It's really sad that we - or I, I guess - have to feel SO much appreciation for the simple act of someone believing and understanding that the facility with which so many people have to question and disbelieve women when they come forward is such a problem. When people discuss how to solve the rape problem or prevent…

'Innocent until proven guilty' is a standard that exists specifically for and within the judicial system. Yes, it's true that we shouldn't just believe everything we read without question, but that doesn't mean withholding all judgement until a uniquely judicial standard is satisfied is appropriate either.

Spoiler alert:

"Fin adds that anyone who's offended ... is "just jealous," telling Bloom, "It's all because women want to look like that model or they want to be at least as confident as she is to be able to let it go and do a photo shoot in their lingerie. People are jealous that they aren't confident enough and attractive…

Thanks. I've had incredible support, yet still—it really is punch-to-the-gut hard.

My mother was never physically abusive. Verbally and emotionally abusive was her thing. There are so many stories I could tell, but the one that really sticks out (and showcases her ability to bamboozle outsiders into believing her to be a saint) is my go-to story:

I have no contact with my blood relatives. Like this lady, my mother twisted up some pretzel logic as to why. I was a homeless queer teenager with ptsd from the abuse, but to hear my mother tell it I just moved out without warning. Sometimes the best thing you can do to preserve yourself is cutting contact.

This woman reminds me of my father. I've explained to him over and over again why I have a problem with him (he's an angry person who acts like a psycho) but he's decided that it's entirely something else that's just so silly and geeze, why can't I just get over it?! And he's convinced my grandmother (his mom) that…

I think the point is that maybe her children have a valid point of view and that their mother is not being emotionally honest. She says herself that it all started with that email, but she skirts away from describing it. It's a red flag. A big chunk of this story is being completely left out. Surely her children had a…

I actually signed up for a Kinja account because of this comment. It is exactly right - what you said, "heart-wrenching, not natural and very hard," is completely true.

Tara Jacoby is a damned genius.

Bless you, Tracy Moore.

"A common story among parents who have estranged adult children is how much they had focused on their children, how much they did to make sure their children had all the best advantages, made them the center of the family universe — and often how they treated them more like an equal or an adult than a child.
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"When something, or more specifically,someone, no longer supports the view you have of yourself "

Many times it is the parent who first cuts off contact with the adult child who won't conform in some way to their dictatorial attitude. The formerly abusive parent then tells everyone their child won't talk to them. Parents who are abusers often spend the child's life telling everyone around them how horrible their…

Good for you! You made the choice to protect your wife and child. My father never did this because he's a coward and he decided to just continue the abusive behaviour that he endured from his parents. At a certain point, everyone is an adult who makes their life choices and who has to deal with the consequences of…

I have some experience dealing with someone (not a parent) who is so willfully disconnected from reality that they just don't understaaaaaand why you're upseetttttt what did they do wronnnnng can't we talk about it? And fine, you summon your backbone and your patience and you explain it clearly and simply. And your…

My mother has a lot of mental health issues (bipolar depression and borderline personality disorder) and she doesn't process guilt at all well. So she denies things so aggressively and persistently that you start to wonder if they ever really happened. I am (mostly) estranged from her because she was emotionally…