"If women were meant to work outside the home, men would be able to breastfeed." This is more or less one of reasons that many uber-conservatives give for why women should be at home with the kids while men support their families. (Usually there is also something about God made it that way.) Except that men can lactate, and sometimes breastfeed.

John Tierney has written up a new research study in the New York Times with the scintillating title As External Barriers Disappear, Internal Gender Gaps Widen. I read it over a couple of times. My head started to hurt, just a little. By the third paragraph he's bandied around the tired old Mars/Venus dichotomy twice, including to launch this shocking nugget:

Yesterday morning over breakfast, I was riveted by a New York Times article on elective female-to-male transgenderism in rural Albania. The story detailed the practice of "sworn virgins" (although I think this name is misleading and sensationalizing), women who, after the death of the family's patriarch, volunteer to remain virgins for the rest of their lives and then assume the male role of the family.

In the next two weeks, it will be my honor to talk to actress, author, and activist Calpernia Addams for an upcoming podcast! Please submit your questions, comments, and thoughts to guide the interview in the comments section. Born genitally male, Ms. Addams served for four years as a field medical combat specialist (HM 8404) in the Navy and with the Marines during the first Gulf War. Upon her return as a decorated war veteran, set out to become one of the top showgirls in Tennessee. During one of her popular performances at a nightclub in Nashville, Calpernia met Pfc. Barry Winchell. Winchell was one of those exceptional human beings who truly loved a person for who she is, not what her physical manifestation dictates. According to an an article in The New York Times:

Relationships, they are fickle. Responsibilities, however, are not. I don’t have a lot of personal experience with unwed parenthood. My group of friends and acquaintances are sort of boring that way. Those whom I’ve known who accidentally got pregnant always ended up marrying their baby daddies or mommies, and most of the time, they were planning to tie the knot anyway or were even engaged when the condom broke.

I have a confession to make. It may result in my being shunned by pretty much my entire generation. But here it goes - I really wasn't a fan of The Wonder Years. It was ok, it just really didn't seem to speak to me the same way it spoke to other kids. But I always kind of liked Danica McKellar, the girl who played Winnie Cooper (and totally loved her on the West Wing too). What I liked about her was that she seemed smart - she didn't seem like the stereotypical airhead pretty girl.