Letters to the Editor
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Julie...
Two points...
A) Austen wrote fiction...
B) Being more competitive about one thing, or a very narrow band of things, does not make up for a lack of competitiveness everywhere else... Maybe women are more competitive than men, or just as competitive as we are. However, in this culture, part of the world, etc. it by and large isn't true. Men can and do build mountains out of molehills over friendly competitions. Whether it is over women, a promotion, grades, the size of the TV, men are engaged in a constant "one up/one down" struggle. Check out Barbara Tannen's books on linguistic differences in the way men and women communicate. Whole chunks are devoted to the constant struggle for status and knowing your place in the pack. Most of the jostling for position is innocuous and can be seen in joke telling and storytelling, or spouting some of the useless knowledge we've managed to acquire. We are keenly aware of each others skill sets as they pertain to us, i.e. so and so is a better pool player than I am, but he can't tell a joke to save his life. There are women who are competitive and seek status in much the same way. However, they are greatly outnumbered by the rest of us.