So here we are again. I thought after the Great Jonathan Franzen Debacle of 2001, no man would ever again dare to suggest publicly that there is an inferior class of books that only women read. Then Douglas Brinkley did it in this morning's New York Times Book Review. In his review of Jodi Kantor's "The Obamas," published in January, he wrote:
Call it chick nonfiction, if you will; this book is not about politics, it's about marriage...
"Chick nonfiction": With those two little words, Brinkley provoked a wave of outrage on Twitter and elsewhere.
Author Jennifer Weiner, who has argued in the past that female writers are under-appreciated by critics, weighed in, as did Slate's Dahlia Lithwick and the New Yorker's TV critic Emily Nussbaum. (Scroll down to view their tweets.)
Weiner also told TABLET magazine in an email this morning:
"My suspicion is that if a male reporter had written a detailed, well-researched, revealing book about the First Marriage, it would have been praised as a serious work of journalism. However, when the old, pernicious double standards still apply, if it's a lady doing the investigation, the personal can never be political ... it can only be gossip, and the writer, however skilled a reporter, is still merely a chick."
I assume that by "Chick Nonfiction," Brinkley meant stories women are thought to enjoy reading -- you know, books with anecdote and narrative, books not about the policy decision but about the emotion and relationships that influenced the policy decision.
Is Brinkley suggesting that men don't enjoy this sort of writing? Because if so, he is also basically arguing that no man enjoyed "The West Wing."
It sounds like he thinks "The Obamas" belongs to that set of nonfiction books that are not textbooks or manuals, that are not about economics or warfare or statistical analysis but about marriage, divorce, love, sex, and the absurd joy, hardship, and tragedy family involves. It sounds like he means it's a book about the kind of stuff you think about when you're looking back on the most important moments in your life. It sounds like he doesn't understand that it doesn't get more serious than that.
What's your reaction to Brinkley's review? Tweet it @HuffPostWomen using #chicktweets or #chicknonfiction, and we'll include it the slideshow below.
SLIDESHOW: Twitter Erupts Over NYT Book Review Of 'The Obamas'
Follow Margaret Wheeler Johnson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mwjohnso
Chick Lit Worth Reading
http://www.skinnyscoop.com/list/citychic/2011-female-fiction-must-reads
Rather than join in the common contretemps about Brinkley's chauvinistic remark perhaps a more critical analysis of his observation questions if Douglas Brinkley considers a book about the Obama marriage a downmarket title compared to books about other presidential marriages?"
The phrase 'chick flick' is still pretty common... And I haven't heard anyone complain about that. It must be a.slow news day.
then we wonder why colleges have affirmative action for boys now. this section isn't for you. go diddle yourself to internet porn.
I do believe there are a few Democrats that are Christians. I don’t know of any left wing liberals. So I ask the following question for any Democrats or Left wing Liberal Christians. PLEASE write back what Chapter and verse of the Christian BIBLE in the New Testament that you do not believe or agree with ?
So that church he went to for 20 years wasn't really a church and he spent 20 years trying to fool people?
By the way I love walking outside everyday.
Thank you for responding
off the fiction list. There are so many books written at the seventh grade level and while
the stories may be somewhat interesting the writing is terrible. Give me Steinbech, Hemingway
and the great classics.and well written historical events. I think we should be learning and
expanding. I wish the women wanted to read more non-fiction . All they say, it was
on the best sellers fiction list and of course I think so what . Are we reading about worthwhile
people, and events and reading the truly fine authors. This Obama book is not worth reading
because he has done nothing memorable in my eyes. Let's uplift this society with good
books and good MUSIC.
book group myself with the intention of gathering hand picked women who wanted to
read "good literature". That worked for a while until others came into the group.
Oh well, I compromised.