The Big Mo
Maureen Dowd weighs in on the debate over sexism on the op-ed pages
here. The money quote: "I have no doubt there are plenty of brilliant women who would bring grace and guts to our nation's op-ed pages, just as, Lawrence Summers notwithstanding, there are plenty of brilliant women out there who are great at math and science. We just need to find and nurture them."
In the past I've written critically about Dowd; I felt that while she criticized much, and often glibly, she stood for little. But she's absolutely right on this issue. It's insane and offensive that of nine regular NYT columnists, only one, Dowd, is a woman.
Dowd seems to be becoming—dare I say it?—a feminist. Good for her. Her recent columns on women-oriented subjects have a depth and humanity that have made her work far more interesting than her facile takedowns of public figures. She's taking a chance with this material, opening herself up. That takes guts. But her writing is much the better for it. Taking a chance to write about something you believe in—this, it seems to me, is the difference between being entertaining and being important.
