I'm not a participant and I didn't review the deleted posts however I have read through this thread a few times and have been, generally, impressed with the quality of the conversation.
The thread addresses a valid topic that needs reasonable discussion (i.e. Has RC become a forum that discourages female participation) and I, for one, want to see this continue.
If deleting a handful of off topic or juvenile posts keep this thread alive then I think Pete is doing the right thing and probably showing more forbearance than I would have.
There's nothing wrong with giggling about sex jokes, in fact that's why we have Foo. If you want to be downright crude there's P&R. Let's try to keep this thread on topic.