Others have done the pile-on much better than I could, so I'll just mention some additional info:

It is interesting to consider the effects of chemical happiness on creativity. Speaking for myself (and one or two friends, my level of creativity remains constant, whether I am medicated or not; the ability to produce art, however, is greatly affected. When I missed doses or slacked off, I was incapable of organising…

I visited Calgary a couple of years ago; I found it very... white. Nice otherwise, though.

I did see, and thought it was indicative of rural isolation (I mean, didn't they watch Little Mosque on the Prairie?) but my experiences are in Vancouver, so... huh. In my case it may have been a class issue, as the comparatively rich moms politely allowed for my "blonde daughter" to be adopted, while the Philipina…

Representing for Canadian brown girls, yo.

Thanks for your candor, DrMunks. Talking to others is the key behaviour, I'm thinking, to being able to bear the weight of what you have to read. Online communities help a lot, as you don't have to adhere to the same social rules that one does when confiding in one's friends. I would be honoured to support your…

Holy shit, you're so fucking stupid. My nine-yr-old understands this better than you do. You realize Pizzey is not a scientist, and all of her theories are based on... personal observation? She sounds like your kind of gal.

DrMunks, researching online hate must be fascinating and soul-destroying at the same time. How do you cope? Do you inure yourself? Practice PTSD techniques? (I'm being quite serious, and my reasons for asking are for my own curiosity, and the vague compassion and empathy I have toward a stranger on the internet. Feel…

So sad. People get so threatened. It's so not about them.

I'm a bit shocked at the preponderance of high-heels. These boys look 7 years to about 12?? None of the girls in my kid's peer group of 10-yr olds are allowed to wear heels. .... Maybe it's just because it's this camp, though. Or am I completely unaware of current acceptable pre-teen footwear?

Lovely, you've gone from "Hur hur, I'm an equalist" to blaming women for their own oppression. And symmetrically-gendered violence? I guess we can toss out the last 50 years of feminist scholarship, then!

No, your thinking is defective, if you think that your choice, select group represents the majority of opinion and society today. Which gender holds the most seats of power? which gender controls the most money? Which gender makes 20%-30% more than the other? Which gender is routinely the perpetrator of domestic…

There we have it. Sad, divorced, bitter. Every time you open your mouth it gets clearer and clearer.

Do you think they're mad because the girls uttered "dirty" words, or because they let the cat out of the bag about the mechanics of sex?

WOOOO MISANDRY. Now I know you're one serious fellow. BTW, you've hit a good many squares on the MRA bingo. This conversation is a classic (dare I say textbook?) example of typical floundering and bravado in order to completely understand another's POV.

WOOOO MISANDRY. Now I know you're one serious fellow. BTW, you've hit a good many squares on the MRA bingo. This conversation is a classic (dare I say textbook?) example of typical floundering and bravado in order to completely understand another's POV.

As a peri-menopausal woman, a parasol is essential on a hot day if I don't want to look like a sweat fountain.

Present day always has its roots in the past. Every country that participated in colonialism, economic or cultural, has a responsibility to remember its past actions... and every country who enjoyed the riches of European "age of discovery' is complicit.

And yet I have not said that everything is the fault of men. Patriarchy is an ingrained system, existing in different degrees in different cultures, that affects both men and women. Those who benefit most are a) most likely to perpetuate it and b) most likely to claim it doesn't exist. (Ahem.) You'd never say that…

Actually, it is the patriarchy. There are always those who will be complicit in oppression, to gain favour with the oppressor. Feminism 101.