially if, as people who don't abide by traditional rules of masculinity, they're looked down on too.

First of all, please don't call me dear. Second of all, yes, individual males make it up, but it's completely irrational to assume that every single man is behind it and supports it.

Men might historically be responsible for that power structure, but you're blaming men as individual people. You know nothing about these men, how sexist they might or might not be, but you're dismissing their problems out of hand because of their gender. There's a word for that; it's 'sexism'.

I was not avoiding that issue. Yes, a lot of the stigma comes from society devaluing "feminine" traits, but I'm not really sure how you can jump from that to thinking that when individual men express the difficulty that stigma has caused them, it's at all okay to tell them to what, suck it up because men came up with…

They're not "crying about rights", they're expressing that in our society, men are told to value themselves according to how traditionally masculine they are, and not to be emotional. Which sucks for everyone.

No, you are totally being an asshole. They're right. Just because men as a gender have advantages, doesn't mean none of their problems "count". It absolutely is a problem that men feel that pressure not to express emotion and value themselves by their adherence to traditional masculinity, and you are helping no one rig…

Was just coming down here to say that. It has gotten increasingly annoying to see the page sprinkled with "your boyfriend" and "your bff". It's creepy and overfamiliar, and yes, even as humor it definitely reminds me that I'm a lesbian and the piece is aimed squarely at straight women.

Maybe I'm just missing something, but how is calling someone a "crybaby" comparing their behavior to a girl's?

Okay, so it's a combination of mutual enjoyment, fandom alliance, and crossovers? Someone should write a drama where different fandoms interact and create political intrigue.

Thank you! Though I must confess, I am rotting my brain with Planetside 2 at the moment, so my moral high ground is a bit shaky.

I hope it doesn't seem like I was mocking or condemning those people, because I'm not. It's understandable, especially for people who don't feel accepted in the physical world. It can be a good social crutch, but I think that online communities should not take the place of real relationships and experience, because…

Thanks for the explanation. I'm not sure exactly how you mash things...? Is it just they like all three things? Or they really like crossovers?

I think I have a pretty good handle on it. I read fanfiction and am exposed to a lot of fan media, and I am a queer girl on the internet. The internet did help me explore my sexuality and learn about LGTBTQ issues safely, and I appreciate that. Fanfiction is a great way to explore writing.

My parents tried that when I was younger too. It's really, really hard to hold out, and when the dam eventually breaks, in our family at least it caused a distinct difference between me and my younger siblings who were exposed to TV and the internet and video games at a younger age.

Thank you. And yes, my mother has called me a "curmudgeon" and says she gave birth to a cynical middle-aged woman in a child's body.