A new study by British researchers has found that, worldwide, women know less about politics than men. That said, readers, print and digital, are far from agreed that gender determines who finds Kim Kardashian more interesting than Stephen Harper
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Re Why Don't Women Care? (July 9): At one time, studies found differences in how men and women communicate. Follow-up research, however, showed that those differences were actually a factor of power. (See Mismeasure of Woman: Why Women are Not the Better Sex, the Inferior Sex or the Opposite Sex by Carol Tavris.)
Those in the one-down position in a relationship act the same, regardless of gender. Lesson learned? If you look for gender differences, you'll probably find them.
What if different questions had been asked in the British study? Perhaps researchers would have found that the people who are overwhelmingly responsible for home, children, aging family members and vital social connections – often while working a full-time job – are the ones who don't have the luxury of watching a few hours of news or reading the paper every day.
Kristin D. McKinnon, Courtice, Ont.
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Politics and sports have much in common: dominated by men and largely seen as a "game." Women don't see life as a game. It doesn't make them less "anything."
Jann Michaels, Thunder Bay
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As a Canadian magazine publisher, I have learned that woman do indeed care about politics. The key difference is that they care about the political issues that challenge or threaten the family or the community.
When I think back to major articles we have published on gun control, the rights of the adopted or gravel pits, woman care as much or more about these issues and the politics behind them.
Take it one step further and watch what happens when women get directly involved in the politics and advocacy of topics such as Block Parents, Neighbourhood Watch or abortion. They are not only involved, they become the leaders and organizers behind new political movements.
While we men worry about the monetary policy in Greece, the women in our lives act on the issues that threaten their families and communities. As Tip O'Neill said, "all politics is local" and that's where women shine.
Jeff Shearer, publisher, On The Bay Magazine, Collingwood, Ont.
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Male versus female attitudes are seen in many stages of life: boys' roughhousing versus little girls' tea parties becomes contact competitive sports versus emotion-sharing coffee klatches, which, in time, grow into war/politics versus family care/service.
This is up and down the generations. Writing this is not politically correct, but it is true.
Ken DeLuca, Arnprior, Ont.
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As an intelligent woman, I would love to converse about the "real reasons" sometimes, but why bother? Few people bother to go to those sites that tell the truth about political events. What is really happening in Egypt? Why is the poverty of India not discussed? Why is a democratically elected Canadian government so undemocratic? Why do one-third of Americans get food subsidies from their federal government (e.g. food stamps)?
Better to talk about the latest pesto recipe than to waste time in discussions where everyone says exactly the same thing.
Marjorie Jackson, Vancouver
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The real issue is that the disconnect should matter – a lot. There may be a lot of women in media, but it's still a man's world in politics and I would hazard a guess that that's the crux of the problem. If you can't identify, you tune out. Politics do matter because, along with big business, which is also heavily skewed to favour men, that's where the power and the dollars go.
Rosemary Adams, Toronto
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Regardless of gender, everyone should follow political and international news, if only because that sets the framework within which the fluff operates. You might not like the politicians but they affect your life and our society – so sit up at the back there and pay attention.
Richard Gregson, Baie d'Urfé, Que.
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Margaret Wente writes that "the fact that women are more interested in Kim Kardashian than Stephen Harper is bad for democracy." I only found out the Kardashians existed after they married basketball players. And it was my boyfriend who told me who they were.
Olena Bykova, Toronto
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I would hope, as a male, that the mundane and so-called trivial aspects of this life become more interesting than bombing the hell out of some country to prove one's dominance.
Bruce Paproski, Hamilton
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I am really confused. For all my years on the planet, I thought I was a woman, but now it turns out I am really a man. I am a news and politics junkie, and I wouldn't know a Kardashian from a Krispy Kreme, other than what I read about them in the national papers.
Maggie MacIsaac, Thornhill, Ont.
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Examining the political disconnection of the public is an excellent idea, but can we please abandon sexist stereotypes to do so?
Heather Herbert, 15, London, Ont.
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ON REFLECTION MORE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Lac-Mégantic's loves ones
Re Among The Lost (July 12): Thank you to the reporters and editors who compiled the stories of some of those lost at Lac-Mégantic, and to their loved ones, who shared those details at a time of intense grief.
The biographies put a face to the numbers; they transformed the lost from numerical abstraction to beloved mother, father, daughter, son and friend, someone we could imagine in our own lives, someone who, in the passing of mere moments on a summer night, is gone.
Rob Mills, Peterborough, Ont.
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Colour fossil fuels red
Re Energy Enmity (letters, July 12): I take issue with the claim that the bottom line for fossil fuels is "in the black." The industry is only in the black because the environmental consequences of its activities are not factored into the cost of its products.
The expense of cleaning up the oil sands, extreme weather damage and the health consequences of pollution are conveniently left out of the equation. If they were included, the industry would be decidedly in the red – appropriate since red is the colour of alarm.
Richard Chapman, Montreal
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Procrastination, Part 2
Re Procrastination Is … (letters, July 12): The reason that procrastination is sooo popular is that the rewards are immediate!
Lorne Bogdon, Calgary
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Bear true allegiance to …
Re Would-be Canadian Citizens Set To Fight Oath To Queen (online, July 11): If citizenship, like our Constitution, is a living tree that grows in new directions, then an oath to a hereditary British ruler has no place in today's Canada.
We are not a country of birthright, but one of hope and hard work. It's why people come here. It's what separates the new world from the old.
Until we are free of British heredity, our courts must trim away things like the oath. Pruning dead branches will help our maple tree grow properly.
Derek Smith, Toronto