A New Chapter in Classifying the Elements of Culture by the Book

Secretary of Education William Bennett is taking a lot of guff--not to mention criticism--these days. Bennett felt that Stanford University capitulated to special-interest groups like women by allowing some of these nouveaux literates on its Western Civ reading list.

Personally, I’m with Bennett on this one. If I had to suffer through John Stuart Mill, then I think everyone should be put through the John Stuart Mill. But I disagree with Bennett when he complains that Stanford was just giving in to the left-wing rabble. I have been to Stanford, and the place is crawling with rabble of all kinds.

The way something as snotty and opinionated as culture is defined will never be simple in a democracy. If we let the majority decide, Jackie Collins, a woman, will certainly edge out Immanuel Kant, a man. Then people will care more about rock stars than Pure Reason.

The dilemma of fair play for philosophy is particularly acute for those who sell culture for a living. How a bookstore displays the elements of culture has been an object of intense debate in my Berkeley neighborhood.

A few months ago, a controversy arose when my friendly local bookstore labeled a section Women’s Studies. A man took umbrage (or whatever it is men take).

When he complained that there was no Men’s Studies section, the clerk said she saw no problem with that. “We consider the rest of the store Men’s Studies,” she told the irate hombre.

Time passed, Western Civilization did not crumble.

New category.

Some time later, I entered the bookstore and noticed a new section labeled Gay Men. I asked if the lesbian literature was mixed in with the Women’s Studies and was told it was.

I began to wonder if perhaps it might be fairer to arrange all boxes by sexual preference. Instead of Philosophy and Belles Lettres and Celebrity Bios, maybe we should have In the Shower, Only on Weekends Away From the Kids and For Those Who Like Their Earlobes Nibbled.

More time passed.

When I returned to the bookstore, there was still no Het Lit, Menage a Trois or Celibacy Bios. But I noticed that the Gay Men’s section was gone. When I asked the owner what had happened, he told me that several gays had complained that gay men was redundant. Gay always means gay men. So he showed me the brand-new section labeled Gay. It was near Health, Women’s Studies and Reference Books.

I suppose Secretary Bennett would view this highlighting of preference books as another example of culture being corrupted by screaming protest groups. But I think my bookstore was giving in to the basic laws of capitalism. As it turns out, gays buy a disproportionate number of books. Several years ago, the American Booksellers Assn. made use of this fact at its annual convention and provided a workshop on how to sell to the gay audience. Having a Gay section is just basic marketing savvy. There would be no point, for example, in having an Illiterate Straights section.

Straights.

Nevertheless, I decided to needle my local bookstore owner because tormenting bookstore owners is what I do for kicks. “Now wait a minute,” I complained. “You’ve got a Women’s Studies section, you’ve got a Gay section. What are straight men these days--Fiction?”

“Come with me,” he said and got out his key chain. He led me into the store’s inner sanctum, where piles of excess Cultural Literacy and Closing of the American Mind lay fallow.

We approached the area where employees must wash their hands before returning to work. The owner pointed with pride to two doors. One said Women. On the other, the Men sign was amended to read Men’s Studies.

Finally, Western Civilization has a room of his own.