Huffington Post publishes some crap, sure, but recently published a list of Books Women Think Men Should Read and I happen to have read a lot of them and it’s a pretty good list. It includes Delusions of Gender, which I regularly bring up if I can’t be assed, and I can never be assed. Because after all, there’s this thing called the Internet. I’m fed up justifying my position on this issue.
Conversation with middle-aged man at tennis just two days ago:
Him: “Teenage boys and girls do everything together these days,” he says. (I can’t remember the prior context.)
Me: “Not like the 90s, then.” (Inside, feeling rather glad that sex segregation is going the way of the dodo.)
Him: (I think misreading my tone) “Boys and girls aren’t allowed to be different these days, of course.”
Me: (After a suspicious pause) “Oh, I don’t know. I see neurosexism everywhere.”
Him: (After a pause and a side-eye) “Are you one of these people who think we shouldn’t recognise differences between males and females?”
Me: “No, I think we should recognise the differences, with the aim of moving past them.” (Secretly thinking I’d rather be discussing politics or religion.)
Him: “Hmm. So you’re telling me you think men and women are exactly the same?”
Me: (Fed up, wanting to play tennis) “There’s a book called Delusions of Gender by Cordelia Fine. I agree with pretty much everything in that book.”
Him: “I don’t think I’d like that book.”
Me: “But you haven’t read it.”
Him: “I haven’t got time to read that.”
It amazes me how many people form strong opinions without actually doing the heavy lifting of reading, processing and reflecting.
