By: Sali Gray

Sali Gray — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 23:13:15 +0000

The thing I like most about life, is the diversity of people. You could ask a dozen people to taste the same product and then ask for their opinion on it. I frequently do this and the range of the responses never ceases to amaze me. It’s the same with cars – I happen to drive a pink one (!) and the reactions to it range from “Let me know if you ever decide to sell it” to “Did you actually pay good money for THAT!”
I have to say that I LOVE Maria McCarthy’s book :-) I don’t find it at all patronising and the chapter about the car insurance caught my attention straight away – it’s SO true!! I enjoyed her light-hearted and very amusing writing style, but then again I am a ‘girlie girl’. I have to confess that I haven’t tried hand-washing my car, whilst wearing a bikini! I much prefer to pay the fit young men in the local garage to do it!

By: Russell

Russell — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 11:36:51 +0000

I find it bizarre that when publishing a book of this type, an author, editor, or publisher will choose to insert patronising elements such as the ones you describe, rather than studying the actual linguistic differences that have been observed as correlating with gender, and try to write a book that appeals to the target audience in that way. If you were to do that you would still have a product that broadly has appeal to the target audience, but you would avoid perpetuating stereotypes, and also avoid isolating at least half the potential audience with an “it’s not FOR me” and probably most of the other half by patronising them. Of course, doing so would no doubt be far too subtle for the marketing machines that drive these things, alas.

Comments on: Secret Diary of a Female Petrolhead: Does This Warranty Come In Pink?

By: Sali Gray

By: Russell