Wait a minute here: did I say "pro's and con's"? From what I could tell, there aren't any pro's. Not one. There is just no justification for doing that kind of a thing. And why anyone in their right mind would worship a god who commanded it just baffles me.

Also backtracking to the book about the geisha. I'm still scratching my head over this, because- well, because. The author is a man, and probably a white man at that (Arthur Golden- sounds white, definitely not Asian). Now here is the thing that makes me wonder if it is at least based on transcriptions of a real woman's experiences: I've read men's accounts of what it's like for a woman to have sex. They're funny. They're insane. They're ludicrous. I invariably end up throwing the book down in disgust and muttering to myself as to why the man even tried writing this. After all, I would *never* *ever* presume to know what it's like for a man, but it seems that all too many male authors simply write down what must be a female rendition of the male experience. But in this book, the geisha's account was right on. She described the kind of things that I honestly don't think most men could even begin to fathom, not because they're obtuse or stupid, but only because they've never been a woman. The motives, the feelings, the misgivings, the sort of things that men puzzle over and grumble about because they don't understand...some woman somewhere composed at least this section. I'm telling you, there is just no way a man could have written it.

For an example of a very poorly written, laughable account of a woman's side of things, read Gap Creek. I kept on wondering why he didn't find a woman and ask her what it's like, for godssake.

As long as I'm incriminating myself talking about these things, a friend called yesterday. She was chortling about a new purchase she'd made; she likes weird christmas lights, she has a set of chili pepper lights that are up year round in her home. She found a set with, *ahem*, penises. (!) The thought suddenly struck me- THIS is the sort of thing that would be covered in the clause of embarrassing the other tenants, hanging a string or two of these in the window! :wicked grin: I can just see the look on the landlord's face... Oh, it would be so perfect... Yes, I'm bad, I know it. So bite me.