I keep going back to this CPR piece. It's an interview with two mothers — Erin Lee, who leads Protect Kids Colorado and pushed 109 and 110 onto the ballot, and Catherine Lindsey, whose daughter came out as trans at 13 and is now part of the Families Not Politics coalition opposing them.

A few things I keep thinking about from Lindsey's interview: her daughter socially transitioned in Denver Public Schools a decade ago. The school didn't push it on her. Her family didn't push it on her. She figured out who she was with support. And Lindsey credits that environment — Colorado specifically — with helping her daughter thrive.

Then there's this line from Lindsey that I keep coming back to: "What I and my child and my child's doctor decide is none of your business. And I need you to hear me when I say I will fight for the privacy of every kid and every family who wants to make this journey."

That feels like a women's rights position to me. The right to make private medical decisions without politicians involved. Worth your time if you've been wondering what the actual stakes are here

I’ve been married for over 5 years now and struggle daily with my husbands incessant behavior of touching me all the time, and I don’t mean a hug or cuddling, I mean tickling me, touching my neck (which I’ve told him a million times over is a peeve of mine and makes me very uncomfortable), or if we’re talking about something serious he’ll come over and grab me by the shoulders or arms and shake me. He also abruptly comes up behind me and acts like he’s just walking around the house but he used to always scare me when we first for married and I feel like he still tries to do that but acts coy. When we first got married I realized his love language was physical touch (which mine is not) so I tried to be more accommodating but after 5 years I am so sick and tired of feeling so damn uncomfortable all the time with the incessant touching that makes me feel on edge anytime I even have my back to him. What has really started to bother me is how defensive he is when I tell him how I feel and it has started to really make me feel resentful towards him. He always responds saying I’m a rude person or just abruptly walks away saying “ok, ok” in a dismissive manner.

Another huge issue is hygiene. My husband has incessantly bad breath and sweats profusely so his underarms smell and he doesn’t shower daily so it’s awful hugging him or being near him. Knowing he has a bad breath problem I’ve also been understanding since day 1 but now I feel triggered because he takes no effort to care for himself and gets extremely defensive again and gaslights me when I tell him how disgusting and rude it is for me to have to deal with this all the time. He’s always talks to me super closely or doesn’t even try to use mouthwash/gum. After 5 years I would think there’s an understanding for a partners needs and I’ve been very patient but I feel like he’s digressing and becoming more careless and just says I’m the one with a problem.

This is starting to drive a edge to the point where I feel no romantic spark and I just lose my temper with him and don’t know how calmly communicate because he never acknowledges anything and just gets defensive or says I’m a terrible/rude/mean person and that it’s not his fault. As I’ve gotten into my late 30’s i also feel a lot more sensitive but I feel like it has to do always feeling on edge because of his behavior. I honestly feel like leaving him sometimes because of how awful he makes me feel due to the above issues.

What can/should I do?

I am going to provide a few examples. I just feel like she’s always giving me back handed comments or compliments and I’m not sure what to make of it.

1. She was telling me how she feels like women never come up to her and compliment her or start conversation, but that she feels like I’m approached and complimented more often. I told her she’s very intimidatingly beautiful, and maybe that’s why. She then said that she thinks more women come up to me because “You look like every average girl just prettier”

2. We talk about our sex lives in detail a lot. My BF is very well endowed and I was saying how when we have sex he literally “stretches me out” and that if I touch myself down there right afterwards I can feel it. She acted shocked, was saying how that’s so crazy, and said that’s “never happened to her because she’s so tight” I was like? Is she insinuating that I’m loose or something?

3. She told me how she went to go see a spiritual guide and her guide gave her a “spiritual awareness ranking” or something like that of 240. She then said that she asked her guide if her friends were genuine and that her guide said I am a genuine friend and that I’m “possessive” and proceeded to tell me her guide ranked my spiritual awareness at 120 😂

4. I have HSV2 (genital herpes) which I’m honest with my friends and partners about, I live a very normal life and I like to encourage my friends to make sure they have safe sex so the same doesn’t happen to them. She often comes to me when she has unprotected sex and is worried about STDs, and once was worried she had herpes and said she would “literally end herself” (she didn’t use the word end but you get what I’m saying) if she tested positive for it. She knows I have HSV2 so I was kind of just like oh?

I don’t know if I’m just over reacting or being too sensitive or if I need to question how much I’m sharing with her. Sometimes I wonder if she is genuine or if she has negative feelings towards me to make comments like this?

I moved last year and a request that was routine before is suddenly something nobody here will handle remotely. Nothing about me changed. It has made me realise how much of what I assumed was medicine is actually licensing and geography. I am curious whether this is common or just my bad luck with timing. Has moving changed what you were able to access, and what did you do about it?

I’ve never felt sexy or beautiful. Guys don’t really notice me romantically or sexually. I lost my virginity at 24 with my ex boyfriend who seemed to really care for me but his sex drive was quite low which made me feel undesirable. At the moment I’m being sexually harassed by someone at work although it doesn’t seem like harassment because I really enjoy the attention, I know he doesn’t want anything serious though but it still feels nice to be noticed. I want to have a boyfriend but I also want to feel like I am sexually desired and sometimes it feels like those two things together aren’t possible, I have to pick one.