Tuesday, July 8, 2014

In Which I Am Blasted With Sexism And Attempt To Counter It With Humor

Yesterday, I posted a review of a smoothie cookbook -- and I got blasted with an incredibly sexist comment on Amazon.  (I had no idea that a vegan on a crusade could be so sexist; I'd sort of thought that vegans were all about being progressive.)
Below I have pasted the review, the sexist comment, and my response.


0 of 2 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Gustatory Snobbery At Its HighestJuly 7, 2014
This review is from: Superfood Smoothies: 100 Delicious, Energizing & Nutrient-dense Recipes (Hardcover)
Are you a wealthy, lactose intolerant vegan living in New York City? This book may be for you!
On the other hand, if you're a middle-class, milk-loving resident of rural Montana whose budget has no room for weekly purchases of Thai coconuts ( Morris sniffs and condescends to mention there are other, oh-so-inferior types out there.), then I'd suggest you spend your money elsewhere.
Nearly every recipe in this book calls for specialty items such as camu powder, goji berries, and lucuma fruit. And Morris-the-Milk-Hater will go so far as to pair cauliflower with chocolate to get creaminess. *rolls eyes* She also pretends that tea is non-acidic and better for you than any animal product.
Thus, if you think it odd that some of us don't actually keep a supply of dried mulberries and coconut water on hand, and if you think that peanut butter is only fit for the smoothies you make your German Shepherd in order to get him to eat kale, then this book is probably a good choice for you. However, if you rather prefer mixed fruit and yogurt smoothies over a combination of apples and broccoli with dates, if you cannot afford to buy dozens of ingredients that cost over $10.00 a pound, or if you live in a place where a pomegranate is a bit exotic and nobody at the local grocery store gives a hoot in heck what maca powder is, then you should probably not bother with this book.
Personally, I received it as a gift, and I did find it made for very amusing reading; hence I gave it two stars instead of one.
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Showing 1-2 of 2 posts in this discussion
Initial post: Jul 7, 2014 9:40:32 PM PDT
Last edited by the author 10 hours ago
Oliver says:
Hi everyone,

I'm sure Lisa is a wonderful woman maybe with a tendency to overstate and mix reality with emotional perception of here own inner state of being. To be clear most she says in here review is far away from the truth. I read the book several times which Lisa did not do, it seems. Unless we read different books. Most of the ingredients described in the book can be bought now at Von's, Costco and even Ralph's. I assume most of us are near by one of those stores. Are they more expensive ~ slightly but again how much is your health worth. Everyone has to answer that question for them self. In the end of the day the title contains super foods which are foods that give your body the most nutrition per calorie. So please be fair and not discredit a great and very helpful book simply because it does not contain any dairy products. Lisa's review has no constructive value and is simply misleading in every count. In fact it it so poised with subjectivity that it may keep people away form educating themselves about a new way of eating that has the potential to improve someones well being dramatically.
As fare my recommendation goes, the book is worth every dollar and beyond.

1 new post since your last visit
Your post: Jul 8, 2014 9:12:44 AM PDT
Lisa Shafer says:
*leans back in chair while sipping yogurt-blueberry smoothie to consider Oliver*
*thinks in pseudo-German accent*
So, this Oliver is on a crusade here, commenting on multiple negative reviews about this book. And yet his comments on my review are the most trollish. Did he do mine last, working up his venom? Or is he afraid that people will give more credit to mine because it is amusing to read?
*pauses again to sip dairy smoothie made from readily-available, inexpensive ingredients*
Notice how, instead of merely making his point (about where one might find Morris' exotic ingredients -- assuming, of course, that one lives in an area with one of these stores), he uses the Victorian argument that a woman is too emotional a creature to think logically, intimating that my review is invalid.
*remembers Dr. Van Helsing's saying, "That Mina! She haf a woman's heart but a man-brain!"*
Notice how he tells me I am "overstat[ing]," that I have "mix[ed] reality with emotional perception," and that I am "poised with subjectivity," all the while ignoring all of my objective points except one. He even goes so far as to state that my points have "no constructive value" and are "misleading," simply because he happens to like expensive, vegan smoothies.
What does this Oliver fear so much that he must attack in this manner? Is it intelligent women? Humor? Dairy products?
*sips smoothie again*
Does Oliver even realize his own sexism? Or is he just a troll on a crusade?
Will he laugh and apologize to me when he reads this comment? Or will he troll on, perhaps using other traditionally sexist approaches, such as ridiculing my looks, age, or weight?
*sets down dairy smoothie and taps fingers together*
We shall see, my readers, we shall see.
*goes off to wonder at Morris' 2-page spread on making chia gel*
*hums old 70s jingles about Chia Pets*


Want to comment or just like my review?  Here's a link.

1 comment:

  1. (sarcastic font) Ahh, you silly woman, you just don't get it. (end sarcastic font)
    I guess stating factual stuff (I haven't read the book so I really don't know, but I know you and how you write) with humor makes it emotional. And subjective? Aren't books always subject to one's opinions, likes and dislikes? I wouldn't have much nice to say about a book on competitive running, and a lot of people would be bored with a book on Classic Fords. In your second paragraph, you make it clear where you are coming from, allowing people with like-minded attitudes to accept your review and non-like minded people to immediately know your review is not for them.

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