Given all the talk about offensive phrases and how we can expand tolerance, I thought it would be cool to link back to Lacey's thoughts on "What's in a Word?"

Is it ok to joke about matters that might be serious to someone else? How do you stay cool and confident while speaking your mind? Do you think that people just make fun of what is unfamiliar or uncomfortable? How can you tell if a comment is said in ignorance or prejudice, and what do you do about it?

I really appreciate the honesty and thoughtfulness of all you ladies' comments! It's great to see the conversation taking off, and your thoughts have raised lots of questions in my own mind. For instance, something that might be related: I've often been in situations where girls and women or feminism are the butt of jokes and I'm not sure how to respond without seeming uptight. Have you ever been in this situation? What do you do?