I marvel again at the nakedness of men's lives: the showers right out in the open, the body exposed for inspection and comparison, the public display of privates. What is it for? What purposes of reassurance does it serve? The flashing of a badge, look, everyone, all is in order, I belong here. Why don't women have to prove to one another that they are women? Some form of unbuttoning, some split-crotch routine, just as casual. A doglike sniffing.

But maybe boredom is erotic, when women do it, for men.

When a man is attacked in print, it's usually for saying what he says; when a woman is attacked in print, it's often for being who she is.