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I have had little contact with the feminist movement.  In the 60's, at least, feminists seemed to be trying to make themselves into copies of men (as Virginia Woolf anticipates that they would).  I cannot remember EVER thinking or feeling that men were the equals, much less the superiors, of women, except in physical strength.  I find it hard to understand why I have encountered in my life so little of the prejudice against women which clearly exists.  But any strongly held belief has a way of transforming the immediate environment and attracting confirmation of itself.  Certainly my belief in the superiority of women has been confirmed every day of my life.

     I give that bit of background to explain why "emasculating" does not resonate with me.  I can appreciate other women's experience of emasculation because they describe it.  Yes, we learn to think like men, but they can't make us WRITE like men.  Do you need to read more than one page to know absolutely that the author is male or female?  "Men value autonomy" and "women value relationship".  Reading non-fiction for me is like a conversation.  Of course, the male author is conversing with other men, so he is much more protective of his autonomy than he would be in a real conversation with me.  I don't much like to be spoken  to like a man (inferior creatures!) so I find myself on guard against my own prejudices.  The more beautifully the man writes, the harder it is to avoid slipping into that prejudice and to give him a just hearing.   Women's non-fiction writing, strangely enough, seems to be addressed also to men.  I have the feeling she's talking to someone standing behind me.  That happens in real life often enough that it causes no problem.  She "values relationship" anyway.

     Fiction seems to me quite different.  The male authors I read address a mixed audience and I can easily let myself go and live in the world they create.  Some women authors of fiction address a mixed audience and some few address women.  Rereading those works addressed to women is like sitting with an old and trusted friend - pure joy.

     I see I left out fiction by men addressed to men (e.g. Laurence, Joyce).  Their unconscious psyches laid out for all to see is not an attractive sight.  I always feel I've taken a dip in a cesspool!  I no longer read those authors.

     Sosnoski gave me a new reading experience:  non-fiction addressed to a mixed audience.  In spite of the pedantic style, which I had to read around, it was totally enjoyable.  He convinced me by his logic, his intuition, and his practice.