18 Comments
User's avatar
Dana Gioia's avatar

It is refreshing to see some actual data in this fraught discussion.

Sally Schott's avatar

If you and Henry both think so, I will take your words for it. Though my personal preference would be to ignore agendas.

Ginger Cat's avatar

"Women outpublished men in the mid 19th century"

This fascinates me: I would not have expected it.

Amanda Craig's avatar

Interesting. I take it Jude Cook’s Conduit Books is on your radar?

Henry Oliver's avatar

I heard about it but I don’t know anything about the books they are publishing…

User's avatar
Comment deleted
Aug 24
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Sally Schott's avatar

That is not my problem with the title.

My problem with the title is “gender parity.”

What a depressing way to assort and select books.

Henry Oliver's avatar

I agree! But the people who think it matters ought to be doing more data analysis

Dan Sinykin's avatar

Just, like, for what it's worth, it's possible to take interest both in sociological questions of who publishes how and in aesthetic questions of form, style, value. In fact, I'm someone who does! Sometimes the two conversations even have interesting things to say to each other. One needn't categorically shut out the sociological to appreciate the aesthetic—which is why I appreciate, Henry, your participating in this conversation.

Henry Oliver's avatar

I think your work is very interesting and I look forward to reading more of it

Sally Schott's avatar

Why?

Henry Oliver's avatar

If they think it matters they ought to be able to prove it’s happened their info is all very anecdotal. Someone could work if there actually has been a decline of books by men under 40 that is different from the general decline

Rosa Rosa's avatar

If women publish more, men publish less. When women couldn't publish, men published more as they were the only ones. I guess the figures for white men are problably now less than 100 years ago when razialized men were hardly published. Not to say razialized women.

What a surprise.

Richard Robinson's avatar

Interesting how we discuss how Trollope seems to write women well despite his politics, and that Dickens largely doesn't, rather than just reading more women. I realise the above warrants more nuanced discussion.