Over the last couple of posts on this subject, I'm surprised no one has brought up 'yoni'

Is that too new-agey crunchy-granola for most people? Not Euro enough? something else?

Halloween is becoming for many Americans what Carnaval is in Rio, Trinidad, or New Orleans. It is, in part, a chance for people to transgress expectations for sexual behavior and invert power relationships. Guys can dress in drag; women can dress as sluttily as they wish; we can mock authority figures both civic and religious; everyone can have a cocktail or 12; throw in a rejection of the Christianity so much of our society is based on; and when we all go back to work on Monday, nobody's reputation is damaged.

It should come as no surprise that a society as uptight as we are about issues of sexuality and gender finds a way to release the tension. And it's equally unsurprising that we choose to do it on a day profoundly associated anti-Christian imagery and themes.

Have fun! It's the most wonderful time of the year.

I've spend a good bit of time riding buses around Latin America and have found that disaster movies of all kinds are a favorite.

I've always assumed it's because the TVs are so small no one can read the subtitles and they need something that you can enjoy without understanding what people are saying.

I think I've seen the one with Anne Heche where LA becomes a volcano a good four or five times.

also "figure" she is the most qualified for reasons including being First Lady of AR and the USA, being on the campaign trail starting in 1977 and being in the Senate. My politics lie with Dodd and Kuchinich, but Hilary's my choice!

The problem is that being on the campaign trail since 1977 and being First Lady makes her qualified to run for president, but not necessarily to be president. For that we need to look at her work as an elected official and, as much as I admire her, I think she's made some very bad decisions as a senator.

There must be thirty letters stating that wearing jeans and a t-shirt and not shaving one's legs doesn't make someone a lesbian and shouldn't make people think they are lesbians. Of course not. The only problem is, that's a big straw man.

Human beings are social creatures and the way we dress sends signals about a million things. What we find comfortable is certainly one of them, but so is social class, religion, politics, and, yes Virginia, sexual orientation. If all your life people think you are a lesbian it is because you are sending out signals that say "Hey world, I'm a lesbian." Now there are a number of possibilities here. Maybe you are socially inept or come from another culture and don't know the signals of this time and place. That letter would have read "I don't know why everybody thinks I'm a lesbian." Clearly this LW knows why and is unsurprised when they do. Another possibility is that you just don't give a damn what people think and you want to wear what is most comfortable. Again, I think this is unlikely for reasons that I explain below.

Another possibility is that the LW knows she sends out "I'm a lesbian" signals and does it on purpose. This is Cary's view and I think he's right. It is clear that the LW identifies with and defines herself in relation to queer culture and community. For example she knows she is being harassed and yet her concern is about coming off as homophobic; she spends the entire third paragraph talking about her relationship with gays and lesbians and her own meditations on her relative attraction to women and men (which I'm sure we can agree has nothing to do with her harassment); and finally she signs her letter "A GBLTQ Ally" (rather than say "harassed employee" or "tired of people gossiping about my sexuality" or whatever else). The LW learly knows what she is doing and she certainly gives a damn.

Cary's advice is spot on, both about the harassment and about the issues she has with sending out "I'm a lesbian signals". He doesn't tell her she's wrong or that she should stop. He suggests that she think about why she chooses to send out those signals. Maybe he is right, maybe it's a trickster or culture jamming/gender f...ing thing. More power to her if that's the case. Maybe it's something else entirely.

Cary is counseling a little introspection, a very good thing for all of us. He is not saying that jeans and a t-shirt make you look like a lesbian.

I also do empathize with school officials who are trying to protect themselves from accusations of not taking harassment seriously enough. But really. There's a line, and you can reprimand a kid for being rude without accusing him or her of sexual harassment.

No. There is not a line. That is the problem. There is a whole lot of gray area.

We can complain about this, but the teachers and administrators on the ground know a lot more about what happened than we do. If they said it was harassment or bullying there's probably a reason. Do people get it wrong? Of course. All the time. It sounds as through they got it wrong, realized they got it wrong and changed their decision. To pretend that we know better about these kids and what they did is foolish.