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This work includes an introduction by Mary McDermott Shideler. One of the first women to graduate from Oxford University, Dorothy Sayers pursued her goals whether or not what she wanted to do was ordinarily understood to be "feminine." Sayers did not devote a great deal of time to talking or writing about feminism, but she did explicitly address the issue of women's role in society in the two classic essays collected here. Central to Sayers's reflections is the conviction that both men and women are first of all human beings and must be regarded as essentially much more alike than different. We are to be true not so much to our sex as to our humanity. The proper role of both men and women, in her view, is to find the work for which they are suited and to do it. Though written several decades ago, these essays still offer in Sayers's piquant style a sensible and conciliatory approach to ongoing gender issues.
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Though England, far more than America, is a man's world, Dorothy L. Sayers held her own in it, and more, as scholar, theologian, playwright, lecturer, essayist, and author of detective stories which are also admirable comedies of manners. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
Though England, far more than America, is a man's world, Dorothy L. Sayers held her own in it, and more, as scholar, theologian, playwright, lecturer, essayist, and author of detective stories which are also admirable comedies of manners. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Starting from the premise that both men and women are people and should be valued for their individual personalities and capabilities these witty essays show that the woman's place in society was under discussion in the 1930s. Dorothy L Sayers is better known for her crime novels featuring Peter Wimsey and for her religious writing and many people today will not be aware of these fascinating essays.
Sayers did not like the word `feminist' as she felt it served to drive an artificial wedge between men and women. She is scathing about the expectations placed on women to be feminine at all times, to dress in certain ways and do certain jobs and she highlights the stupidity of the stereotype by showing how similar strictures could be placed on men. She suggests jobs should be allocated on the basis of capabilities rather than gender which may well mean that both men and women will mainly do particular types of jobs. But she points out that every individual has different qualities and abilities and they should not be forced to do particular types of work just because of their gender.
Sayers highlights the oft repeated statement of women taking men's jobs by applying the same reasoning to the wearing of trousers. The criticism is that women do not look good in trousers but as Sayers points out the same could be said of many men but no one suggests they should wear a skirt because of it. Women wear trousers because they are comfortable, warm and convenient and what they look like should be irrelevant.
There are criticisms of women in that Sayers feels they are far too inclined to copy what men do - to prove they are as good as men - when what they should be doing things which suit their own abilities and in their own way rather than trying to copy what men do just to prove a point.
Full of common sense and Sayers' trade mark wit this little book makes excellent reading for anyone who thinks the position of women in society is a modern issue. I recommend it.
Sayers did not like the word `feminist' as she felt it served to drive an artificial wedge between men and women. She is scathing about the expectations placed on women to be feminine at all times, to dress in certain ways and do certain jobs and she highlights the stupidity of the stereotype by showing how similar strictures could be placed on men. She suggests jobs should be allocated on the basis of capabilities rather than gender which may well mean that both men and women will mainly do particular types of jobs. But she points out that every individual has different qualities and abilities and they should not be forced to do particular types of work just because of their gender.
Sayers highlights the oft repeated statement of women taking men's jobs by applying the same reasoning to the wearing of trousers. The criticism is that women do not look good in trousers but as Sayers points out the same could be said of many men but no one suggests they should wear a skirt because of it. Women wear trousers because they are comfortable, warm and convenient and what they look like should be irrelevant.
There are criticisms of women in that Sayers feels they are far too inclined to copy what men do - to prove they are as good as men - when what they should be doing things which suit their own abilities and in their own way rather than trying to copy what men do just to prove a point.
Full of common sense and Sayers' trade mark wit this little book makes excellent reading for anyone who thinks the position of women in society is a modern issue. I recommend it.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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15 reviews
52 of 53 people found the following review helpful
Peter Wimsey is the least of the Dorothy Sayers legacy!
7 Sep 1997
Format:Paperback
Your first association with the name Dorothy
Sayers will be, naturally, as the creator of the
urbane, noble sleuth, Lord Peter Wimsey. If
you've read the Peter Wimsey novels in order, you may have noticed that Sayers invested more and more humanity and depth in him as the series progressed.
Sayers will be, naturally, as the creator of the
urbane, noble sleuth, Lord Peter Wimsey. If
you've read the Peter Wimsey novels in order, you may have noticed that Sayers invested more and more humanity and depth in him as the series progressed.
Since she revealed so much depth as a mystery novelist, I decided to try her out as an essayist. "Are Women Human?" is a slight pamphlet with an introduction and two essays which can be read in one sitting. As you finish the last page you will find yourself wondering why so little has changed in the last sixty years!
Sayers applied intelligence and humor (excuse me, humour) to her seemingly rhetorical question "Are Women Human?". Her answer, like most wise answers, is simple. Beyond the obvious "of course", Sayers posits that "male" and "female" are only adjectives modifying the noun human. Therefore, humanity is the common denominator, and each human should be judged on the person's individual merits -- creative, lethargic, witty or plodding. Whatever the case may be.
This is a book that should be required reading for every high school student -- young people who are in the process of sorting out all kinds of identity issues. It may not be too late for most adults to benefit from this little gem, either!<P
31 of 31 people found the following review helpful
way before her time
31 May 2007
Format:Paperback
Are women human? That's the stark question the British writer Dorothy Sayers (1893-1957) posed in two short essays written in 1938, and originally published in 1947 in a collection of her essays called Unpopular Opinions. She had more than an academic interest in the question. When she finished Somerville College, Oxford, with first class honors in modern languages in 1915, they didn't yet grant degrees to women.
The gist of Sayers' argument is captured in a quote she takes from DH Lawrence: "Man is willing to accept woman as an equal, as a man in skirts, as an angel, a devil, a baby-face, an instrument, a bosom, a womb, a pair of legs, a servant, an encyclopedia, an ideal or an obscenity; the one thing he won't accept her as is a human being, a real human being of the feminine sex." Such was her radically simple argument, that women be acknowledged as human beings, and only subsequently labeled as a subset of human beings qualified by biology, culture, ethnicity, age, economics, nationality, and so on.
Sayers also made an observation about the Gospels. Women, she noted, were "the first at the Cradle and the last at the Cross." The many women who appear in the gospels, says Sayers, "had never known a man like Jesus--there never has been such another. A prophet and teacher who never nagged at them, never flattered or coaxed or patronized; who never made arch jokes about them, never treated them either as 'The women, God help us!' or 'The ladies, God bless them!'; who rebuked without querulousness and praised without condescension; who took their questions and arguments seriously; who never mapped out their sphere for them, never urged them to be feminine or jeered at them for being female; who had no axe to grind and no uneasy male dignity to defend; who took them as he found them and was completely unselfconscious. There is no act, no sermon, no parable in the whole Gospel that borrows its pungency from female perversity; nobody could possibly guess from the words and deeds of Jesus that there was anything 'funny' about women's nature."
You can read this tiny volume in one sitting, and if you do you will be greatly rewarded. My Eerdmans edition has a short introduction by Mary McDermott Shideler.
The gist of Sayers' argument is captured in a quote she takes from DH Lawrence: "Man is willing to accept woman as an equal, as a man in skirts, as an angel, a devil, a baby-face, an instrument, a bosom, a womb, a pair of legs, a servant, an encyclopedia, an ideal or an obscenity; the one thing he won't accept her as is a human being, a real human being of the feminine sex." Such was her radically simple argument, that women be acknowledged as human beings, and only subsequently labeled as a subset of human beings qualified by biology, culture, ethnicity, age, economics, nationality, and so on.
Sayers also made an observation about the Gospels. Women, she noted, were "the first at the Cradle and the last at the Cross." The many women who appear in the gospels, says Sayers, "had never known a man like Jesus--there never has been such another. A prophet and teacher who never nagged at them, never flattered or coaxed or patronized; who never made arch jokes about them, never treated them either as 'The women, God help us!' or 'The ladies, God bless them!'; who rebuked without querulousness and praised without condescension; who took their questions and arguments seriously; who never mapped out their sphere for them, never urged them to be feminine or jeered at them for being female; who had no axe to grind and no uneasy male dignity to defend; who took them as he found them and was completely unselfconscious. There is no act, no sermon, no parable in the whole Gospel that borrows its pungency from female perversity; nobody could possibly guess from the words and deeds of Jesus that there was anything 'funny' about women's nature."
You can read this tiny volume in one sitting, and if you do you will be greatly rewarded. My Eerdmans edition has a short introduction by Mary McDermott Shideler.
28 of 29 people found the following review helpful
A Resounding Yes,
23 Feb 2005
Format:Paperback
Containing Two Essays excerpted from Unpopular Opinions, Dorothy L. Sayers
Introduction by Mary McDermott Shideler
"Are Women Human?"
"The Human-Not-Quite-Human"
Dorothy Sayers, perhaps most famous for her detective novels, possessed a delightful wit and piercing discernment. This booklet contains a mere 47 pages, but the content inspires many moments of introspection afterwards.
I have seen her points from these essays excerpted most often in a feminist context, and this is unfortunate. As her reflections are primarily on the essence of humanity, and a defense of woman as belonging to that unique group, men would benefit as well as women in digesting her insights.
Sayers speaks to the dangers of "classing" women, whether in the historical repressive context, or the aggressive feminist movements. She talks about the importance and necessity of work, as it pertains to both the male and female. She gives lucid background on the myth of "women's work," while chastising the modern church for propagating an unfounded role distinction, and much more.
Despite the original copyright on the work being 1947, Sayers' essays are extremely relevant today, and more needed than ever. It is my desire to see a reprint that makes this work more accessible, but in the meantime, it is well worth the market price.
--The Medieval Chick
Introduction by Mary McDermott Shideler
"Are Women Human?"
"The Human-Not-Quite-Human"
Dorothy Sayers, perhaps most famous for her detective novels, possessed a delightful wit and piercing discernment. This booklet contains a mere 47 pages, but the content inspires many moments of introspection afterwards.
I have seen her points from these essays excerpted most often in a feminist context, and this is unfortunate. As her reflections are primarily on the essence of humanity, and a defense of woman as belonging to that unique group, men would benefit as well as women in digesting her insights.
Sayers speaks to the dangers of "classing" women, whether in the historical repressive context, or the aggressive feminist movements. She talks about the importance and necessity of work, as it pertains to both the male and female. She gives lucid background on the myth of "women's work," while chastising the modern church for propagating an unfounded role distinction, and much more.
Despite the original copyright on the work being 1947, Sayers' essays are extremely relevant today, and more needed than ever. It is my desire to see a reprint that makes this work more accessible, but in the meantime, it is well worth the market price.
--The Medieval Chick
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