24 Comments

So grateful for this reality check! 2 years ago I realized that as a once-English major, I’d taken in enough cis het white male voices, thoughts, and stories to last me a lifetime. And resolved to read only women or queer, non-white, or non-euro men from now on. It’s been so refreshing and enlightening, and exciting! Like I’m diluting the male-infested water I’ve been drinking my whole life and am finally nourished. 💦 Imagine the world we’d live in if more people made similar resolutions, including all the cis het white men! 🫶🏽

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Yes! This is me to a tee. I have multiple degrees in writing and lit-related fields and have been obliged to read thousandssss of pages of white dudes' experience. All I want to read now is women! I have a whole stack of female-forward books. What are some of your recent faves?

Sometimes I think we should start a book club for those of us who are recovering !

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Absolutely a Western canon patriarchy recovery book club is def the right call! 👌🏽 I have so many endless recommendations. Starting w the incredible authors on this comment thread! 😍

Other recent big faves were Monsters by Claire Dederer, In the Dream House by Carmen Marie Machado, Dyscalculia by Camongne Felix, Lessons for Survival by Emily Raboteau, and and and….I could go on all day here. 😬

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Thank you these are some good ones! I'm going to put them on my reading list post this week :)

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That anecdote about Doyle vs Sedaris 🤮🤮🤮 (to the NYT, not you)

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What if I told you Swift isn't singing about any of her ex's? I have a theory she's been using Sylvia Plath's story and poetry for years, potentially going back to "All Too Well". I would love it if you'd read the essay I wrote outlining my theory!! I think she's spectacularly playing most people for fools!!

https://theangryyogi.substack.com/p/taylor-swift-is-making-erudite-art

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Okay, this was a VERY fun read, thank you for sharing!

My original post here about Swift (the mythology one I link above) ends w an anecdote about Plath, so maybe I low key was on the same wave length?

You def did your homework and bring receipts. I want to believe!!

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Well this is a theory I would like to believe!

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Thank you!! And thank you so much for reading I really appreciate it!! 💙

I've since found a few other women online digging into the Plath Swift parallels as well, so fascinating!!

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I’m here for it!

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Thank you for highlighting this double standard, Lane. And I love the album, have it on repeat, and am super turned off by people who find glee from hating on it and Taylor. Says way more about them than Taylor.

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Gah her poor husband!

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Tragic tale

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heart emoji!

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Thank you so much, and back at you ! :)

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Just wanted to mention that men make up 50% of the population. Do a simple experiment. Go to a place that sells books and magazines. Look at how many books in the top 10 are female authors. Look at the number of magazines that are dedicated to women. In fact, just look at how many have a woman on the cover. Taylor Swift for example.

Google women's clubs, organizations and associations. Then do the same for men.

Because a literary work was written by a "white dude" does not make it bad. To say otherwise is sexist. Theirs nothing wrong with supporting and promoting female authors and performers. It sounds interesting. But to feel the need to bash male authors in order to lift up female authors is just sad and hateful.

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Where does she bash men in this column? All she said was not to bash women, to give them the same space we give men.

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You are correct that she did not directly bash men. This was describing my interpretation of the article. When I initially read it, statements like “shovel-fed stories about men”; written twice; along with the tone, felt pretty negative towards men. Thats her right, It’s her article.

However, when I reread the article I realized my interpretation was bit critical. Thanks for pointing that out. I come across many articles that bash men. Sometimes it colors my perspective.

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You have to understand...because a certain few white men dominated culture in the past, that means that all white men now are oppressive pigs. Because it's just that way! No specifics or explanation necessary.

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I think you’ll find plenty of “specifics and explanations” set out in a great number of books. You might want to look into that.

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I already went through a fundamentalist religion once, I don't intend on joining another or reading any of its tracts.

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I'll keep you in my prayers!

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Uhhh…the Bible was created by men…BY MEN. To keep women and children on their knees. Please the Bible is a made up book!!! BULLSHIT! Critical thinking and looking to a higher power is what works for me!!! Positive thinking, treating ppl how I want to be treated. Looking and seeing rePUGliCONs, who care for nothing but $ and power. They have no morality!

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If it weren't for men, Taylor wouldn't have much of anything to sing about.

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