Comments on: What’s a Modern Girl to Do? - New York Times http://lazylife.org/2005/11/12/228 babe, keep it simple and stupid Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:46:43 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: chor http://lazylife.org/2005/11/12/228#comment-332 chor Sun, 13 Nov 2005 12:46:24 +0000 http://www.lazylife.org/2005/11/12/228#comment-332 sue, thanks a lot! this is surely important to cross-reference from multiple sources. from the abstract you've quoted here, i must say that i agree with this piece from the slate.com i guess that Dowd's over-generalization or her rather loose supporting evidents is a common practice of journalistic writings, particularly feature articles alike. of coz, it shouldn't be overlooked as if it's just a matter of "style". we got to hold necessary skepticism. yet still i share some views of Dowd's piece on the trend of backlash in the 21st century, they maybe too under-developed and not wisely presented, but that gives a good start for a more thoughtful discussion. at least she has named it. well, honestly, it's the first time that i read Maureen Dowd, if i'd known that she authored a book called "are men necessary?" i might be quite hesitant to start reading.... anyway, thanks again :) sue, thanks a lot! this is surely important to cross-reference from multiple sources. from the abstract you’ve quoted here, i must say that i agree with this piece from the slate.com
i guess that Dowd’s over-generalization or her rather loose supporting evidents is a common practice of journalistic writings, particularly feature articles alike. of coz, it shouldn’t be overlooked as if it’s just a matter of “style”. we got to hold necessary skepticism.
yet still i share some views of Dowd’s piece on the trend of backlash in the 21st century, they maybe too under-developed and not wisely presented, but that gives a good start for a more thoughtful discussion. at least she has named it.
well, honestly, it’s the first time that i read Maureen Dowd, if i’d known that she authored a book called “are men necessary?” i might be quite hesitant to start reading….
anyway, thanks again :)

]]> By: sue http://lazylife.org/2005/11/12/228#comment-330 sue Sun, 13 Nov 2005 12:24:57 +0000 http://www.lazylife.org/2005/11/12/228#comment-330 Rebukes on Dowd that I find somewhat valid: Maureen Dowd's penchant for provocative overstatement has found its most recent outlet in a much talked about excerpt of her new book, Are Men Necessary?, in the New York Times Magazine. ..... ..... Like the crude, sexist men she lampoons, Dowd is extremely fond of clever stereotyping. But this strategy is better-suited to satirizing a real person (say, President Bush) than it is to offering insights into the already cartoonish "war" between the sexes. In Are Men Necessary? she gravitates toward quotes like this: "Deep down all men want the same thing: a virgin in a gingham dress," or "if there's one thing men fear it's a woman who uses her critical faculties." To support these generalizations, Dowd relies on the faux journalism of women's magazines. She cobbles together anecdotal evidence from people she encounters. The formula is basically this: "Carrie, a 29-year-old publicist, says … " And from Carrie's experience she extrapolates to the universal. The problem with this approach is that one could go out and find a 29-year-old publicist who would say the opposite. It would be one thing if Dowd were writing pure, straightforward polemic, ranting against the people she feels the need to rant against. But Dowd is pretending to cover cultural trends with journalistic accuracy, and it is this pretense that gives her arguments a shoddy feel. .... rest at http://www.slate.com/id/2129290/ Rebukes on Dowd that I find somewhat valid:

Maureen Dowd’s penchant for provocative overstatement has found its most recent outlet in a much talked about excerpt of her new book, Are Men Necessary?, in the New York Times Magazine. …..

….. Like the crude, sexist men she lampoons, Dowd is extremely fond of clever stereotyping. But this strategy is better-suited to satirizing a real person (say, President Bush) than it is to offering insights into the already cartoonish “war” between the sexes. In Are Men Necessary? she gravitates toward quotes like this: “Deep down all men want the same thing: a virgin in a gingham dress,” or “if there’s one thing men fear it’s a woman who uses her critical faculties.” To support these generalizations, Dowd relies on the faux journalism of women’s magazines. She cobbles together anecdotal evidence from people she encounters. The formula is basically this: “Carrie, a 29-year-old publicist, says … ” And from Carrie’s experience she extrapolates to the universal. The problem with this approach is that one could go out and find a 29-year-old publicist who would say the opposite. It would be one thing if Dowd were writing pure, straightforward polemic, ranting against the people she feels the need to rant against. But Dowd is pretending to cover cultural trends with journalistic accuracy, and it is this pretense that gives her arguments a shoddy feel. ….

rest at http://www.slate.com/id/2129290/

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