Letters to the Editor
firefly82
Published Letters: 288 Editor's Choice: 30
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There is life outside of Comp Sci.
[Read the article: Quote of the day]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"Correct, instead of studying comp sci, in order to be able to work for $100k and up at Google and not be dependent on a man, the girls these days want to become Liberal Arts and Women's Studies majors so they can make ZIPPO and piss and moan that they are not earning as much as the guys."
Brightstar, I don't know much about what other girls want these days. As for me, I like computers and all; I just wouldn't be able to stand a job that required staring at one for 12 or more hours per day. Hurts my eyes. And I have priorities other than making as much money as humanly possible. And things that I'm better at and love more. There is a whole, beautiful world between "studying comp sci, in order to be able to work for $100k and up at Google and not be dependent on a man," and "becom[ing] Liberal Arts and Women's Studies majors so they can make ZIPPO and piss and moan that they are not earning as much as the guys." It just doesn't take $100K to "not be dependent on a man."
I have a science degree. I don't make a lot, but I'm dependent on nobody and I don't have a lot of time for pissing and moaning.
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Thank you Ashley and Amy
[Read the article: Stop the mommy madness]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"Richards decided on a different approach -- she would think for herself."
And that goes for so much more than mothering.
I know it's not an especially controversial or even original thing to say, but sometimes it does seem like a lost concept. People seem pathologically unable to say "this is right for me, no matter what anyone else thinks."
Nobody else has to live your life. You are the only one who has to be able to look yourself in the mirror in the morning. This is not to say that we have no responsibilities towards others, or our families. But no one else knows enough about your life to make the right choices for you.
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anorexia in men
[Read the article: Childhood, a time of carefree play ... and crash diets?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]What are the actual figures on whether anorexia is on the rise in men, or whether awareness of it is? I read a very long time ago that ~10% of anorexia sufferers are men. And I hate the term "manorexia." It's medically (and linguisically) misleading. It's the same disease whether suffered by a man or a woman.
Not to say that men and women might not have varying experiences of it, and the proportion of boys under 10 being identified is frightening.
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Obviously it's satire; I can't figure out why everyone's in such a tizzy.
[Read the article: MoveOn ad: correction]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I thought it was funny.
Nonetheless, MoveOn shouldn't have posted it.
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@ Allie_
[Read the article: Purity balls keep dads faithful?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"I believe it's unchristian too; Jesus wasn't real big on ritual behavior in the pursuit of purity generally..."
Indeed, what Jesus spoke most vehemently against was superficial judgement of what makes a person "pure," good or worthy, and punishing vulnerable people for not upholding impossible standards.
I'm not really bothered by the idea that a father can be inspired by his children to remain faithful to his family. But this is creepy, and not particularly religious, as much as it invokes the language of Christianity to defend a man's control issues with his daughter's sexuality.
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@ AKA Smith
[Read the article: Purity balls keep dads faithful?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"When I was religious education director at a UU Church, there was a class for teens on sexuality that was taught (not by me) in six consecutive weekends for four hours at a stretch. The grounding could not have been more thorough, covering everything from birth control to disease to individual choices. Shame was never part of the curriculm."
This was actually also my exact experience with sex ed in my church (Presbyterian). It was taught to all the pre-teen and teen girls by all of our mothers in a big circle in the church basement. A lot of people have this presumption that a religiously based model of sex and relationship education can only be full of fear, shame, and misinformation, but my experience with this endeavor was wonderful. Comparatively, my school sex ed. classes were a bad joke, full of judgement and misinformation.
It was immensely calming and powerful to hear all the church lady moms of your friends tell you that there's nothing wrong with sex, they've all done it, and that you have the ability to make wise judgements about what kind of sexual relationship are good for you.
I don't think we were ever even told that sex was for marriage--just that sex is for someone that you feel loved, safe, and respected with.
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Conflating two different problems
[Read the article: Boys' crisis? What boys' crisis?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]'As for the specific question of whether boys are being hurt by the past 15 years' educational trends, the study points out that the number of boys graduating from high school and college is at an all-time high. It also suggests that "perhaps the most compelling argument against a boys' crisis is that men continue to outearn women in the workplace." '
Haven't read the study yet but read the article in the Times this morning. I'm appalled at the weak and manipulative reasoning being put forth.
To say that boys are not being hurt by the advancement of girls is NOT the same thing as there not being a "boy crisis."
I wouldn't be able to provide stats off the top of my head here to document whether there is or isn't a boy crisis as I understand the term, so I won't claim to know...but I think our culture treats boys just as abominably, albeit in different ways, as it treats girls. (I actually remember a middle school gym class during which a visiting coach from the high school flat-out told the boys that they better play a team sport if they "wanted to be anybody" in high school.)
To say that there is a "boy crisis" is not the same as saying--and there's no reason it necessarily implies--that it's the fault of gains made by girls. And to find that boys haven't been hurt by attention paid to girls does not mean that they're not in trouble.