Don't mock me for my toe shoes and I'll keep my mouth shut about your heels. It works pretty well for me.

My dad loves that song. I'm not sure why, but he absolutely loves it.

Short-range truckers (ex. the guys who deliver goods to the malls/grocery stores/etc) have to do most or all of the loading and unloading themselves. I assume long-range truckers also get very involved in moving their cargo on and off the truck.

I own a little make-up, and I wear some of it about once every 6-18 months.

I think that the lesson here is:

Does routinely calling your spouse "sexy butt" count? Actually, that would probably make us a household firmly rooted in equality.

Whenever these conversations crop up, I feel less guilty about being a horribly short-tempered child prone to physical outbursts. I was an overweight, frizzy-haired, boobs-growing 4th grade nerdy teacher's pet (complete with glasses), but by that point I was never harassed to my face. The bullies didn't want to risk…

Yes, marry someone who you like. Start saying "please" and "thank you" again? Why the hell would I ever stop being polite and nice to this sexy person who does the dishes?

You do what you need to do in order to keep your daughter safe.

Yes, that is what I said. You proved that it was possible to talk about it without judging, because you were not judging.

It is true that you really don't know, but that also means that you do not know if the most pessimistic predictions will come true, either. My mother-in-law was a SAHM, and none of these dire warnings came true for her. For some people, they do. You don't know.

I KNOW. And then you get all the commenters saying that you should never, ever, ever stay at home, because that makes you a horrible feminist and also your husband will probably divorce you, 'cause dontcha' know what percentage of marriages end in divorce? IT WILL PROBABLY BE YOU. And then you'll be stuck working…

As I was a student at the time, I valued the information (in a list of people to never ever date sort of way), but I was totally squicked out on behalf of my very awesome professor.

Oh, that place. I looked up a few of my own professors once, and discovered that my adviser is apparently so hot that she drives some of the boys to distraction.

But it is true that many white and/or well-off people raised in predominantly white and/or well-off communities are raised with certain prejudices. Even in progressive, well-meaning families, particular ways of thinking get into your head.

There's a quip I've heard about the University of Virgina that goes something like, "They speak of 'Mr. Jefferson' as if he had just left the room."

I'm on a three-month pack, so I just went in last week for a fresh refill after the new insurance year kicked in for my plan earlier this summer. Sweet, free birth control.

I could probably give my dad flashbacks to forcing me to eat peas once. Only once. In my defense, the upholstery on the dining room chairs was already green. After a little time, you couldn't even tell which one I puked on.

Except to a lesser degree. But the same general theory.

I mean, heck, if they're going to be squeezing your feet into narrow heels as an adult, might as well start training now.*