Ugh, my relatives do that too. It’s like they feel obliged to remind me I’ll be [whatever age] very soon.

I know! I called radio programmes to order songs so I can record them, and then I’d listen to them, pressing pause every few lines, so I could take down the lyrics. My English was very rudimentary back then and it made the task even more impossible, but I didn’t give up! Who would have known it was a matter of a…

I agree - which is probably why murder is almost never used as a titillation device on shows and film. Rape, however, very often is. We’re only just coming out of an age where the line between rape and sex was murky to say the least. A lot of associations linger and allow for rape to be perceived as something…

who was murdered for refusing to have sex with Ferreira at a party.

AND it holds the possibility of rehabilitation, especially if it’s combined with more rigorous programmes in that direction.

Afuckingmen. It’s such a cowardly, hypocritical endeavour - to find the least offensive way to murder someone. To make murder palatable. It’s disgusting.

Since the desired effect is death, any way that ends in death is effective. Hanging, decapitation, gas chamber. It’s not about the most effective way, it’s about the way that would give the executing state a less barbaric image. It’s disgusting. The only way this could look non-barbaric is if it didn’t exist.

This whole “new execution protocol” is such an absurd situation, searching for humane ways to do an inhumane procedure. It’s all about the image of the executing authority, and it’s disgusting. If you don’t want to look inhumane, stop murdering people.

A few people above us said there was a police report. I have no idea how specific it is or whether it can be accessed though.

She called the police which is how everyone else knew. So, yes, it is about believing a survivor.

So you believe him but you don’t believe her?

...what? That’s some next level self-love there. It reminds me of Nabokov who only ever gave an A+ to two stories when rating NYT short stories, and one of those was his own. Except, you know, Franco is not Nabokov.

Who’s talking about sex? It’s about who you think is attractive. If you’ve never found anyone from a particular race attractive, when there is such variation within any given race, you should ask yourself why that might be. Self-examination and attempts at self-improvement haven’t hurt anyone.

Absolutely. There’s so much variation in terms of looks within races (however they’re defined in any given context) that there is just no other explanation. None.

They found that there was about a 50 percent consensus on who was considered attractive—probably at least in part, Sifferlin notes, because lots of us are just suckers for symmetry.

Yup, it’s basically complaining that it doesn’t come entirely for free.

This gives me hope. It’s a sign sexual assault and abusing women is starting to get serious enough to have an impact on big institutions’ reputations.

I remember reading somewhere that the sex positivity movement can seem like a brilliant hoax - using feminism - female empowerment - to convince women to be more sexually available to men. And even though I know it’s not true at all, and I myself am sex positive for the most part, in certain contexts t rings true to…

Debra?! Now I must watch this. Jennifer Carpenter is one of my top 3 favourite actresses.

I was worried I might sound condescending or snappy which was not my goal, I’m really glad you didn’t read it that way! Btw we were also held in the dark with regard to the West, being told that it’s morally corrupt and people were oppressed by their capitalist overlords. As a result, we spent the first 20 years…