It wouldn't surprise me to learn that 4 out of 5 women had experienced 'some kind of molestation.' And lesbians are women. So the quote - in isolation - is quite plausible. Of course, the molestation-causes-lesbianism conclusion doesn't follow.

If this is true, there would be a hell of a lot more lesbians out there. Then they could complain that marriage for homosexuals actually took away from heterosexual marriage, because there would hardly be any women left for the straight men.

Speaking from personal experience molestation does often lead to a questioning of sexuality, but to say it "causes lesbianism" is crazy...

Okay, rape, child molestation, and simply knowing someone who was either raped or molested--that's every woman on the planet! I know several women who were raped or molested because sexual violence is a huge problem! 1/4 girls are molested and 1/3 women are raped over their lifetimes...hello, whether your a lesbian, straight, or a celebate nun, you might just fit that description. So, this lady's comment is moot unless she wants to work toward a safer planet for women and girls. "Cause" talk is silly and pointless. Lesbians simply are--and thank you Sappho.

stephen: "It wouldn't surprise me to learn that 4 out of 5 women had experienced 'some kind of molestation.'"

Heather: "1/4 girls are molested and 1/3 women are raped over their lifetimes."

Talk about pulling stats out of your ass...

Actually, that statistic comes from the Safe Sanctuaries Program--a program for churches designed to protect children from sexual abuse in church communities. A friend, who works in child sexual abuse preventions in the schools gave me that stat at a workshop. Sorry I didn't cite the statistic when I originally posted it. Citation is always recommended when discussing such things in a public forum.

A woman on the "More. Duke. Crap." thread said this exact thing. I took a look for it, but with 400+ comments, I couldn't find it. She said she was raped by a man, developed trust issues with men, and only had sexual relationships with women afterwards. Just sayin'.

stephen: "It wouldn't surprise me to learn that 4 out of 5 women had experienced 'some kind of molestation.'

C'mon now: Talk about pulling stats out of your ass...

I don't know how many women have been molested. But it's not wholly implausible that 4 out of 5 have been. The evidence for plausibility is that you can easily witness women being harassed or molested in some way. You just have to go to a club or a party quite often. So it's not completely made up. If I heard that only 1 in a thousand women had ever experienced molestation I would be surprised - wouldn't you?

Automatic cameras can sometimes be more trouble than they are worth for the features. Auto focus will focus on the part that is nearest—that might be the end of the nose and if it's a long nose, the eyes might be out of the focal plane. Auto settings will balance for light. That means that the camera will make a light figure against a dark background even lighter in the attempt to balance light and dark areas. With a 35 mm camera, you want to manually set the camera to let in light over a long period of time.

Always bracket your shots. Take one, change the lens opening (F-stop) settings and take another. It would be better to lose two out of three than all the shots on your roll. Professional photographers can shoot a whole roll with varying settings in order to get just one good shot. You will pay your professional a good deal more than the cost of a roll of film.

And then there is pose. Always plan your photo so that the doll projects its persona. If it looks like you didn't care how it was presented, the message is you might be sloppy in other parts. If parts are cut off, then the viewer has to guess if the feet are OK, or if the hands have fingers. If he can't see the face, he is not going to be able to understand its character. If he can't see the whole form, he can't understand what it is doing. If you have made an external stand or use a purchased metal stand, take care it does not show. Move the piece until you can no longer see the upright. Be sure the feet are squarely placed so the doll looks like it is standing, not dangling from the waist grip.

Put waist rings under clothing—hiding or minimizing stand uprights should be an initial consideration in your design. Use clear plastic boxes to prop soft, floppy dolls or pin them to a stiff, non-shiny cardboard background. Take some time to think as much about the art of the doll's photo as the art of the doll. It counts.