Hypothesis -- I think you've misunderstood what I was getting at.
I have no issue with men/women taking personal choices (in fact this is exactly what I'm getting at.....) I do take issue with people denigrating these choices. And that is what I was getting at with the so-called 'beta male' jibes. In particular the suggestion that women don't want men who are prepared to take on caring roles, and that this is in some way an unattractive quality. Whether this was meant to be funny, or was a 'vague' statement as has been suggested is somewhat irrelevant, because (as has been pointed out below) the use of humour to reinforce stereotypes is really damaging.
Similarly to Shani, I support a Swedish type system when paternity leave is on a par with maternity leave, and individuals are left to make choices.

oh, some new posts appeared between when I read and when I posted. sorry for being repetitive - Smilodon beat me to most of my points!

;-) *waves at Smilodon*

Great minds think alike8-)

Agree about humour. Humour is a fascinating subject in itself. The way that it is often at the expense of an out-group for the mirth of an in-group. Most humour seems to have a dark side - it's part of the structure and form of humour. I have myself often got into trouble for this reason. (I can be quite funny irl - you'll just have to take my word for it....).

I can see a PhD thesis in that....
Black humour and gender roles on internet message boards in the 21st Century.
It's got sufficient lashings of obscurity and a New Technologies slant to get those novelty points.
Any takers, any takers?

do i get first dibs seeing as it was my thread that started this debate?! ;-)

No... what we do is:
1. Wait for the proposals.
2. Put the best ones in a hat.
3. Add the worst ones to the same hat.
4. Pick out a name from hat.

Can I do the grant proposal for the hat? :p

I think you can....
As soon as I've prepared the 176 page form that I require you to fill out.
Of course, there is only a 1 in 346 chance that you will actually get the grant, and even then it's unlikely to cover more than your expenses for traveling to the hat shop.

[whimper]

Hi Guys,

Since this thread is all about money issues, I have some queries here. I am finishing my 2 year Msc in UK in June and all through it has been fully funded and I've been getting a monthly stipend. However, I have been awarded a PhD by one of the universities in UK starting September 2009 and the PhD is funded upto Home/EU fees level meaning I have to find ways of covering the difference which is around 7,000 pounds per year. Is there anyone in this forum who has been in the same situation? Secondly, are there any ideas of what I would do? I have totally ruled out myself paying the difference since I do not have much savings with me and my family isn't in a position to offset the difference.

Is there a way I can negotiate a scholarship/bursary with the University to waive a sizeable part of the fees difference? I will surely appreciate if someone gives me some insights
:-)8-)

All you need to do is find a good mortgage broker. DO NOT GO DIRECTLY TO THE LENDERS. Trust me, if you find a good broker, he or she will be able to sort out what you need, as long as you have the necessary deposit (usually around 25% of the property value minimum).

Has anyone managed to get a mortgage recently without a partner's income as back-up? I was hoping to look for a place of my own and have a reasonable amount saved up as I inherited some money a few years ago - probably enough for a deposit. I was hoping I could look for a guarantor mortgage with my parents as the guarantors, but I don't know if anyone would consider me with my only income being PhD funding!

hi squiggles,

we looked into getting a guarantor to back up my side of the mortgage - our mortgage broker advised us that this would be very difficult in the current economic climate, as my parents are in their late fifties and so are too close to retirement age to be reliable guarantors. i think from my experiences you would be unlikely to get a mortgage this way at the moment, but i would definitely call a broker and they can tell you what your options are.

As I said earlier in this thread. Me and my bf got a mortgage at 19 - when we were both full time MSc students cos his mum is our guarantor. As long as the guarantor can technically afford to pay their mortgage and yours (if you default) then it should be fine, although we have never missed a payment so never needed it yet! Obviously it does mean that if you don't pay the mortgage then you are putting your parents in trouble potentially.

we were told (although of course this may not be entirely true and may differ from case to case) that lenders were avoiding guarantor mortgages at the moment, as they are classed as too high risk. therefore if you combine the fact that you are a student with using a guarantor, that may make you too high risk to be considered at all right now. again, it is definitely worth asking a broker to look around for you, and it will depend greatly on how much money you want to borrow. so i'm not saying it is impossible, just be prepared to get a lot of no's before you get a yes!