This week, a number of our bloggers were moved to give spirited takes on what we're teaching kids -- and ourselves -- about gender and our bodies. The posts ranged from the oft overlooked destructive effect that "girl power" has on boys (written by a blogger whose young son likes pink skirts and serving tea), to the confusion that comes from a culture in which successful women deliver a message of female empowerment -- but do so "half-naked, through pouting lips while humping the ground or spreading their legs." Taken together, they offer a fascinating look at what feminism and sexuality mean to us today.
There is a very prevalent hostility between the sexes, constantly reinforced by today's no-strings-attached dating game. No one has to commit. No one is responsible. Everyone is out for himself or herself. Everyone is on the defensive. So many options and no need to choose. Immediate gratification coupled with complete lack of empathy.
Incredibly, there are no statistics on this. And yet women hear about this topic all the time -- and not just from their mothers. It's an anthem playing throughout our modern culture, along with all those girl empowerment, Beyonce-style pop songs. So HuffPost put the topic to two young single men, active on the dating frontier. In our latest "Change My Mind" debate, you the reader get to decide on the loser. Just be kind. Reject him nicely.
When people around me learn of my profession in pornography, they immediately start asking morbid questions. I'm used to this: Society has always tried to control our sexuality. But I'm not so much concerned with society. I'm more concerned with what I'll say when my daughters ask: "Mommy, what is your job?"