Is Maureen Dowd Necessary?

Slate ^ | 11/2/5 | Katie Roiphe

[Crackingham]

Maureen Dowd's penchant for provocative overstatement has found its most recent outlet in a much talked about excerpt of her new book, Are Men Necessary?, in the New York Times Magazine. In it she bemoans a perceived return of 1950s values and courtship rituals and portrays a younger generation of women as grasping, shallow housewife wannabes and "yummy mommies." In the most inflammatory and intriguing passages, she claims that men are put off by women in power, that they prefer the women who serve them—maids, masseuses, and secretaries—to their equals. She attributes the fact that she is unmarried to her powerful position as an op-ed columnist at the New York Times. Then she notes her own family history of domestic service and concludes that "being a maid would have enhanced my chances with men."

Is this dark view of sexual politics a little extreme? If it is, it shouldn't be surprising. Dowd pushes every statement to its most exaggerated form; her column occupies a space somewhere in between the other columns on the New York Times op-ed page and the political cartoons that sometimes run there. She is, at her best, a brilliant caricaturist of the political scene, turning each presidency into vivid farce. As a caricaturist, she has a fondness for punchy one-liners strung together, and for the one-sentence paragraph: "Survival of the fittest has been replaced by survival of the fakest"; "We had the Belle Epoque. Now we have the Botox Epoch"; and "As a species is it possible that men are ever so last century?"

[b4its2late]

Is Maureen Dowd Necessary?

IMHO, NO.

[SaveTheChief]

She appears to be necessary around here, at least so people can post photos of Catherine Zeta-Jones, which I haven't figured out.

[Cicero]

The short answer, No. But neither is Katie Roiphe.

[litehaus]

Is that a "writ-hor-ical" question?

[RJL]

And this is from Slate!

[HOTTIEBOY]

Anybody think the NY Times would feature a book titled, "Women, Are They Necessary?"

[samadams2000]

I guess her dirty lib act is failing..?

[frogjerk]

[RegulatorCountry]

Bitter, spurned and unloved. It must be tough to be MoDo, or so she harangues at every opportunity. She so clearly wants to hate men, but wants men to love her. A strange delusion.

[Horatio Gates]

Just following the rule...

[w_over_w]

Is Maureen Dowd Necessary?

Yes! She does an excellent job of "voice over" for Marge Simpson.

[ComputerGuy]

She is, at her best, a brilliant caricaturist a bitter non-participant of on the political American scene, turning each presidency observation into vivid farce.

[theDentist]

Is Maureen Dowd Necessary?

Well, if you've eaten too much cheese and are a bit irregular, yes.

[rwa265]

No, but it does help promote the downfall of leftism.

[Rocky]

She appears to be necessary around here, at least so people can post photos of Catherine Zeta-Jones, which I haven't figured out.

Are you being facetious, or do you not know that Michael Douglas was dating Dowd before he left her for Zeta-Jones?

[BikerNYC]

No, she is contingent.

[TravisBickle]

the question is, What Would Michael Do?

[Bob]

She appears to be necessary around here, at least so people can post photos of Catherine Zeta-Jones, which I haven't figured out.

It has to do with a guy named Michael Douglas. He dumped MoDo for CZJ.

[D.P.Roberts]

"being a maid would have enhanced my chances with men."

No. It wouldn't.

[WillamShakespeare]

Oh my God, is that really the title of her book? Are Men Necessary? LOL!!! Her loss of Michael Douglas drives her over the edge more and more everyday...Here`s another big CZJ pic for her, courtesy of Freep! Bwa ha ha ha!

[mad puppy]

She attributes the fact that she is unmarried to her powerful position as an op-ed columnist at the New York Times. Then she notes her own family history of domestic service and concludes that "being a maid would have enhanced my chances with men."


Jez, how pathetic is that. Can you just see her at her H.S. reunion trying to finally fit in with the hip group? It would be insulting to all 17 year old girls to compare their maturity M.D.'s.

[Personal Responsibility]

When I was younger I thought feminism was all about women being given the choice to do what they want.

Then I was advised to take, and took, a class about it in college. The other two male idiots my guidance counsellor thought would "enjoy" this class and I spent the entire semester in defensive posture in the rear of the classroom. With 20/20 hindsight I find it no wonder that all three of us failed.

In short, feminism had nothing to do with empowering women. It had everything to do with degrading, deriding and replacing men. What a shame.

[RegulatorCountry]

"No. It wouldn't."

You're right. A bitter harridan of a maid is no more appealing than a bitter harridan of a columnist.

[ElPatriota]

..Are Men Necessary?...

Well, maybe she is with the 'wrong crowd.' I would agree that for a real woman, there would not be much use for some of the "men" on her leftist side. Maybe all she needs is to know a real man - LOL

[Sub-Driver]

nothing is totally useless. it can always serve as a bad example.

[BTHOtu]

Proof that Maureen Dowd is necessary.

[JohnnyZ]

In the most inflammatory and intriguing passages, she claims that men are put off by women in power, that they prefer the women who serve them—maids, masseuses, and secretaries—to their equals.

She's right about a lot of things.

She doesn't quite put 2 and 2 together tho.

She says those women are looking to marry 'up' -> implication is they're not sure the men who are their equals are good enough for them.

What man wants to marry some b**** with that kind of chip on her shoulder? So they marry 'down'.

[WillamShakespeare]

Oh, you posted that one before me...I must amend it by posting a different one..

[Spok]

"turning each presidency into vivid farce"

If she ever found anything to criticize in the Clinton presidency, I must have missed it.

[AmericanChef]

-"As a species is it possible that men are ever so last century?"-

Only to those who can't keep one. Has it been a century yet since Mo got a date?

[finnman69]

Modo's problem

[BoBToMatoE]

She attributes the fact that she is unmarried to her powerful position as an op-ed columnist at the New York Times

---

Wrong. Ever think that maybe your over powering me-first mentality might be at the center of the problem?

I think its great that women are considering focusing on being moms again. It is up to us men to be real fathers as well.

Its about people being selfless and caring about each other - somthing she apparently has no clue about. Typical yuppie.

[JohnnyZ]

Anybody think the NY Times would feature a book titled, "Women, Are They Necessary?"

I'll bet they profiled Dorothy Sayers' book/essay, "Are Women Human?" back in the day.

[MikeHu]

I understand she wants to be Helen Thomas -- when she grows up.

[Petronski]

Mo Bitter Blues

In the most inflammatory and intriguing passages, she claims that men are put off by women in power, that they prefer the women who serve them—maids, masseuses, and secretaries—to their equals.

No, they're put off by women with vicious feminist attitudes.

She attributes the fact that she is unmarried to her powerful position as an op-ed columnist at the New York Times.

Wrong. She should attribute the fact to her vicious feminist attitude.

Then she notes her own family history of domestic service and concludes that "being a maid would have enhanced my chances with men."

No, she would have enhanced her chances with men by ejecting the vicious feminist attitude.

[Xenophon450]

SHHHHHHH Please do not mention that name....there are some sickos here that might just post her pic...

[workerbee]

Maureen Dowd is to the print media what Helen Thomas is to TV -- the crazy aunt in the attic. Annoying and nuts, but everybody figures she's just been around so long, you may as well leave her go til the end while ignoring her the best you can, humoring her when absolutely necessary.

[NeoCaveman]

I love Mo Dowd threads.

for the pictures of Catherine Zeta Jones

[bert]

Is an abcess in a tooth necessary? Is a boil necessary? Are hemorriods necessary?

All serve a function in life. Ms Dowd can serve as a horrible example.

[SaveTheChief]

Are you being facetious, or do you not know that Michael Douglas was dating Dowd before he left her for Zeta-Jones?

I honestly did not know.

[hsalaw]

Modo's problem [low estrogen level]

Nooo, I don't think that's the problem. After all, there are lots and lots of women over 40 who have great relationships with men and are very much loved by those men. I think Modo's problem is that she's a bitter, hateful, verbally abusive woman, and no one wants to get cosy with that. Her estrogen levels could be off the chart, and she'd still be a b*tch.

[utahagen]

I don't believe for a second that scads of men are hot for Maureen Dowd. The fact that the Times article asserted this makes me think it's a case of protesting too much, such as when Hillary Clinton's supporters assert (apropos to nothing) what a great sense of humor HRC has. I've never bought that HRC was funny, and I don't buy that men find Maureen Down alluring. (P.S. I happen to be single and childless and in my thirties, so Dowd couldn't assert I have some kind of hang up about single women.)

[WillamShakespeare]

My favorite Freep thread, the Maureen Dowd ones..The carnage! Oh the humanity!

[SaveTheChief]

Thanks. I wasn't aware of this.

[DA740]

Maureen Dowd is an angry broad. She's angry because she's a broad. I don't blame her. If I were a broad, I'd be angry too. Maureen cannot be a man and is angry about that, so she hates men. Very simple.

As men, our answer to the Maureen Dowds of this world should be a roll of duct tape.

DA740

[Feiny]

Is drinking my own urine necessary? No, but it's sterile & I like the taste.

[wagglebee]

She's necessary to the extent that it gives a reason to post CZ-J pictures.

[threeleftsmakearight]

Is there something I'm missing with this Dowd woman?
They speak of her like she's attractive. I've seen her on Russert a few times and I have to say she's not very pretty...just keepin' it real.