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Tracy Adams
Ashley David
English 1101.18
September 27, 2014
The Great Divide
Anna Quindlens Between the Sexes, a Great Divide was first published in the Hers
column of the New York Times on March 24, 1988. In this essay, Quindlen tries to convince her
readers that there is a noticeable difference between genders both physically and mentally. She
uses personal accounts, comparison, and contrast to create a convincing argument. She also
approaches the subject analytically instead of critically. Her approach to this topic is why she
gets her point across very clearly. This is very significant because the difference in genders is a
very controversial topic, even today. Gender roles has been a controversial topic for some time
now, significant in the since that neither sex can outdo the other completely.
Quindlens essay is written from the point of view of a woman and was published in a
nationally viewed column in the New York Times. The fact that she is writing for the New York
Times is very important to the style and voice that she wrote in as she needs to be able to cater to
a larger audience, both males and females. As stated above, this essay was published in 1988 and
women then were viewed differently than now. Even though the differences between males and
females are a bit more blended now, they are still very evident in society, which means this essay
is still relevant in todays standards.
The way that she structures her argument is very different compared to the other essays
that we have read. The difference in her structure is important because it provides another
example of how to fit a controversial subject into a small amount of writing space. She dips into

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both sides of the story, of how men see women and how women see men. Evidence of this can be
found in paragraph four on line two, And Ive always been a feminist, and Ive been one of the
boys as well, and Ive given both sides a pretty good shot. She states this to put forward that she
has experienced both sides of the story and that she isnt blindly biased to one side. Another
example of her going from the point of view of a woman to the point of view of a man is at the
end of paragraph five to paragraph six Men are the other. We are the other, too, of course.
Meaning that women look at men and think they are the other, but that she also understands that
men look at women and think that women are the other as well.
She starts everything off by setting a friendly, more relaxed tone of voice by stating
Perhaps we all have the same memory of the first boy-girl party we attended. By starting off
with the word Perhaps it makes it difficult for her audience to be put off by her voice. Its as if
she is coming up to you and shaking your hand, you cant just slap her right in the face at that
point; shes right there. She then goes on to describe the situation of the first boy-girl party by
describing the setting. The floors were waxed, the music loud, the air thick with the smell of
cologne. The boy stood on one side of the room and the girls on the other (Paragraph 1, Lines
2-4). This gives the image of a school gym where the boys and girls are split up; that there is a
great space between them.
That great space between the boys and girls on the dance floor is the Great Divide that
is stated in the title. In the third paragraph she states None of us would consciously know it
then, but what we were seeing, that great empty space in the center of the floor as fearful as a
trapdoor, was the great division between the sexes. She uses this great empty space as
metaphor to the differences between genders and she uses this example multiple times
throughout the essay. In the fifth paragraph on the first and second line she revisits the gym floor

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by stating And then something happens, a little thing usually, and all I can see is that great shiny
space in the middle of the dance floor where no one ever meets. Once again in paragraph seven
on the last line she writes I live with three males, one husband and two sons, and occasionally I
realize with great clarity that they are gazing across a divide at me. She visits the example of the
gym one last time in the eleventh paragraph on the first like; I must never forget, I suppose, that
even in the gym, with all that space between us, we still managed to pick partners and dance.
Another way that she tries to convey her views is through personal accounts. In
paragraph eight she goes through an account where she places an amaryllis bulb in the bathroom
and her husband and son dont understand why. This account shows that men dont pay attention
to detail as much as women do. She writes I explained that it was not an onion but an amaryllis
bulb and that soon it would grow into fabulous flowers. What is that thing in the bathroom? his
father said later the same day. Impatiently I explained again. A look flashed between them, and
then the littlest boy, too. Mom. Weird. Women. Going through that process of explaining to her
son that the amaryllis bulb wasnt an onion and that it would grow into a flower is a part of
learning. Her husband asking what it was, however, seemed to set her off. Even though she
explained it again to her husband, she got this look from the three males that showed Mom.
Weird. Women. Stating what their looks seemed to mean shows that men see women differently.
In the next paragraph she says Once I would have felt anger flame inside me at that. But
Ive done so many times now. Meaning that this is something that just happens and almost
seems like a way of life for her. That some differences between men and women just cant be
changed. Instead of getting mad about it, she just deals with it and gets over it. Later in the same
paragraph she states One of us will sigh, and the other will know what the sigh means.
Husband. Strange. Men. This is relating to what she said about the look that she got from her

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husband and sons. That her and her friends on the phone can just tell that they are talking about a
difference between themselves and a man just by a simple sigh.
Quindlen writes about how the differences in gender are noticeable in children. In
paragraph ten she writes In children you can see the beginnings, even though we raise them in
households in which mothers do things fathers once did, and vice versa. This is something that
is very important because not only is she beginning to talk about how its evident in children, but
how it is still evident even though our culture is changing. This is significant because it boldly
states that while we seem to be making progress in society when it comes to gender equality,
there are some natural differences that are still evident. Even when men are starting to do
things that women once did and vice versa, children still show signs of a difference between boys
and girls. She also states Children try to nail down the world, and themselves, early on and in a
very primitive and real way, meaning that children try to make the world simple in their heads,
relating it to cartoons, animals, and other things that are relevant to a child. This also means that
children begin to understand the differences between boys and girls; that girls play with dolls
while boys play with trucks.
Her argument was very strong because she used relatable examples and evidence, not
straying from the topic to go on tangents about feminism or how men are better. She kept a very
middle ground style attitude, explaining both sides evenly. She had a short amount of space to
write so she definitely utilized her space effectively. One of the things that was odd in the essay
is after the third paragraph she makes a typographical space separating the gym experience and
her own voice, but she didnt separate the different accounts after that. Her essay may have been
a little easier to read if she separated the accounts so that her audience would know which
account was different.

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Between the Sexes, a Great Divide is an essay written to convey the point of view of a
woman on the differences of genders. The point that Quindlen is conveying is that men and
woman seem to have natural differences that we cant overcome, but that some of the differences
can be changed as well. She structures her argument by first presenting a relatable situation,
explaining it, and then adding in her own personal accounts and relating them to that situation. If
Quindlen had been very blunt about the topic at hand, or even just showed a bias to one gender
over the other, her essay wouldnt have had the same effect. She shows that she isnt biased
towards one gender by providing comparing and contrasting between the genders and providing
personal anecdotes as evidence to those comparisons. The way she approached the topic in such
a short amount of writing space was very effective.

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Works Cited
Quindlen, Anna. "Between the Sexes, a Great Divide." The Norton Reader. 13th ed. N.p.: n.p.,
n.d. 125-27. Print.