I think the contrast has to do with her qualifications compared with the professional speechwriters, who have experience writing for presidents and presidential candidates. Based on what I was able to find just doing a brief google search, she is a bright and talented person (Ford Foundation Scholar, studied with the…

In general I would be suspicious of the implied sexism behind always referring to her prior life as a “ballerina.” Presumably the issue has to do with training. She HAS co-written books with the Trumps, and before that she was...a ballerina? Is there anything else? I don’t know the answer, but if there isn’t, that may…

I am so glad your friend’s comfort was able to help you. The love of others can help as you struggle to contain the fear and anger in response to what happened. As adults we MUST take ownership of our experiences. And yet, there are moments when trauma overwhelms our resources. People shut down or spin into addiction…

What happened to you was a crime, it was an assault, and you are not crazy. I am so sorry that you were not supported by the police. At the very least, your reporting about what happened places this bartender on the radar. You deserve to heal, to feel safe, to experience joy again. And you can. You will. Breaking your…

Oh man! I shouldn’t be surprised. I suppose he was a rapist as well. Just another man of his era. Waaa-waaaaaaaa.(sad trombone)

You are getting Joe McCarthy (populist/fascistic senator from Wisconsin) mixed up with Eugene McCarthy (progressive/liberal senator from Minnesota). They are not related to each other and hold totally opposite political opinions from each other.

I am so grateful for this series. I am particularly encouraged by the connection you are making with Peggy Orenstein’s latest work. Her discussion about sexual coercion gives me chills. It lays bare the wretched socialization into life as a sensual/sexual being to which so many girls and young women are subjected. Who…

Agree. And for clarity: A head fully covered by very short hair=/=bald.

Why isn’t the ability to perform a D & C or some other form of early termination considered part of standard, comprehensive gynecological care?

WRONG!!

I too struggle with naming what happened to me. My ex was emotionally abusive and sexually coercive. Yet I can barely bring myself to call what happened “rape.” And I didn’t leave him. He left me. Finally, and I was so grateful once I realized what I had been living with. I don’t equate what happened to me with what…

Of course, because Donald Trump and his friends need those white rapists to help make American great again.

So true. Becoming a parent isn’t always a choice. People can choose to become better parents and need help and support in doing that. Good teachers can help parents become better parents, and good parents help teachers become better teachers. Actually, bad parents help teachers become better teachers. Learning from a…

I already made a long reply to your original post in this thread. I just want to share that for me, it has been helpful to bring my immediate supervisors/colleagues in on my personal strategies for dealing with my harasser. For example, I told them I did not want to ever be alone in a meeting on the phone or in person…

I second the other comments recommending that she talk with an attorney who specializes in sexual harassment and that she keep track and document (even just noting in a journal things that happen—date, time, place, who is present).

I’m not o.k. with the notion that “venting” is “harmless.” People can feel frustration with their work or with a situation and can express their frustration. That can be helpful because it provides information about what might not be working well in a position or organization or relationship.

Educators who default to “this student or parent is an idiot” and use evidence of the student’s poor spelling as evidence are revealing their own incompetence and lack of professional training. I hope you take your attitude seriously and stay the f**k away from students and the classroom. It’s not smart, it’s not…

Adams, Wright & Lohr (1996) in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology conducted a study with men who all identified as straight and had completed a measure of homophobia. All men were shown pornographic content depicting male-female sex, female-female sex and male-male sex. Their arousal in response to the videos was…

I did not say you are damaged. I said you were changed. You get to decide what meaning you attach to that change. You are asking people here to agree with you that being subjected to abuse will heighten a learning experience or creative process. My point is that you can learn everything you learned about connecting to…

The notion that suffering abuse makes people greater is a myth. People who suffer abuse are changed by it, and then attach special meaning to that change as a way of justifying their own choices to suffer the abuse in order to stay in a relationship. This phenomenon is why people are deeply committed to fraternities…