That's amazing. I think I would have gotten stuck on "what's an herb"? I mean, obviously I know, but how do you actually explain something so basic. It's like when my toddler asks "what is the sky" I'm like "I don't even know where to start... it's... above us?"

Yup. It's a bit like that time Kaley Cuoco (sp? IDGAF) was all "I am a super-rich TV actress so feminism is what now?" Oh, shut up. Please, please shut the fuck up.

A Jez series on intersectional feminism (and how it's not what a lot of people think) would be amazing! I think that kind of writing can be a powerful outreach tool, not just for the Kinja commentariat (although, fucking ouch to some of the comments today) but for the people we could forward it to, instead of having…

Yes. I also wondered this. Just some... extra baby skin?

It is, indeed, a nice thing to have a cool Mom. I'm sure your daughter agrees.

Patti Smith has been a huge common touchstone for my mother and I also! Pretty sure "Dancing Barefoot" was the first song I learned to sing all the way through (complete with the spoken word bridge, natch). Somehow, in spite of being a huge fan, my mother had only seen her live once, in the 70s, so for her birthday a…

For some reason this just makes me really want to see a borderline traumatic cover of this song by, like, Annie Lennox. Time to light some candles to the Internet gods.

My favourite cover of "Cry Me A River" will always be the one that my drunk husband left on my cell, circa 2004, explaining that he drank all the beer and ate all the pizza while I was working late, and inviting me to "cry [him] a river" about it. I think I still have an MP3 of it somewhere.

"You're being blackballed [whispers] by me."

I mean, unless you're Halle Berry, I guess? This didn't make much sense to me either.

"the multiplicity of female mechanisms reduces the likelihood that males will be able to evolve overall control of female reproductive processes."

He totally licked it off, but only after rolling around on the couch for a good 5 minutes and making sure he got it everywhere. I'm a little disappointed in the cat, if I'm being honest, although again: not surprised.

broccoli > cat litter. Good job.

I have literally nothing to contribute to this discussion, topically, but just wanted to say that this stock photo is on point, and I'm delighted that it exists.

On the flipside, I, a person who had previously been feeling bad about sending store bought baking to my son's school, am like - could be worse! I'm great! (Climbs on pedestal. Frowns.)

This wasn't intended as a pronouncement that parental love is infinite and all-encompassing. Finite? Sure, as are all things. Conditional? Again, sure. But this is a hell of a condition, no? ("I object to your identity" is a pretty thin grievance). And a hell of a reaction. Not just "get out of my house" not just "you…

Maybe it's because my kid is too young to disappoint me in actually important ways (like, I'm "disappointed" when he rubs butter on the cat, but I'm not surprised, and I'll live), but I truly cannot comprehend it. Hating your child enough that you can overcome all that history - that investment in their wellbeing, the…

Welp, if nothing else, this will make me question whether our school walks the walk as well as they talk the talk. And that admin person sounds like the absolute worst.

Yowza. I'm really surprised. I figured that, now that such allergies are more commonplace (and our culture grows ever more litigious) schools would be tripping over themselves to do due diligence on this stuff. My son's pre-school is tremendously vigilant - signs everywhere, frequent reminders that snacks with nuts or…

Here, a man who raised his hand to his own child. Who snuffed out his own child's life because he deemed that life to be unnatural. There is nothing in the world less natural than that.