Oh, none of my questions should be interpreted as an endorsement of any of the concepts. As I mentioned below/above, there's lots to criticize (I mean, even if you change "inherently masculine/feminine" to "traditionally associated with men and women" there's a lot to criticize). But for now I'm just trying to wrap…

It makes a lot more sense, and squares with what I've seen in the past. So thanks for your response.

Or, option 3…it just makes the sex that much better. Given the lack of any amusing follow-up to Stooge's story, I'm assuming it's this that happened.

I'm questioning it in many ways, and I'm not criticizing (here - heaven knows there are plenty of criticisms to level against the concept). I'm just trying to understand. Cavemanish dominance sounds more like an act than an energy, so do you think that I just need to get past the use of the term "energy" in this…

So what is "masculine energy"? I've seen the phrase show up in other letters besides this week's, I've heard Dan and others use it on his podcast, but I don't get it. Most of the time people seem to use it to refer to certain patterns of behavior (perhaps even when they're seen in women?), but is there something…

Yeah, I'm assuming that it's actually an incredibly filthy sex question, one whose translation I'm better off not knowing.

I'm very much in agreement with you, but it seems odd that you'd say that a-c are the "only" things that make you harsh on porn. Because from what I've seen, that's like most of porn.

Upvoted out of a similar interest in that particular opinion.

My life for you, Cig! High five!

We might be talking about different things here, but I think that I strongly disagree. It's not like "Doesn't read Harry Potter" is a fundamental part of this person's soul. She never even mentions that she doesn't want to read Harry Potter - maybe she just has other priorities or hasn't had the time. Dan isn't…

Literally the last three books that I have read:

And you know what? People might tend to open with Harry Potter because those books more than any others are likely to have been read by the person they're talking to. I mean, if someone asks me what I like to read I'm not going to lead with some of the obscure early 20th-century weird fiction that I so adore. I'll…

I see that so much with responses to unfavorable review of movies - people so often say things like "Just let yourself experience the movie like a child would, with no prejudices, and you'll like it so much more! Just let yourself enjoy it!"

As though you can't learn something from fiction…

This is good advice, though I will add that passion for something is generally more admirable than not (as you indicate). So throttle back on the volume, but not the expressions of delight. I've made the mistake of being too reticent and ended up given the impression that I don't really like my interests, which I…

I'm a member of a reading group that's entirely professors and other academic-types. I'd say like 90% of the group is Potter-favorable, with some of the members being deep Potterheads. Those ones aren't humanities folks, but still…this is not a series that in my experience in generally disdained by intellectuals.

It's not just that - folks in PhD programs (I guess I don't have much experience with your humanities-type disciplines, but I bet a lot of the same rules apply) are often self-selected as those who, even outside of any formal training or standardized milieu, would tend to prefer to have those kinds of specific,…

Sounds fine to me too, but experience has taught me that people often interpret things like the letter writer's question…very differently than I would. I mean, I wish that people would ask me what I like, and then, when I tell them, say "Ooh - I'm not very familiar, but tell me all about it! And I have specific…

Exactly! It's just like:

Not just that, but literally picking up a single froot loop, and just biting a part of it off! Like, only eating part of the loop at a time! Not sure what the interpretation is there - I thought that it was hilarious.