Do Women Find It Difficult Communicating Intellectually?

a reply to: Nyiah

Susan Sontag, Simone de bouvier, Camille Paglia, are a little more intellectual and might be to your liking. But it seems books like Harry potter and 50 shades of grey might be the going rate.

a reply to: Spiramirabilis

I suppose I'll just keep waiting for when your assertion comes true. I do sincerely hope it happens in my lifetime.

originally posted by: LesMisanthrope
a reply to: Nyiah

Susan Sontag, Simone de bouvier, Camille Paglia, are a little more intellectual and might be to your liking. But it seems books like Harry potter and 50 shades of grey might be the going rate.

Yeah well on the masculine side you have James Patterson of the cheap, dime-a-dozen thriller.

a reply to: ketsuko

Absolutely. Mediocrity knows no bounds.

originally posted by: Tangerine
a reply to: Nyiah

I'm still waiting for that list of women authors you've read and found lacking in comparison to male authors. A list of some of the male authors you prefer would be nice, too.

Since you have no patience for people to participate in real life before coming back to threads, I'm tempted to just make you wait until tomorrow. Settle down already

Discount poets immediately. I'm not a fan of poetry at all.
"Adored" women writers I don't care for that I find to be mediocre, utter bores or just plan crappy writers, off the top of my head here:
Louisa May Alcott
Jane Austen
Amy Tan
Mary Higgins Clark
Lucy Maud Montgomery (sorry Anne of Green Gables fans, I loathed reading the series in school)
Charlotte Bronte
Agatha Christie (IMO, one of the most overrated authors)
Margaret Mitchell
Enid Bagnold
Anne Rice

The list can go on, but this is sufficient enough for me for examples.

Women writers I feel do a good job on illustrating the story all-around:
Mary Shelley
Natalie Babbitt (yes, I still own a copy of Tuck Everlasting)
Angela Carter
Judith Tarr (but only for Household Gods, I didn't care for her other books much)

Who do I prefer to read? Someone who can grasp the concept of sucking a reader in from all directions:
Terry Brooks
Isaac Assimov
Ray Bradbury
Michael Crichton
H.G Wells
Arthur C. Clarke
Jules Verne

And a whole smorgasbord of less-known authors on my bookshelf. Judging by what I read (sci-fi & a wee bit of fantasy) not many women can hack the necessary genre details as well. I'm so sorry if that offends your feminist feelings, but that's my POV.

originally posted by: LesMisanthrope
a reply to: Nyiah

Susan Sontag, Simone de bouvier, Camille Paglia, are a little more intellectual and might be to your liking. But it seems books like Harry potter and 50 shades of grey might be the going rate.

For the record, I think both authors are awful & are at best useful for learning the English language. If you dislike foreigners, that is.

Nice try at a dig, though.

a reply to: Nyiah

A dig at what? I wasn't saying these authors were of your taste. i was speaking of the state of female authorship. The author of Harry Potter is a billionaire for instance. But no Oscar Wilde when it comes to prose.

originally posted by: LesMisanthrope
a reply to: Nyiah

A dig at what? I wasn't saying these authors were of your taste. i was speaking of the state of female authorship. The author of Harry Potter is a billionaire for instance. But no Oscar Wilde when it comes to prose.

Oh my, I apologize in that case. I completely misinterpreted your post in replying to me there. I assumed you were suggesting them in lieu of reading other writers.

a reply to: Nyiah

I apologize as well. I agreed with your analysis, but as you stated, we should still admire the authors who at the same time prove us wrong.

a reply to: Nyiah

I see that you prefer science fiction. I admit that I'm not familiar with many female science fiction writers (I'm sure there are some) but that's because I don't especially enjoy that genre.

originally posted by: FireflyStars
I'm a mighty strange bird.
I'm a woman, but I'm not afraid to talk like a man or gossip when it suits me. Intellectual debates are increasingly hard to find. My local friends are too easily offended, even if it's just a fun back-and-forth.
I can see both sides of the fence, and enjoy playing devil's advocate.

Other internet forums are infested with misogynistic trolls, so here I am at ATS.

I'm a WWII historian and can be guaranteed to stick my nose in those threads. Guys often seem uncomfortable with my interest in military psychology.

My fiction writing is richly descriptive and I can create characters who are just as alive as we are.

I'm very open minded and laid back in my points of view. I like to learn, and I'm happy to cede if I'm wrong about something.

I do sometimes feel awkward for the simple fact that I can bounce between genders and be treated as an equal by both. I'm a chameleon.

ATS has some misogynistic trolls, too. I'm happy to hear that you can engage in repartee with both genders.

a reply to: LesMisanthrope

The author of Harry Potter is a billionaire for instance. But no Oscar Wilde when it comes to prose.

I had no idea that 10 year old kids were expected to enjoy the same literary flavourings of such authors as Oscar Wilde.

Perhaps Dr. Seuss should be changed to reflect more of a Shakespearean artestry as well ?

How about Beatrix Potter ? Shall we rewrite all of those works to be more in line with the likes of Karl Marx ? or Mark Twain ?


Your logical gymnastics in an attempt to prove your side of the argument is awe-inspiring indeed...

a reply to: CranialSponge

Maybe you've read the work of Robert Galbreath? Still no Wilde. Even your sarcasm lacks irony.

a reply to: LesMisanthrope

And yet again, you are still trying to compare completely different genres of literary works.

What the hell does modern day crime novels have anything to do with Oscar Wilde ??

Mental gymnastics is the only way to justify such ridiculous analogies.

a reply to: LesMisanthrope

personally, i love agatha christie.
and my sister.

originally posted by: LesMisanthrope
a reply to: Nyiah

Susan Sontag, Simone de bouvier, Camille Paglia, are a little more intellectual and might be to your liking. But it seems books like Harry potter and 50 shades of grey might be the going rate.

It's what sells. One can write and stay poor, or write and get rich. Most choose wealth.


To the thread:

I personally enjoy Elizabeth Kostova who wrote The Historian, it was a good read. I'm surprised she hasn't been mentioned. It was a good first book.

a reply to: CranialSponge

Oh you're serious. No I'm not comparing children's stories or crime novels to Oscar Wilde (A person; not a genre).

I'm comparing prose. Do you know what that is? Because I said she was no Oscar Wilde when it comes to prose, and not anything else. It's like saying she's no Julia Child when it comes to cooking, or no Tiger Woods when it comes to golf. You argument is held together by silly-string.

a reply to: lonesomerimbaud

Do you live in California?

This really sounds like a California problem...

a reply to: lonesomerimbaud


Decades ago, a friend suggested I read a book they had. "Women are from Venus, Men are from Mars".

It may not be overtly scientific in approach or origin, but I'll be damned if it didn't help me with securing a greater understanding of the way things actually *are*.

John Gray – Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus


OP, it strikes me that you are not ok with the idea that women and men are not the same when it comes to communication. Does a similar scenario bother you where you meet other men that do not communicate to you on the same precise wavelength? I mean, there are dry communicators, and there are emotional ones. Have you never experienced these differences in personal style?


I ask because of this one point. That point is, it is the situation and the reality we all have to deal with. Simple fact is, there is both the reality and the myriad of things we wish were true.

Why not focus on the reality? Why not learn to accept, cope, and adjust your own ways in an effort to communicate?