Re:Philip Roth has died
by benkarst on Wednesday May 23, 2018 @01:26PM
(#17136036)
That he used the term "great white males" when he should have used "Great Male Narcissists". Would a high school newspaper even make a mistake such as this? It's either sloppy, malicious, or both.
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If someone referred to a "great black male" writer would you be equally offended? Or do you object to mention of his race? His sex? These details help paint a picture. They are not mentioned to offend.
If you read the article, he is defining this group of 'great white males' to be three writers who the literary world actually refer to as 'The Great Narcissists'.
https://www.dfwsociety.org/2017/12/02/call-for-papers-great-...
He specifically substituted 'narcissist' with 'white male' as if he's using it as a synonym.
He's not defining it, he's using a term readers might be familiar with:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/donotmigrate/3562536/Joh...
https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2017/08/28/michiko-k...
Sorry, I'm not following. Is "Great Male Narcissists" a popular pronoun in this context?
You've linked to something associated with David Foster Wallace, but the author of the NYT obit is not David Foster Wallace.