Quick Hit: Sarah Seltzer on Sexism in the NYT Book Review
If you haven't had a chance to check out Sarah Seltzer's awesome piece in Bitch on sexism in The New York Times Book Review, pick up a copy today (or read it online). A sharp and savvy excerpt:
Recently, Times editors—in both the daily paper and the Sunday section—have trotted out a particularly insidious formula for bashing feminist authors. First, hire a female reviewer to unleash misogynist tropes in her piece and then, lest she appear prejudiced against her own gender, throw in an illogical, contradictory statement about the importance of a less threatening version of feminism that isn’t so “polarizing,� “provocative,� or “strident.� 

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I just read this the other day!
Really fascinating stuff. My (least) favorite thing is the lack of feminism experts reviewing books on feminism. You wouldn't have someone lacking a history background reviewing a book on the Austro-Prussian War, or something along those lines, but it is perfectly acceptable to have people who are not well-versed in feminism reviewing books on the subject. It seems to me to be that high school mentality of wanting to "be one of the boys" - boys being an easy replacement for what is "good" and "normal" versus girl which means "weak" and "emotional."
Also, I cannot believe that the phrase Vagina dentata intellectualis actually got published.
Good article. It's remarkable the sexist rhetoric these pseudo-feminists can get away with spouting. I agree with speaksoapcube, seems like some kind of tactic to get into the boy's club.
That piece is spot on; it voiced so many frustrations I've grown to have by reading the Times all the time (well, alternated with the Journal, but I skip its editorial page). Some of those excerpts are just appalling, especially Kakutani's. What's most frustrating is that the writers often seem to cloak their sexism in claims of alternate feminisms and in general mean-spiritedness ("I'm a misanthrope, not a misogynist!").
Thanks for the link!