Why don't women read Pynchon?

[kelber at mindspring.com]

Has the assumption about the gender of Pynchon's readers ever been backed up by any type of poll or market research, or is it strictly anecdotal?  Also, what percentage of book reviewers are women?  I think few people on this list, and probably few book reviewers, have lots of personal acquaintances, male or female, who are Pynchon fans.  So it would be hard for anyone to make generalizations about Pynchon's readership, other than to say they're a quirky, isolated lot.

Laura
 
-----Original Message-----
>From: Ya Sam <takoitov at hotmail.com>
>Sent: Nov 30, 2006 12:21 PM
>To: pynchon-l at waste.org
>Subject: Why don't women read Pynchon?
>
>Sorry if posted before
>
>"Why don’t women read Pynchon? The question’s been posed and bandied about 
>on the blogosphere recently in response to Thomas Pynchon’s latest novel and 
>the spate of reviews for Against the Day written largely by men. It came as 
>a surprise, this question: as a devoted Pynchonite — and a woman — I’d never 
>thought of Pynchon’s work as gender-specific. But according to one blogger, 
>Pynchon’s writing presents obstacles women don’t care to surmount. And the 
>few searing female reviews of the book that have come out support the 
>theory. So I started evaluating the ways Pynchon could turn women off.  ..."
>
>http://www.thephoenix.com/article_ektid28706.aspx
>
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