The sexes

I commented very briefly on Kay Hymowitz’s not-so-pleasing account of the “new girl order“—the Way Young Women Are Now. Now she’s come out with an even less flattering account of today’s single young men. Guys will be guyz it seems. The positive part of the KH essay is that “How to make your … More ...

Continuing disputes over homosexuality and what to do about it have prompted me to tidy up and organize various short things I’ve written on the topic and add a provocatively-titled introduction. Anyone interested is urged to read and comment.

It seems that sexual morality has two aspects:

• Social: promotion and maintenance of a system of stable, reliable and productive relations between the sexes, and
• Personal: bringing sex into relation to other concerns and connections, so the experience makes sense and its implicit meaning can be meant.

Neither aspect makes sense given an … More ...

Here are some quotations from well-known feminists that would be startling if we weren’t so used to the same sort of thing:

• Katha Pollitt:
  

  It is important to remember just how barbarous and cruel the Taliban were. Yet it is also important not to use their example to obscure or deny the common thread of

More news from the Sex Front that for some reason I’ve been covering a lot lately:

• Hip-hop film sparks debate on masculinity. A black former college football star has made a documentary questioning hip-hop glorification of sexual abuse and mindless violence. It’s a worthy topic, but I have my doubts. So far as I

The social sciences obstinately insist on Pascal’s mathematical mind, while women are more likely to give play to his intuitive mind, so it seems the two aren’t a good match. Still, all’s grist for the mill, so here are a couple of (at least purportedly) scientific findings regarding women I thought of interest:

• Women

Every reasonable person who’s curious about the world around him sometimes finds social science studies suggestive and illuminating. No sane person thinks they can be the basis of of human relations or the laws and institutions that regulate and codify them. Life is complex and subtle, and it’s not set up to be easy for … More ...