Perhaps the difficulties arise from too much projection. Ms. Finch is calling attention to the lack of poems by women poets in anthologies, which would be the fault, if it does exist, of the publishing community. Does this mean we can project their sexism on to all men and from this projection make a general statement about male/female dynamics in writing or in the workplace? I hope not. My experience in the poetic community is that there is general mutuality. And in the circles I travel in, a man who would throw all domestic chores on his wife or partner while he engages in his favorite pursuits would be looked on with utmost contempt and with severe censure.
If there is an unstated, perhaps even unrealized, prejudice against women poets so that they do not get included in the literature of poetry as much as men (i.e., in anthologies that catalogue "important voices") that needs to be exposed so it can be corrected. I think the problem comes when such matters are seized upon and presented not just as a particular incident but as a general statement on how men treat women, poets or otherwise.
I think the men on Eratosphere who have reacted to the statement are reacting to that trend, which is often seen in discourse on male/female interaction. No one likes to be tarred with a big brush--especially men who share in the tasks of running a household and try to faciliate mutuality and sharing of domestic responsibility in their households and who admire and esteem the great number of women in our circle who are stellar poets, critics, and editors.
dwl
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