Why do the majority of women in America feel they have the right to tell their husbands what to do and how to do it and feel victimized and abused when there is anything other than than complete cooperation in response while men would never dream of giving orders in this way and if they tried it the response would be "do it yourself" (at the very least).

Um, to prevent food poisoning? Unsanitary conditions? Bug and mold infestations? Lack of clean underwear--white underwear, as opposed to pink from having been casually tossed in with a cheap red bandanna leaking dye? (Hey, it's his underwear.) The expense of replacing good wool sweaters or other costly articles of clothing (mine or his)damaged by being washed in hot water and dried in a hot dryer?

Also, you mentioned microwaveable meals. These tend to be high in sodium and low in nutritional value. If he gets sick, then I have to take care of him. Not that I would mind taking care of him, but, you know, I don't want him dead from a stroke or cancer from all that MSG...especially when I could prevent it by making him good food.

You know, I've learned a lot from my husband. Sure, I could just ignore whatever he says and burn out the clutch by riding it, or shorten the lifespan of the engine by driving at the wrong speed. I don't care how he loads the dishwasher--I just care that he doesn't just do the easy stuff and then act all proud of himself for helping out, leaving me to scrub the pots and pans and handwash his pilsner glasses and special mugs from some conference or other which can't go in the dishwasher, because they accumulate on the side of the sink and take up counter space. Why can't he respect my directions in the same way he expects me to respect his? He takes care of his tools and expects me to take care of them too, which I do; why can't he take care of mine? Your attitude, and so many of your brethren, seems to be that any housework you do, however half-assed, makes you God's gift to women, and we have no right to expect anything more than whatever shitty effort you deign to give us. And, of course, the women's magazines all reinforce this idiotic notion.

I think what I might do, one of these days, is just stick his dirty glasses and mugs in his briefcase and let him find them at work. That might get the point across permanently. Screaming at him like a banshee only works temporarily.

I'm sorry to be so angry about this. It really hit a raw nerve for me. I've been married nearly twenty years, and we couldn't live without each other and get along fantastically ninety percent of the time, but this is his only blind spot.

I apparently didn't listen to everything you said.

Otherwise I would have taunted you for having talked about being victimized and abused for being asked to help with the housework in specific ways. Damn, in trying to respond to your larger point, I missed that! Well, here you go, you poor, poor widdle boy.

It would have been one thing if this article had, you know, explored whether or not women who breastfeed their sex partners felt fetishized or turned on, what the physical sensation actually felt like, how safe it was and what kind of precautions needed to be taken, how widespread this fetish is, what the causes might be, etc. An in-depth article on this phenomenon might actually be interesting.

But all this was was an ad for yet another book-length paean to the Cult of Lactation. We get it. You've demonstrated that you are mammals. Now go publish this tripe in Earth Goddess Wannabe Weekly or Oprah or whatever and free up magazine real estate for something that isn't just a first-world problem. I can't believe this was put out by any press associated with Harvard.

Ms. McCain, like Ms. Sarah, are writers. They write and attempt to publish and earn a living doing so. As readers, we have the choice to read or not to read, but attacking these women for doing their job is beyond cowardly.

Wait...you seem to be advocating something a little like the practice of giving students an A for effort. Neither writer is particularly good; both are incredibly self-absorbed. (This may be a function of immaturity and could disappear with time, but still.) We don't want to waste our time on them as long as they write crap, and they're just as guilty as the sites that publish them without caring or knowing that they're writing crap.

When Rachel Sarah stops thinking that her self-esteem as a nursing mother is actually an important issue, or when Megan McCain stops thinking that she's really writing (as opposed to cashing in on her status as the daughter of a failed, high-profile candidate) and starts taking it seriously, then, as writers, they might have a chance. The important point is that they need to write about something or someone other than themselves. No one cares what they think right now, because they aren't thinking about anything particularly interesting.

And I say that as someone who, in my other life, has a long list of publications to my name.

sounds like a less-than-apt example distracting us from a very good point. So it's hard to establish that these women had a genuine domestic partnership (in the absence of legal marriage). It still highlights a serious problem for longtime gay couples who share everything. What does the surviving partner do in these situations? If a house is in one partner's name, does the other have to pay taxes on it (and possibly lose it in the process)? For that matter, what about things like Social Security or VA benefits?