How much of this can be attributed to all of us growing up in a society that still believed men should take care of women financially, that a good catch should be financially successful and in a respected position? Isn't it likely that it will just take some time for those things to fade? On the other hand, I'd like…

My girls haven't dressed in "girl" costumes since they were maybe 4 years old... those costumes are boring! They are more into ninjas and knights, this year it was a Roman gladiator (for my 11 year old) and Robin Hood (for my 10 year old, but only after she couldn't find her first choices of Horus, Anubis, or Ra). I…

Yay! Despite all the dire warnings we are always hearing about how awful teens are these days, I see more to be hopeful about. They seem nicer than my generation (graduated high school in '99). Regardless of larger implications, I'm happy for these girls and feel a tiny bit better about life for having read this.

@LaComtesse: While I support the right of every woman to choose whether she uses drugs for pain management, there are good reasons not to. There are significant risks involved in using narcotics and epidurals, for both baby and mother. Too often, these risks are simply not presented to pregnant women, and they are…

"judging by the comments"

While this is abusive behavior, the level of severity to me seems like counseling for the mom is more in order. Plus, I'm pretty sure sending orphans back to Russia has a pretty good chance of being a lot worse for those kids than hot sauce and cold showers.

Both my daughters, ages 8 and 9, play chess at an afternoon chess class, a Friday night Junior Chess Club, and every summer at a day chess camp. My younger daughter has 4 1st place trophies, and several 2nd and 3rd place trophies, and my older daughter has a few 2nd and 3rd place trophies. They are always the only…

@CerebralMagpie: Ok.... so I take it, then, that you fall into one of these two categories:

So... am I to believe that we all wouldn't have believed her if she had said a white woman threw acid on her face? That the reason this story was plausible was the alleged perpetrator's race, and not that the idea of someone throwing acid on their OWN FACE is completely beyond belief for any reasonably sane person?…

My experiment has been going on for 14 years, since I was 15. What I have found so far:

@bubbly*pop: I wanted to be a coroner (I know, I was a fun kid), so I cut off my Barbies' hair and gave them autopsies. The Y-cut was challenging, given the hard plastic of the torso, but I was thrilled to see the inside of Barbie's skull and the wires inside her legs!

@bubbly*pop: I wanted to be a coroner (I know, I was a fun kid), so I cut off my Barbies' hair and gave them autopsies. The Y-cut was challenging, given the hard plastic of the torso, but I was thrilled to see the inside of Barbie's skull and the wires inside her legs!

I'd really like Jezebel to have a discussion on the France burqua ban. I have really mixed feelings about it and would love to hear some intelligent back-and-forth on it. Personally, I hear the arguments in favor and opposed, and I can agree with a lot of both. And I know these issues can be a lot different in Europe…

Does EVERYTHING make girls enter puberty sooner? I swear I've read 3 different articles just this week about something or other causing early puberty.

@DutchessOfDork: And you would be absolutely right. People really need to be talking to their kids more about healthy sexuality, I think a lot of times boys don't get as much of that because we aren't afraid of them getting raped, pregnant, or being labeled a slut. Of course, they can be raped, they can get girls…

I barely know who this guy is and don't really care what he has to say, but I will say this: It's hard not to hate on the Salahis, they are pretty vile. But what's the deal with the judgment on Suri Cruise? What he says MAY be true, but what the hell do we know about it? How about just leaving the kid alone... we can…

I didn't even know Joaquin Phoenix was doing any of this stuff. I barely even know who the guy is, suddenly he's everywhere while everyone bitches about his "performance art". If he wanted attention, he definitely got it.

@wednesdayam: Yeah, really. If someone's understanding of ethics and character judgment has less depth and subtlety than a Disney movie, they shouldn't go anywhere near politics. Sadly, this sentiment is not anywhere near universal.

@sequined: Yes, definitely thank your parents. I kept reading this wondering what kind of parents would let their daughters participate in this? It sounds so raunchy and heartbreaking. I would freak if my daughters ever wanted to do this... but considering they are tomboys and hardcore science/ math nerds, I don't…

What's not to be confused? They're both places I've never been to and never will be going to. I wish everything I wanted to avoid like the plague would be so conveniently labeled.