ladies in their late 30s (or older) come together to talk about how the whole process or experience of dating has changed for us over the years

Ah cool :) I miss things with this time zone gahrr.

Hang on, no, I did not unban Kenan. Some other mod decided to sneak in here while I was asleep and let him back in.

I have explained why I banned him - and someone, without saying anything, decided to overrule that decision. That seriously does not make me feel very comfortable about continuing this thread. (No one overruled Roxy's decisions about removing posts or banning males from the No Boys Allowed In The Room thread - this is just someone making arbitrary decisions because it was me involved.)

On those grounds, I am just going to lock this thread. If someone else wants to start another thread about dating, then you are welcome to. I want no part in this any more.

I am going to attempt to explain this decision, even though it will probably only contribute to the general "OMG, Kate is INSANE" consensus rather than detract from it.

It's fairly well known, the phenomenon whereby survivors of rape or abuse must try to create a "safe place" before they are able to discuss issues of an extremely personal or sexual nature. Establishing personal boundaries is really extra important. I do not think it's unreasonable for someone in that position to ask for a thread where their boundaries are respected, where they won't be unnecessarily exposed to triggers and where they will not have their experiences held up for insensitive mockery by someone playing for cheap laughs.

Kenan has repeatedly shown this kind of insensitivity, for example, when joking about pissing in my face when I was talking about extreme depression and anxiety. (Not an isolated incident, I might add.) He's shown cavalier disrespect for other people's boundaries, for example, coming back to the thread when he's been asked to stay off.

I understand, on ILX, the need to balance the rights of people like Kenan to have the ability to go in and make their marks on whatever thread they choose, with the needs of someone like me, who needs a mockery-free zone in order to discuss deeply personal issues.

My goal on this thread was not to exclude all men (though it was to focus on women's experiences, rather than men's) but to try to cut down on the anxiety-inducing and silencing effects that some people's insensitivity and mockery have on people that are not so outspoken.

I did not think it unreasonable to ask for one thread where my needs are respected, as opposed to the thousands of threads where Kenan's rights are upheld over my needs. But apparently, some moderator decided that it was.

Since that's the case, I close the thread, since I never would have placed it on this forum *unless* I had thought I would be allowed to enforce my needs.