“Snakes and snails and puppy dog tails are what readers of a surprise bestseller are made of,” writes Wendy McElroy, proprietor of the iconoclastic feminist site.
She’s reviewing a new book for boys:
“The Dangerous Book for Boys by the British brothers Conn and Hal Iggulden is a practical manual that returns boys to the wonder and almost lost world of tree houses and pirate flags. It celebrates the art of teaching an old mutt new tricks and accepts skinned knees as an acceptable risk for running through fields with the same dog yapping along.”
Sounds winner, doesn’t it? Not so fast. McElroy adds:
“Condemnation arises because The Dangerous Book breaks the dominant and politically correct stereotype for children’s books. It presents boys as being deeply different than girls in terms of their interests and pursuits. Although it is highly probable that bookstores will sell the book to girls who then will go on to practice skimming stones, nevertheless the genders are separated within the book’s pages.
“The authors clearly believe that the majority of children interested in learning to build a catapult are boys. Girls are included only through a final chapter in which boys are admonished to treat them with respect.”