Eugenides’ first response to being asked about whether books by men and women are received differently is to name three women who write well-regarded literary fiction — Zadie Smith, Joyce Carol Oates, and Alice Munro. He’s right, of course, that they’re heavily covered and well-reviewed. But the argument has never been that there are no recognized women writers of literary fiction, so the existence of three isn’t determinative. Both conscious and unconscious bias often don’t lock a door completely as much as make it much harder to open. Those women would exist whether there was bias or not. That’s why you can’t answer a question about racial issues in Hollywood by putting your hands over your ears and yelling “WILL SMITH AND DENZEL WASHINGTON!
(via michelledean)
