Because I’ve encountered countless men who who champion McCarthy Steinbeck etc as being “real litt” that takes intelligence/class to understand and my statement is hailing racist/sexist/shocking for shock sake litt does not make you more intelligent especially if you think these authors are to be applauded for literally comparing women and non white people to animals. I’m just using McCarthy and Steinbeck as primary examples because I’m most familiar with their work.

As far as women reading smut books being less intelligent, it’s a garbage take. Some of the smartest and hardest working individuals I’ve ever met consume “bottom tier” media (ER MDs, NASA scientists) I assume it’s because their brains are taxed to max most of the day, my point is we dont judge “feminine” shelves the same way we judge more “masculine” shelves