Quote:
Originally Posted by Eva Salzman
Does not my lifetime as self-supporting writer allow me to speak with some authority as both writer and woman? Not just of my experience but that observed and heard from other writers?
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I have to strongly agree with Eva on this one. I view the idea "anecdotal evidence is an oxymoron" as essentially a white masculinist concept. In other contexts and other cultures, personal testimony or even "testifying" is viewed in a much more positive light. Many in this thread have done very well at 'positioning' when making statements, but we might all do well to question our underlying assumptions about the means of argumentation.
Many others have pointed out the fallacy of using statistics, which are by definition nonartistic proof, so I'll leave that one where it lies, although a similar prejudicial intent may apply.
Thanks,
Bill