Why couldn't she have understood that the fact that we turned to be strong, self-assured, stand-up-for-ourselves women was a good thing, even if it meant we disagreed with her? It meant she did a good job.

Yep, dealing with this as well with my mom. She's failing to understand that the reason I don't blindly accept her bullshit, "Do as I say, not as I do," or "Because I said so," routine any longer is because she instilled it in me to question and to call shenanigans when needed.

She just never expected that I'd ever be calling shenanigans on her.

Interesting conversation. There have been plenty of times I wish I was female instead of male. Sucks being shy/nice guy, I tell you what. But I don't think I could handle the biological items that come with being female. Hats off to y'all. As for sucker punch in the nads... I doubt it happens often enough that it would be a dis qualifier. You must be hanging with the rough crowd, or part of Fight Club or something.

ION- I got a quick note from my Realtor. She said the place I stalked last night is so cheap and on the market for so long because it has less than 30 years on its land lease. Which means financing will be next to impossible. Which makes me scratch my head, of why is the land lease so high? If it was along the lines of other places in the area, I could afford a 15 year mortgage. I dunno. Either way, looks like it's a no-go for that place. Sad too, it had great potential.

She just never expected that I'd ever be calling shenanigans on her.

Ha. Yeah. Like, I'm pretty sure I get my stubbornness from my mom. Looks like that backfired.

Oh! almost forgot. Congrats Shir! On the awesome group, and good luck with the summer thing!

I've kicked enough guys in the nads to know I don't want testicles. No doubt on my part. Punch me in the tits if you want. I don't care.

Daisy, you make being female sound very bleak. I don't think it's sexism every time a guy responds positively to my looks. Sometimes, just sometimes. And I've seen enough women give power to good looking men that I'm not going to pretend it's a male province. They don't always have all the power.

I never really had to compare myself to a guy until I got to university. Spent a lot of time in female dominated space, from school to home. And then it was too late. My mother is a scientist. I had all the geek things I could ever have wanted. I think my mother would worry about who's going to take care of me even if I were a boy.

I totally don't understand the land lease thing. That would freak me out, the uncertainty of what would happen at the end of the lease (even if the likelihood was that I wouldn't be there then).

...I don't have the mental energy to get into the fairness of pretty, right now.

But that study ONLY used looks as a criteria for voting. People are evaluating more than that.

Sure, but you can control for other factors. There's always more going on in an individual case, but that's why you build up stats over multiple observations. And when you do that, including when you control for other factors, you still get the consistent result: better-looking people do better, in everything from winning votes to getting a higher salary to the paramedics spending longer trying to resuscitate you when you flatline.

Well, sometimes you are just too pretty for a paramedic to let you die.

Or for God to let you die.

Are they voting for the dude based on the fact that he's tall and good looking? I think that's a way oversimplification.

remember Dan Quayle? (snerk)

But there have been studies showing that attractive people not only do better socially, but also tend to get raises, promotions, better performance evaluations, and so on. And, being attractive and being treated as being better than the non-attractive, probably engenders a sense of confidence, that amplifies the effect.

Also, Shir - there was an article in the paper's Sunday travel section about street harassment while traveling and there was a mention of Hollaback Israel.