[spam][crazy][wrong] inventing mean words

[Undiscussed Horrific Abuse, One Victim of Many]

skimming, this scene maybe juxtaposes misogyny with liberal science,
it's what i've found so far

part of my boss experience relates to realisation of, um, kind of
grooming of men to have access to higher circles of sex trafficking,
very hard to discuss it, should probably put that into the mcboss
stuff somehow. very similar to the various political patterns: the
more oppressive the norm, the safer it is to connect them into things
that are actually crime rings, and those crime rings probably need
young people to stick around

“All senses. I met women at the party last
night—five, ten—hundreds of men. None were
scientists, I think. Who were they?”
“Wives. One of them was my wife, in fact,”
Oiie said with his secretive smile.
“Where are other women?”
“Oh, no difficulty at all there, sir,” Pae said
promptly. “Just tell us your preferences, and
nothing could be simpler to provide.”
“One does hear some picturesque speculations about Anarresti customs,
but I rather think
we can come up with almost anything you had
in mind,” said Oiie.
Shevek had no idea what they were talking
about. He scratched his head. “Are all the sci94 / URSULA K. LE GUIN

entists here men, then?”
“Scientists?” Oiie asked, incredulous.
Pae coughed. “Scientists. Oh, yes, certainly,
they’re all men. There are some female teachers
in the girls’ schools, of course. But they never
get past Certificate level.”
“Why not?”
“Can’t do the math; no head for abstract
thought; don’t belong. You know how it is, what
women call thinking is done with the uterus! Of
course, there’s always a few exceptions, Godawful brainy women with
vaginal atrophy.”
“You Odonians let women study science?”
Oiie inquired.
“Well, they are in the sciences, yes.”
“Not many, I hope.”
“Well, about half.”
“I’ve always said,” said Pae, “that girl technicians properly handled
could take a good deal
of the load off the men in any laboratory situation. They’re actually
defter and quicker than
men at repetitive tasks, and more docile—less
easily bored. We could free men for original
work much sooner, if we used women.”
“Not in my lab, you won’t,” said Oiie. “Keep
’em in their place.”
“Do you find any women capable of original
intellectual work, Dr. Shevek?”
“Well, it was more that they found me. Mitis,
in Northsetting, was my teacher. Also Gvarab;
you know of her, I think.”
THE DISPOSSESSED / 95

“Gvarab was a woman?” Pae said in genuine
surprise, and laughed.
Oiie looked unconvinced and offended.
“Can’t tell from your names, of course,” he said
coldly. “You make a point, I suppose, of drawing no distinction
between the sexes.”
Shevek said mildly, “Odo was a woman.”
“There you have it,” Oiie said. He did not
shrug, but he very nearly shrugged. Pae looked
respectful, and nodded, just as he did when old
Atro maundered.