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An Interesting column on the huge imbalance in reviewing, by gender...
Writer Nancy Jane Moore has done an interesting article over at Book View Cafe's blog called "News Flash: We Still Haven’t Come a Long Way, Baby." She's talking about review statistics compiled by the organization Vida, which “seeks to explore critical and cultural perceptions of writing by women.” Her column begins thus:
"This just in: Books by men get reviewed much more often than books by women. Why? Well, one research project suggests that it’s because women read books by both men and women, while men mostly read books by men. And an admittedly less-than-scientific analysis says it could be because publishers put out more books by men than women.
Surprised? Me, neither."
NJM has a lot of interesting links attached to this column, many I intend to explore more thoroughly this weekend. I think the link to Percival Everett's essay is worth your time. NJM says:
Update: I just saw Percival Everett’s essay on the Vida statistics and Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom, and wanted to make sure everyone else saw it, too. He skewers those who don’t see the problem so deftly and gently that maybe — maybe — they’ll start paying attention. Perhaps the NY Times Book Review and The New Yorker and some other pubs will have the sense to ask for permission to reprint it.
I'll give you one quote from Everett's essay:
". . . my biggest wonder is how it is that, with women being seventy percent of the book buying audience, women writers receive only twenty percent of book review attention."
And booksellers wonder why their market share is shrinking. Perhaps they are not reviewing/publicizing books these women want to read?
Read the essay and tell me what you think.
"This just in: Books by men get reviewed much more often than books by women. Why? Well, one research project suggests that it’s because women read books by both men and women, while men mostly read books by men. And an admittedly less-than-scientific analysis says it could be because publishers put out more books by men than women.
Surprised? Me, neither."
NJM has a lot of interesting links attached to this column, many I intend to explore more thoroughly this weekend. I think the link to Percival Everett's essay is worth your time. NJM says:
Update: I just saw Percival Everett’s essay on the Vida statistics and Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom, and wanted to make sure everyone else saw it, too. He skewers those who don’t see the problem so deftly and gently that maybe — maybe — they’ll start paying attention. Perhaps the NY Times Book Review and The New Yorker and some other pubs will have the sense to ask for permission to reprint it.
I'll give you one quote from Everett's essay:
". . . my biggest wonder is how it is that, with women being seventy percent of the book buying audience, women writers receive only twenty percent of book review attention."
And booksellers wonder why their market share is shrinking. Perhaps they are not reviewing/publicizing books these women want to read?
Read the essay and tell me what you think.