nt made by Williamson (1986): "In our society women stand for the side of life that seems to be outside history--for personal relationships, love and sex--so that these aspects of life actually seem to become 'women's areas'" (p. 101). Boorstin (1973) also shows a marked insensitivity to gender language. He routinely uses terms such as the "average man," "statesman," "the consumer is king." Where Boorstin (1973) does present information about women, he devotes an inordinate amount of space to call girls, gangster molls, prostitution, and Las Vegas card dealers. No details are given of the women's suffrage movement which occurred within the timeframe of corresponding events in the book.
One rationale for Boorstin's (1973) lack of presentation of a balancing point of view is his definition of democracy and the democratic experience. According to Boorstin (1973), the aim of democracy is "to enrich the citizen's everyday life" (p. 389). The discussion in his book centers on how marvels of invention and capitalism have done just that.
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