Links - 15th November 2013

SF Asian Women Dating Arbitrage: Reality or Myth? Assessing the economics of dating for Asian men in the greater San Francisco Bay Area
When demand is inelastic, this is what you get. Solution: elastic demand

In Hookups, Inequality Still Reigns - NYTimes.com - "Women are less likely to have orgasms during uncommitted sexual encounters than in serious relationships.
Perhaps this mediates the effect where if women are assured that the sex will be great they are more likely to agree to casual sex

Gender Differences Accepting Casual Sex Proposals (NoH) | Feminist Critics - "anticipated pleasure from casual sex predicted people saying “yes,” and explained away some of the gap between men and women in accepting the offer. I think the results are fascinating, but I don’t think they contradict the evolutionary SST as much as she says... Gay men (2.55) responded much better to male proposers than heterosexual women (1.37). Heterosexual men (3.74) responded much better to female proposers than lesbian women did (2.27)... the gender of the receiver of the proposal is still quite an important factor, and that the difference she found in some of her studies is quite consistent with evolutionary psychology... Before you go tell all your friends that women turn down sexual proposals because they expect men hitting on them to be bad in bed, keep a few things in mind. Gender still had a bigger weight in predicting acceptance of sexual proposals: perceived sexual capabilities of the proposal was only part of why offers were accepted or refused. Even taking into account the fact that women perceived male proposers to be worse in bed (than men perceived female proposers), women still rejected the offers more... Yes, women would accept sexual proposals just as much as men, if only they got hit on by Johnny Depp! Wait, what? Poor Johnny Depp can only be in one place at once... There is no contradiction between Conley’s findings about pleasure, and the SST’s hypothesis that women are more selective in short term mating. In fact, Conley’s discovery that women on average perceive men to be worse lovers than men perceive women (even among friends) is consistent with women being more selective... some evolutionary theorists see the elusiveness of female orgasm as part and parcel of female selectiveness... the analysis could lead people to think that women would engage in casual sex just as much as men… if only men weren’t so lousy! But at least some of the reason that men are perceived to be lacking is because women and men have different expectations... Conley merely asked people whether they received at least one proposal. If a woman received 3 proposals and accepted 1, while a man had received 1 proposal and accepted 1, Conley’s study would measure them the same, even though the woman is obviously more selective. The 40% vs. 73% gap does not mean that women accept 40% of casual sex offers, while men accept 73%. It means that 40% of women and 73% of men who have received at least one casual sex offer also accepted it"
Addendum: This refers to Conley (2011), Perceived proposer personality characteristics and gender differences in acceptance of casual sex offers (used to claim that women are as interested in casual sex as men - under certain conditions), and is not hosted on whyevolutionistrue / why evolution is true

In Hookups, Inequality Still Reigns - NYTimes.com - "Women are less likely to have orgasms during uncommitted sexual encounters than in serious relationships. At the same time, researchers say that young women are becoming equal partners in the hookup culture, often just as willing as young men to venture into sexual relationships without emotional ties... women were twice as likely to reach orgasm from intercourse or oral sex in serious relationships as in hookups... a study of 24,000 students at 21 colleges over five years found that about 40 percent of women had an orgasm during their last hookup involving intercourse, while 80 percent of men did... By contrast, roughly three quarters of women in the survey said they had an orgasm the last time they had sex in a committed relationship. “We attribute that to practice with a partner, which yields better success at orgasm, and we also think the guys care more in a relationship,” Dr. England said... Debra Herbenick, a research scientist at Indiana University, said that for women, casual sex is exciting precisely because it is spontaneous. She compared a hookup with having dinner at a friend’s house. “You wouldn’t be like, ‘This is what I want and this is how I want you to make it, and I want you to use only this amount of basil,’” she said. Some women, confronted with these roadblocks, are redefining casual sex and the physical pleasure that they expect from it. Sex without strings has carnal and emotional benefits that don’t depend on reaching orgasm, they say... Casey Romaine, a 22-year-old Bard College graduate living in Nashville, Tenn., said that more than sex, hookups are often much more about two people giving each other the sense of intimacy, however brief, they need to get through the week... mediocre sex was a small price to pay “for the freedom to be able to enjoy it all.” The physical aspect of a tryst with a relative stranger was gratifying, she said, even if her chances of reaching orgasm were limited. When her partner’s performance was lackluster, she still took pride in her own sexual prowess."

Guacamole is just so hard to explain - The People's Funny Pictures Blog - Quora

Choosing Seafood for Sushi or Sashimi -- Fish That Can be Eaten Raw - "I would recommend to you that all seafood you decide to eat raw be previously frozen. It is just safer that way. Yes, fresh is better in most cases, but even professional sushi chefs freeze their salmon first -- salmon is unusually susceptible to parasites. The critters you need to worry about are cod worms, seal worms and tape worms. Cod worms are of course found in cod, haddock, pollock and hake. They are easily visible to the naked eye and are easily removed -- if you catch them. Good New England fish houses "candle" their fish by putting the fillets on a light box to detect the worms. Now you know why cod is never seen at a sushi bar."

Young boy in tiger suit comes face to face with... - The People's Funny Pictures Blog - Quora

David Eckert Appears To Clench His Buttocks; Cops Order Enemas, Colonoscopy, X-Ray For Non-Existent Drugs

New York mayor-elect Bill de Blasio's family gives him lift - CNN.com - ""His family, just because of the racial mix, represents a big and increasingly large part of the city and speaks to certain sensibilities," said Harold Ickes, a veteran Democratic Party operative who advised the campaign and has known de Blasio for two decades. "The family is very important to Bill... From the outside, this family represents a part of the city not represented in city government.""
Identity politics: judging people by the color of their skin, not by the content of their character

Women Have Not Adapted To Casual Sex, Research Shows - "Overall women’s feelings were more negative than men’s. Eighty per cent of men had overall positive feelings about the experience compared to 54 per cent of women. Men were more likely than women to secretly want their friends to hear about it and to feel successful because the partner was desirable to others. Men also reported greater sexual satisfaction and contentment following the event, as well as a greater sense of well-being and confidence about themselves. The predominant negative feeling reported by women was regret at having been “used”... although women do not rate casual sex positively, the reason they still take part in it may be due to the menstrual cycle changes influencing their sexual motivation. Indeed, during the ovulatory phase (between days 10 to 18 of their cycle), women report increased sexual desire and arousal, with a preference for short-term partners."
This doesn't talk about the characteristics of the partners they want when they're fertile

Relationship break-ups hit men harder than women, researchers claim - "oung men often have few people in whom they confide - apart from their romantic partner. Whereas women are more likely to have close relationships with family and friends"

Cyclists call for 'strict liability' law to hold drivers to account - "opponents of the idea said cyclists and motorists should be equally responsible for road safety. Alan Douglas, a motoring journalist and member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists, told BBC Scotland's Call Kaye programme: "I think this is an absolutely astonishing suggestion. Everyone using the roads is subject to the same law. "We all have equal responsibility, and surely the person who should be held responsible for an accident is the person who causes it. "This assumption that it is always the motorist at fault is absolutely breath-taking. It smacks of the sort of arrogance that we hear from some cyclists." A strict liability law would see the introduction of a hierarchy based on the vulnerability of road users. It would also mean that cyclists would be held automatically responsible for accidents involving pedestrians."

Diva - The Lois Lane - "In their late 20s and never been kissed... Assistant engineer Serene Ho, 30, had a less-than-perfect childhood and has struggled with her father's financial problems. As a result, she seeks a "Superman", a man who is stronger, smarter and more financially stable than she is - but men of that ilk are elusive."
Superman already has his superwoman

CISCO cop flashed warrant card at prostitute to find out her age - "An off-duty volunteer police sergeant who wanted to find out the age of a prostitute whose services he hoped to engage flashed his police warrant card at the woman to compel her to do so... the 42-year-old pleaded guilty to misconduct and was jailed for a day and fined $1,000... The court heard that Chua wanted to be “absolutely certain” that Ms Cai was above 18 years old before having sex with her."
This is actually much less than the penalty for inadvertent sex if she had been underaged

Australia considers fingerprinting women in burkas - "Last year Miss Matthews was sentenced to six months' jail for falsely claiming that a highway patrol officer had tried to remove her burka when he stopped her for a random breath test. But during her appeal it emerged that, because the complainant was wearing a burka when she appeared at a Sydney police station to report the incident, officers could only see her eyes, and ultimately could not be sure that Miss Matthews was the woman who made the false claim. Miss Matthews's barrister, Phillip Boulten SC, told the court: "All we know is that a woman in a black burka came with a man in a brown suit with an envelope, and that's it"... a Muslim woman said she would feel uncomfortable giving evidence in a A$1 million (£576,000) fraud trial unless she were able to wear the full veil. The woman had lived in Australia for seven years and had worn the burka since the age of 17, but the court denied her request and ordered her to testify without the veil... The full veil is banned in France and Belgium, but enforcing the bans has become difficult. Last week the first women to be summoned before a European court for illegally wearing the garments were refused entry, because they would not remove their face coverings"

A Same-Sex Domestic Violence Epidemic Is Silent - "Because domestic violence is still thought of as a heterosexual problem, there can be major hurdles when trying to find funding and conduct research, as well as when providing services to people who don't fit in the stereotype of a domestic violence survivor. "The idea that a woman can be the one who's abusive throws a wrench in the traditional view," Valentine said. "The idea that only men can be batterers makes it a lot harder for men to get access to shelter"... there are also internal factors that keep a cover of darkness over the issue of domestic violence in the gay community. "There can be a fear of making the community look bad"... "We need to change the way we look at domestic violence," Rogers said. "I don't see it in any way as a gender issue. I see it as a power and a control issue."
Feminism hurts LGBTQs!

Judge dismisses rapist's appeal against conviction - "The High Court on Wednesday dismissed the appeal of a rapist who argued that he could not have had sex with his 13-year-old victim because he suffers from erectile dysfunction. Justice Lee Seiu Kin said that even if the 27-year-old did have the condition at the time of the 2006 offence, it would still have been possible for him to have sex... even if the man had erectile dysfunction in 2006, he was still able to have sex with the help of his hands."
Her word: more important than medical evidence

▶ Woman's fake belly falls out on Chinese subway - YouTube - "Ms Chang, who has to commute on a crowded train every morning, thought it would be a great idea to buy a fake belly online as a way of securing a seat on the train. Unfortunately, her fake belly fell to the ground on the very first day she wore it"

GrubHub Reports Gender Difference in Ordering Dessert - "Data from GrubHub, an online and mobile food ordering service, confirms that women are 25 percent more likely to order dessert than men. In a release, the Company noted that women are approximately 50 percent more likely to order frozen yogurt "

Why setting a poverty line may not be helpful: Minister Chan Chun Sing - "he said the Government's approach is to use broad definitions for the groups it seeks to help, set clear criteria to identify and assess those in need, and come up with tailored schemes. "If we use a single poverty line to assess the family, we also risk a 'cliff effect', where those below the poverty line receive all forms of assistance, while other genuinely needy citizens outside the poverty line are excluded," he said."
For such a technocratic government which sets criteria everywhere else...

Most men wish women would help pay date tab: study - "Two out of three men think women should help pay for a date, although most feel guilty about accepting their money... Of the 64 percent wanting to split the bill, 44 percent said they'd even ditch a love interest who never doled out any dollars... Fifty-seven percent of women claimed they had offered to pay for a date -- although 39 percent confessed they hoped the man would reject their offer to chip in. In any event, over time, the vast majority of participants, both male and female, said they shared dating expenses in the first six months of seeing someone exclusively."

The moments that take our breath away

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that takes our breath away"

Should men have a say in women's issues [or an opinion]?

Women: Should men have a say in women's issues [or an opinion]? - Quora

"Yes.

An opinion's validity does not change regardless of who vocalises it.

The claim that men should not have a say or opinion about women's issues arises from a conception of group rights, of taking women as a group (and implicitly one with only one opinion). Indeed, this is deeply insulting and dehumanising to women.

It is also an intensely cynical perspective which denies our shared humanity - our capacity to care about and identify with other people.

Women's issues are often also men's issues - while a fetus might reside in its mother's body, there is no such thing as a Virgin Birth (i.e. a man is also involved), and if/when a baby is delivered the father is legally responsible for the child's upkeep. Bodily sovereignty does not trump the rights of other people - as an analogy, if I am infected with Ebola (or some other contagious and deadly disease), my bodily sovereignty and freedom of movement are justifiably forfeited if I refuse treatment and/or quarantine.

Those who claim that men should not have a say about women's issues are just trying to shut down debate and opposing voices - witness how they tellingly excoriate women who disagree with them (who presumably have views equally as valid as theirs, given that they are of the 'right' sex).

Notice too that men are never lambasted for talking about women's issues when they say the 'right' things (e.g. being pro-abortion rights).

This whole issue is something of a red herring in any case given that, for example, there is no gender gap in views on abortion - there is no reason to expect a man to have a significantly different opinion from a woman on the topic (Pew Study Finds 'No Gender Gap' on Abortion Debate Positions)."


"Susan B. Anthony never married.

Once when the abolitionist, Samuel May, told her: "You are not married. You have no business to be discussing marriage." She retorted: "You, Mr. May, are not a slave. Should you quit lecturing on slavery?""

--- The Great Ones, Volume 2 / V. K. Subramanian