I had a spare copy of a fascinating little book called Crowther\u2019s Encyclopaedia of Phrases and Origins<\/i>, published in 1945. Its entries are intriguing and idiosyncratic. I offered my spare copy to a university colleague and, by way of illustration, I sent her the text of the entry for ‘ill-starred’. This concludes \u201cAmong the credulous, the belief [that the stars influence the fate of humans] still exists \u2026 providing a good living for alleged horoscope preparers, whose victims are mostly stupid women.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I chose this entry because I saw it as illustrative of the author\u2019s idiosyncratic style, because I thought it somewhat amusing, and because I thought it showed in some small way how attitudes to women have moved on since 1945. My colleague saw it differently and asked me whether I would have been comfortable passing on a similar quote had it been racist rather than misogynistic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I wriggled (metaphorically and literally) but in truth the answer was no.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As the title suggests, the theme of the book is that women miss out in almost every aspect of life simply because few people bother to collect data that represents their needs or their points of view. This is why, for example, car seat belts are less effective for women than for men, heart attacks frequently go undiagnosed in women (which is how my own mother died), transport systems don\u2019t meet the needs of women, drugs are not properly tested on women, working environments favour men over women, unpaid work carried out by women is routinely ignored \u2013 and much, much more. These are not unsupported claims \u2013 they are backed by 70 pages of references.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For me, the book was a real eye-opener. I like women, most of my close friends are women and I thought I respected the equality of women. Now I know that I must do better. Might that also apply to you? If so, I urge you to read the book \u2013 especially if you\u2019re of the male gender! It\u2019s currently out of stock at the Quaker Bookshop, but Blackwell\u2019s has it and is offering free UK delivery.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Back to February 2021 Newsletter Main Page<\/a><\/p>\n Forty-Three<\/em> Newsletter \u2022 Number 502 \u2022 February 2021 newsletter@oxfordquakers.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Keith Wilson One of the many things that attracted me to Quakers was the Quaker commitment to equality. I like to see myself as a passionate believer in equality, but I was recently challenged to consider whether I translate this supposed passion into reality. Sadly, the answer was that I must do better. However, the … Continue reading Must Do Better!\u00a0<\/span> ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/oxfordquaker.com\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/q7.jpg\")
<\/a>I was upset \u2013 I had never intended to cause offence or to promote misogyny, yet it seemed I had done both. However, my colleague suggested that the way forward was to make myself better informed. She also suggested that a good starting point would be to read Invisible Women: exposing data bias in a world designed for men <\/i>by Caroline Criado Perez. I read it and, as I did, I ran through a range of emotions that included shock, anger, sadness, and frustration.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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\n<\/strong>Oxford Friends Meeting
\n43 St Giles, Oxford OX1 3LW<\/p>\n