I’ve spent all of my adult life in urban settings where walking is a must, and I can say I didn’t fully appreciate those benefits until an injury last year severely reduced my step count. I got used to the practical consequences, but the mental health consequences of losing that kind of mobility wasn’t something I was…

I want policy discussions to explicitly articulate how they will benefit marginalized demographics, especially black women, as well as receipts. Show your work.

I think the point about people having a frank discussions with themselves about privilege really helps. It’s useful to know what kind of space to give discussions and be real about the baggage one is bringing into the conversation. It seems that imploded with the Alexandra Shipp situation.

This is a great point, thank you. Part of creating healthier conversations around this is also acknowledging that skin color isn’t always the biggest aspect of presenting as black for some people, even in terms of physical features. Thus the conversation around it is best being more nuanced, as you mention, if we want…

It is insane how bad New York Undercover got after that drama went down. And I felt bad because the people that were left tried their best (bless their hearts), but that mess was broken. Since this was really before the internet could broadcast all the details, I remember it had something to do with contract…

And for very good reason.

I guess there are picky eaters and then “particular” eaters. A lot of particular eaters just don’t develop a palate for things, and that’s fair. I’m moderately particular for those reasons—I so sadly can’t tolerate spicy food; I didn’t grow up eating and don’t love seafood. I’m not a jerk about it, and I absolutely…

Definitely with you on that first point. And if I’m hosting a dinner, I make it a point of giving a passing thought to what other folks’ needs are and will often float the menu beforehand to get people’s reactions. For example, I know who the vegetarians are, who’s lactose intolerant, a general sense of what kinds of…

I think your comment has the same issue, though. Plenty of folks that have cars and do that kind of grocery shopping still carry reusable bags on their person, etc. As an urban-dwelling, non-driver, I often carry canvas bags and don’t particularly find them cumbersome. This seems like one of those articles where some…

I (and many others) do think it’s effective. I was acknowledging your differing perspective for argument’s sake. No matter the answer, it still counters your point that using those pronouns is pointless. If people think we can make something better, you try stuff out, see what works, etc. You don’t shrug your…

Whether it is or isn’t effective, it’s still one solution to a valid concern. And it’s certainly more useful and productive than declaring the exercise pointless without really engaging.

Of course, D.C. is not a state, so it probably makes more sense to compare D.C.’s economic inequality to that of other large cities, like New York or San Francisco talk long and loud about why this is incredibly problematic and why people should care deeply about this.

The fact that there’s an existing conversation in another thread about the confusion of using “they” in the singular is an easy counter to those arguments. There are plenty of contexts where we expand language for clarity. If you don’t want to confirm, that’s your choice, of course. But I don’t think it’s quite…

Are those questions/conclusions coming from a place of you just not wanting to use those pronouns or from a place of actually asking or exploring why people who use those pronouns feel they are a better representation?

I had a similar response a few years ago when this concept came to my attention. But then I thought it was needlessly intolerant and decided to give it a try. Honestly, I haven’t found it to be that onerous. I got used to it and people really appreciate the effort.

A co-worker pointed out why she didn’t like the all-encompasing “guys” and why, and I was like, ok, cool. It makes even less sense when you couple it with people’s use of “ladies” for a group of women. I’m not wedded enough to either phrase to be bothered about dropping it, although it still slips out occasionally,…

People act like everyone in the world is using an infinite number of pronouns. You get used to it—it’s an effort for sure, but I found it a pretty minimal one. The odds of your average person’s interactions involving a range of different pronouns isn’t that high. If I mess up, I correct myself and it’s all good (and…

What I also find frustrating is asking me (or other women) our personal reactions to different scenarios as validation that women’s fears are irrational or to devalue these safety concerns. Whether I personally feel or don’t feel threatened in a situation X, Y, or Z is beside the point. It doesn’t negate that women…

I mentioned this to my family and their first reaction was horror, but when I explained it, they were like, uh you really have a point actually.

I don’t know if I’d give him that credit. I’m pretty horrified that he had the audacity to think he deserves a lifetime appointment to a federal court without either knowing or being prepared with some of the most basic of questions. The privilege and entitlement of that is unreal. And his letter is just more of the…