Welcome to GirlChat!

Please read the FAQ and the Posting Rules, and the Security Post.

You will also want to read this post about How not to accidentally out yourself.

When I saw your name I wondered if we had another female poster, or someone who remembered that Ashley is one of those names like Beverly and Shirley that have switched from male to female over the last century. Nonetheless, it brings back fond memories of a girl named Ashley that I knew when I was in elementary school.

Please do stay. Those of us who have strong opinions sometimes tend to insist on them because we believe them to be true and we believe the truth matters - and to be frank, places like GirlChat would not exist if it were not for people with strong opinions insisting on what they know to be true. All the same, we seldom bite, and most of us can eventually agree to disagree. This willingness to butt heads is probably a difference between the sexes, and it does present a difficulty for us - because quite a few of our male posters think the intellectual climate at GC is stifling even while our female posters tend to consider it far too unrestrained. It is quite the balancing act to create a space where both men and women feel intellectually comfortable. I hope that this will not dissuade you from contributing. We do value multiple voices and perspectives, even when we argue against them. From a male perspective, this allows us to refine and improve our understanding.