And again, the story I posted in an earlier thread about the artist at Auschwitz who traded her art (She painted the guards' wives.) for breath is more disturbing to me than the woman who rents her vulva for gas. Why is the vulva extra-specialer than any other body part that we women rent for gas and groceries? This is ideology that intersects with the Right, which also believes that sex is extra-specialer.

Here's why: "As far as Svutlana concern, if can hold pencil with vagina and write name, Svutlana is good for go."

Ms. Shukert, I'm assuming your editors have told you writers to not respond in these threads, but perhaps, in another of your essays/articles, you can address what I perceive as Broadsheet's systemic pearl clutching about sex. Now, you wrote what you wrote, employing various intimate centers of your brain, and you'll likely buy gas with some of the earnings. Just as female carpenters will apply their biceps, eyes, and brains to build structures today and they'll buy gas with their earnings.

So, why does renting one's vulva, instead of one's brain or biceps, have you and the rest of the Broadsheeters, taking the vapors?

Now, I know that the sex business can put one in the same room with dangerous sleazeballs. Is that your concern? Or is crotch more important than other parts of a woman? Is the crotch the essence? If so, that's soooo reductive and therefore anti-feminist as it constricts, rather than liberates. It also seems a sex negative position.

It's just that when someone as famous as Farve wants what he doesn't want and says so, folks go atwitter.

"Why not sex for food, water, medicine, settlement of legal bills, plastic surgery, job promotion, or just plain fun?"

That's capitalism!

And communism!

And socialism!

That's life.

Is yours the sort of post they've deleted in the past? I hope not, for their censoring system then parallels television's, where sex is obscene, but bang-bang is fine.

Shrink your debt.

Shrink your house.

Shrink your expenses.

Too many Americans wanted a war that they weren't willing to pay for, in blood and bucks. trillions were borrowed and are borrowed. One way to control the new trillions of debt is the cruel tax of inflation, where everything costs more and the dollar is worth less. This doesn't affect rich people, of course. And after their years of Bush's multiple tax breaks for the rich, they're richer than ever. And more muffled than ever from the coming suffering.

I got nothin'.

You post your video and are bombarded from the right and left.

...is that people insisted on referring to her as a normal girl once the tail was removed.

I didn't.

I always called her "fish," reminding her and others that she'd had a tail.

Snark off.

You were an infant.

You're still an infant.

No, wait, you were a fetus.

You're still a fetus.

No wait, you were a bit of burger that was processed into sperm and egg.

You're still a bit of burger.

Rather, the grass that became the burger.

Rather, the sunlight that became the grass.

Rather, the hydrogen that became the sunlight.

We all morph and some more than others. Hey, were you ever kind? If not, you're exceptionally static.

Again, get some help. You learned your loathing of gay folks. You can unlearn it.

You wrote: "My greatest pity goes out to the Beattie's poor baby, and the miserable life of confusion and mixed messages that poor kid will have to grow up with."

My greatest pity goes out to gay folks who meet you.

And I agree that the publicity-seeking was a bad move. Even after the fact, Salon is trying to profit from their error. And it's working: this thread is getting a lot of hits.

When I was a kid in white suburbia, I heard some of the men say, "I'm not prejudiced. Some of my best friends are black people."

I wasn't as smart as Rosenkavalier, but I wasn't stupid. I could see that NO BLACK PEOPLE entered their homes. They had no black friends.

There's a lot of that in this thread: I have nothing against trans-people, but....

So, you think I'm a troll?

Well, I think you're a heterosupremicist.

And I wonder if your many gay friends know how you feel about Mr. Beatie, whom you call "she," and about marriage, which you've made it clear in other posts belongs to straight people because they're...special.

Again, you learned your bigotry. You can unlearn it. You know those many near and dear gay people in your life? Well, invite them into your home. Feed them. Spend serious time with them. Listen. You'll find it harder to feel superior. At least that's my hope.

A man is diagnosed with testicular cancer.

At great expense to society, his body is mutilated and bombarded with poison and toxic radiation.

However, the problem isn't in his testes. It's in his head. We're all mortal. We all die. In fact, there are far too many of us. What the guy needs is a psychologist: not a surgeon.

He needs someone to sit him down and say, "We're all worms' meat, bud. Might as well get to it."

NOTE: I have nothing against guys with testicular cancer and women with breast cancer. Some of my best friends have testicular cancer and breast cancer. I'm even nice to them to their faces. It's just on Salon that I reveal I'd rather that they be withheld compassion.

don't rethink.

Recoil.

for what it's worth, you're my hero.

And if the world weren't whacked, you'd be everyone's hero.