I think in fandom it's mostly women doing the hating because fandom is mostly women. But get a fandom that has an unusual amount of dudes and they do it too. And they generally don't even try to hide the misogyny. Doctor Who fandom, looking right at you.

And this is what everyone always says. There's a total script for this. Insert show and main female character and it's interchangeable.

Anyone who has been in any fandom (a mostly female space) for more than 5 seconds knows this phenomenon already, very very well. Any female character who exists on a show where a white, male antihero is the primary protagonist gets this treatment. If she calls the dude on his bullshit, she's a nagging harpy who just…

Come join me in nerdy academia! If anything the bias is probably kind of reversed in academic fields: the more make-up you wear and the more dressy-uppy you look, the more you stick out. Bare-faced is the norm around here. I sometimes forget that it's unusual.

As one of the no-makeup-ever people I find some of the things people are describing as "minimal" to be... not what I'd define as minimal! What is "maximum" then?! Do I even want to know?

Word. I mean, I'll be the first to admit that my primary motivator (or unmotivator as the case may be) for eschewing beauty regimens is that I am lazy as fuck and don't care, and however other ladies want to roll is not any of my business. But I do wonder about the "I do it for me!" thing. Like, why this thing? Why is…

Does it come with a cash prize? My wallet is open and ready!

Me. I also don't paint my nails, shave my legs or underarms or "do" my hair any of that. I just truly, honestly don't give a solitary shit about any of it.

My mom watches my son 3 days a week (I worked from home the other 2 for his first year, and now he goes to daycare 2 days a week). It's been wonderful and is basically the thing that has made it possible for us to have a child without a major upheaval in our quality of life. The only down side is that finding…

If you can, start saving now to cushion the blow. The thing about daycare is that it's temporary-ish (once they start school you just need to worry about after school care) and gets cheaper the older your kid gets (higher adult:child ratio means less workers to pay).

Pittsburgh has become notorious for "boomerang Pittsburghers." Born and raised in Pittsburgh, move away somewhere "cooler" during/after college, find that cool place to be prohibitively expensive, unfriendly and nearly impossible to raise a family in without an executive's salary, move back to Pittsburgh, get married,…

Daycare. Daycare can easily cost as much as the income of one person in a two-working-parent family.

The same way you cook them on any pizza. I just use a cast-iron skillet or griddle instead of a pizza stone. The rest of the operation is the same. Cast iron just gets waaaaay hotter than a pizza stone. I let it heat for at least 30 minutes after the oven comes up to full temperature before putting the pizza on.

Samesies. Nearly all of my baby-having social circle had boys and none of us circumcised. I think by the time my son is in a locker room, uncirced peen is not going to be unusual.

Would you say that, a room decorated with, say, armadillos (which are common in more than one US and Mexican state) has a "North American" theme? Or would you say it has a desert theme, or a southwest theme, or something slightly more specific? Africa is a HUGE continent with many very different biomes.

Yep. "Safari" or "jungle animals"(yes I know many of the animals in question are savannah animals not jungle animals but every kid's book about wild animals I have seems to totally gloss over the distinction) or "wild animals" as themes all sound fine. "Africa-themed" just sounds... bad. In about three dozen different…

The first time my baby latched himself on without my assistance (I think he was probably like 5 months ish?), the clouds opened up and angels sang. Seriously, you need eight hands to get a newborn latched.

I'd just get some phone numbers handy so you don't have to spend a lot of time googling should you need one.

I think Jez is it's own special little zone of Scaring The Crap Out of Young Women when it comes to shit that happens when you have kids. I went to breastfeeding classes and read books ("The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" is still on my "to be burned" pile) and none of them covered the difficulties beyond kind of a "it…