I think reality is that cultural norms and high points ebb and flow. You can find people lamenting the decline of culture all over the world for centuries. That doesn't mean it isn't also sometimes true. Cultures rise and fall. Same thing with "kids today". There have been times when they were worse than before…

All kids are different. Spanking works for some. I get sick of people talking hitting and violence as if spanking is that way. If it is, then you are out of control. I was spanked every now and again as a kid and it was never hard- it was the physical limitation that was forceful. Like a wall put up- this is…

Yea I know what you mean. When a perfectly decent and loving parent says something about how good girls should not be out by themselves at night, they are just reflecting cultural attitudes. But India is vast and diverse. The US is too, but it's hard to comprehend the scale of diversity in India; it's like several…

Man... That just confused me even more. It left me with that feeling of, OMG do we have to label everything? Even if we did, identity is not an inherent thing but is rather constructed and fluid, so gee whiz... Seems like the main thing though is that asexuals do not want to have sex ever really but they are…

Yes I know that, but it did seem that your point was that they were doing this to gain that identification and therefore to make the money they make. Yup I completely agree about poverty. But I don't think it's the hunger or lack of job or that sort of thing that causes that sort of superstition and desperation. …

Well, that one is easy to answer. The reason is that dogs are considered someone's property and therefore someone is responsible for controlling them. By someone, in patriarchal terms, we mean men because everything is viewed from his point of view. So men are considered responsible for controlling their property. …

BTW let me add so that I don't sound like an apologist. What I mean is that the lack of speedy trial (charges pending for years and ability to pay off cops/judges) has two consequences: first being that crimes are often not taken seriously- rapes go unpunished. Second being that it's pretty easy to mess with…

lol Can we disagree about how much we agree? :) To turn the conversation to a different path, I'll tell you something that troubles me more about India's legal system regarding rape/dowry, etc. There is more pressure lately on police to pay attention to these accusations because they have been ignored for so long. …

Nope, I agree with your opinion about not differentiating between rape and murder. I said nothing to the contrary. It's an irrelevant point in this case since they murdered her, but I agree with your point more generally.

It's a stupid tattoo for sure, but he's covered in tattoos head to toe so it's not a significant thing for him. Just a joke. After rolling my eyes, I thought about it, and if tattoos are no big deal at all for you then actually it might be a conversation point. A few years from now (weeks? haha) no one will…

I don't really understand that logic either. I mean, most rape in India is not brutally violent like this. Most rape in India is like rape in the US- usually someone you know, followed by the entitled man who thinks he has a right to you because you shouldn't be out at night. These people aren't candidates for…

Yeah, it's an ID I don't really understand. Seems like if you have a physical issue that makes sex unpleasant (and sorry! our bodies suck!) then that can't be a part of your sexual identity. And if you are feeling anxiety about sex then that is more indicative a problem rather than an orientation. I mean, someone…

lol I know. My own head canons are mostly just me ignoring things. Like, there are only three Star Wars movies. And there are entire plot points in Doctor Who that I just pretend never happened. But I think the difference between having a head canon and getting upset with inconsistencies is that my head canon…

But they didn't just rape her. They murdered her. They are receiving the death penalty for murder. The woman is dead. So to say that imposing the death penalty would discourage the prevention of murder doesn't make any sense since they murdered her already. They are not getting death for rape alone.

Yeah I know what you are getting at, and when I was younger and hadn't spent so much time overseas, I used to be really careful about not saying judgmental things about other cultures. But it's hard to talk about the world and the crazy things in it if you are always being culturally aware- there has to be a middle…

Lack of attraction is one thing. I think in the metaphor above, that's like not craving ice cream when it's not around. But how do you feel when you do actually have sex with someone? Do you enjoy it, not enjoy it, find it neutral, etc?

Yes, agree with this. Poverty plays a role in all of it of course, especially considering how the lack of a certain type of education and lifestyle causes a certain way of thinking. But it is more complex than someone just being hungry and out of work and saying, "Hey I'll be a hijra and that will help my economic…

If you want to go to India, I would not avoid it for this reason. Even in India, this sort of violent attack is very uncommon. Plus it's really brought the issue to public and people discuss rape and women's roles in a very interesting and exciting way right now. Especially the younger educated people. The 15-25…

Yes but that is not why he is opposing the death penalty in these cases. He's saying that rape is going to happen no matter what because bad girls are asking for it and boys can't help themselves, so we need to accept that boys will be boys. If we kill them for raping, then they aren't just going to rape, they are…

Not just men. A few years ago there was a rape in Delhi, a young woman coming home from work in the evening, and the Delhi chief minister made a statement about how women shouldn't be out at night by themselves. Chief minister is a woman herself. It's certainly a very commonly expressed cultural attitude, and one…