Invisible Women (Katha Pollitt column)

subject to debate by Katha Pollitt

Invisible Women

[from the April 4, 2005 issue]

Women don't shout. Women don't like politics. Women shrink from intellectual debate. Women don't try. It's time for another round of "What's Wrong with Women?" Last month's category was science. This month it's punditry, sparked by a testy (well, nasty) letter from syndicated columnist and FOX-TV commentator Susan Estrich to Michael Kinsley, the courtly editorial and opinion editor of the Los Angeles Times, pointing out the lack of female talent on his op-ed pages: In nine weeks, only 20 percent of pieces were written by women. Now everybody's jumping in: "Feminists Get Hysterical" (Heather MacDonald in City Journal) is a typical sentiment.