Only women read

In Hello, would you like a free book?, The Guardian Tuesday September 20, 2005, Ian McEwan reports what happened when he tried to give away novels:

Every young woman we approached - in central London practically everyone seems young - was eager and grateful to take a book. Some riffled through the pile murmuring, "Read that, read that, read that ..." before making a choice. Others asked for two, or even three.

The guys were a different proposition. They frowned in suspicion, or distaste. When they were assured they would not have to part with their money, they still could not be persuaded. "Nah, nah. Not for me. Thanks mate, but no." Only one sensitive male soul was tempted.

As in the 18th century, so in the 21st. Cognitive psychologists with their innatist views tell us that women work with a finer mesh of emotional understanding than men. The novel - by that view the most feminine of forms - answers to their biologically ordained skills. From other rooms in the teeming mansion of the social sciences, there are others who insist that it is all down to conditioning. But perhaps the causes are less interesting than the facts themselves. Reading groups, readings, breakdowns of book sales all tell the same story: when women stop reading, the novel will be dead.

Not only that. Only women watch television. Here's Charlie Brooker on why men are portrayed as morons in shows such as He's Having a Baby (men fumble tasks regularly managed by moms) and Bring Your Husband To Heel (a dog trainer teaches men to behave) even though most network controllers are men amd "ultimately men are nodding these through":

Well, since the ... study of demographics became a number one priority in TV land, it's been noted that men are a tough audience to snare. So perhaps it's an act of revenge. Here's a quote in which Nick Elliot, ITV's controller of drama, explains why most of his output is aimed at women:

"You can bash your head against a brick wall trying to make dramas for 16- to 34-year-old males, but if they only want to watch football or videos and PlayStation, there's no point ... I'm not sure what a very male drama is. Maybe it's about business or something. We do guns and violence for boys occasionally... We actually thought Footballers' Wives would appeal to men, but it doesn't very much ... they soon suss out it isn't about football."

Jesus! He hates men! And no wonder: from the sounds of it, they're morons! Because that's what you see when you study any demographic: a hateful, ignorant, unthinking mass. And in this case, a mass which doesn't watch much telly.

Everyone in telly studies demographics. And I think that's why they hate us.

"Screen burn: Surface male", The Guardian, Saturday September 17, 2005.