My grandmother persisted in referring to me as "it" even when I was right there, until I was about ten years old. This may be why I dislike referring to children as "it".

Didn't people (at some point in the past) dress small children v. similarly up until an ages (not sure what age it would be) - i.e., long hair, clothing more like gowns?

Apparently he's also in eighth grade, but this kid has to be six feet tall, and could probably throw me across the room. No way I'd think *middle-schooler* if I saw him on the street.

Is he related to Laura's Brendon?

Because of the suposed Rapture, a woman tried to kill her two daughters and herself. And a man in Nairobi killed himself.

[link]

sumi, I think the Victorians and maybe earlier had kids of both sexes in long white dresses until toddlerhood.

Is he related to Laura's Brendon?

You'd think. Enormous sweet puppydog, too.

I was referred to as it for a while. And then mistaken for a boy into my 30s. So, cautionary tale.

I have (more) porn questions. Straight porn for gay guys--what about it makes it not porn for straight guys, or even more likely, straight women? I get that straight men might not want to watch solo jerkoff acts much, but when it's a het pair, what do you emphasise that makes it more about a gay viewer than a straight woman?

Didn't people (at some point in the past) dress small children v. similarly up until an ages (not sure what age it would be) - i.e., long hair, clothing more like gowns?

[link] The photo gallery there includes Franklin Roosevelt as a child with long hair and a frilly dress.

Because of the suposed Rapture, a woman tried to kill her two daughters and herself. And a man in Nairobi killed himself.

Shit. That's what's been giving me Rapture anxiety - not the thing itself, but what the fear or disappointment might make unstable people do to themselves and their children. I'm just old enough to remember Jonestown, and the piles of dead families, appearing on the TV at my grandparents' house before my mom had time to lunge at the TV and switch it off.

This is what religion encourages: fear based on imaginary terrors.

OTOH, PZ Meyers, suck my cock.

If we could look at a baby and coo, "oh, isn't ** cute!" without having to say he or she or IT, knowing the baby's gender might not seem quite so important.

I usually dodge around this by just talking right to the baby: "Aren't you cute! You are such a little muffin! What a smiley-puss!" and any other non-gender-dependent endearment that comes to mind.

I'm just old enough to remember Jonestown

I picked up a first person account of Jonestown (and a thorough biography), written by one of Ryan's staff, in the library last week.

I couldn't put it down, despite really, really wanting to. It finally occurred to me that my fascination resulted from watching the television accounts at the time. I had no idea how deeply it had effected me.

Remarkably, I can remember Powers Booth's portrayal in the inevitable made-for-tv movie as if it was aired today. Creepy.

Then again, I can also remember Yaphet Kotto as Idi Amin too.

Didn't people (at some point in the past) dress small children v. similarly up until an ages (not sure what age it would be) - i.e., long hair, clothing more like gowns?

Yep. Check out Ernest Hemingway: [link]