Chick-Lit

Question from Galleycat: Why Does Maureen Dowd Hate Popular Women?

Answer: Because it gets her mentioned in news stories.

Loath as I am to criticize another feisty redhead, Ms. Dowd isn't making my reluctance to open up cans of whoop-ass on her any easier. She's straying too far into Ann Coulter territory for my taste.

As for "chick-lit"? I read it and enjoy it when it's done well, just like every other genre of literature. When people dismiss it as "inspid" or "fluffy" I tend to suspect their agendas, as is the case here with Dowdy and the guy who really should just shut up completely about the subject — he's so far afield, he's playing outfield for a team in another county.

Women's commercial literature, or "chick-lit", is almost always written by and for women and often — though not always — is light, funny, and covers topics of interest to modern women. Shocking! How disgraceful! Boo!

That Dowdy lumps 'Sex and the City' in with authors such as Sophie Kinsella is stupid and revealing of her lazy reporting: the sleazy TV show and the chick-lit books couldn't be less similar: SatC was written by gay men, primarily, and is unrealistic and mean-spirited. That show probably is more anti-woman than any pink-covered beach book, and substantially less valuable as entertainment. Meanwhile, a good chick-lit book will make you laugh, make you feel real kinship with a fictional character, and make you feel like reading it was well worth your time. Honestly, how much of that do we get in our everyday lives?

So, somebody, please, screw Maureen Dowd. Maybe then she'll shut up about this and go back to being a boring, self-indulgent columnist.

Sorry, Red, you suck.