tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post8940834670181941559..comments2023-09-20T08:58:35.424-04:00Comments on Fringe Magazine: The Sexism and Racism of Book ListsFringehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18357943047025361797noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post-70372030183984712792007-04-10T13:21:00.000-04:002007-04-10T13:21:00.000-04:00Well...here's a possible theory:Historically, men'...Well...here's a possible theory:<BR/><BR/>Historically, men's writing has been considered "classic" and cannonical. If you think of great writers of recorded history, you're likely to name Shakespeare, John Donne, Melville, etc. One could probably argue that this fact has contributed to women critics and women readers looking on men's work favorably.<BR/><BR/>Also, I think your comment raises the question, "why does anyone read anything?" We read to understand ourselves, to find out about unfamiliar situations, for amusement. As long as men's writing is insightful, unique, and amusing, women will read it. And if you agree with my theory that male identity is the norm and female identity is othered, then it would make sense that identity politics are not preventing women from enjoying men's literature.Lizziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01191757447911582264noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post-44949994312807833222007-04-10T12:34:00.000-04:002007-04-10T12:34:00.000-04:00Hi, thanks for linking to my post at she's such a ...Hi, thanks for linking to my post at she's such a geek. I actually blogged about this issue before, at http://othermag.org/blog/?p=184. My question is not, why don't men read books by women?, but rather, why do women read books written by men?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post-48099303297368919312007-04-04T09:24:00.000-04:002007-04-04T09:24:00.000-04:00Yes, I do think we're all "othered" in some way, b...Yes, I do think we're all "othered" in some way, but I'd argue that there are greater and lesser degrees and that most white dudes are at the lesser end of that spectrum. And I'm not talking specific narrow situation here -- like a straight white guy at a Xena convention -- I'm trying to talk about the everyday reality and situations that folks find themselves in.Lizziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01191757447911582264noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882328134301302910.post-62910736606699761982007-04-03T15:59:00.000-04:002007-04-03T15:59:00.000-04:00don't you think we're all 'othered' in some way? ...don't you think we're all 'othered' in some way? I think we've all been marginalized at one time or another, so there's no reason why 'other-ness' as such should be so unappealing to white men such as myself.<BR/><BR/>Of course there are many reasons why men achieve 'greatness' in the literary world and women do not. I think it has a lot to do with the way culture nurtures children, the kind of goals little kids have. Of course, this is unsubstantiated by any 'scientific fact', but i try not to let such things upset my carefully imagined opinions. ;)flieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04438262506920089149noreply@blogger.com