Book clubs are a great way to spend your free time. You get to read something new, meet people who enjoy the same hobby, and have conversations you probably wouldn’t have otherwise. Really, what could possibly be wrong with that?
Well, one Redditor happened to be the only male member of his local neighborhood book club. And one of the women’s husbands wasn’t exactly a fan of that arrangement. So after a recent meeting wrapped up, the guy approached him with one very specific demand.
The man was the only male member of his local neighborhood book club
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One of the women’s husbands, however, wasn’t too happy about the arrangement
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Image credits: Best-Pirate5073
The first book clubs were started by women who wanted to rebel against a society that didn’t want them reading
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Book clubs are a pretty common hobby these days, and something most people wouldn’t think twice about. Pretty much anyone can join one or put together their own, whether it's a group of neighbors, a bunch of classmates, or a few coworkers looking for something to do after hours.
A few centuries ago though, gathering to read and share thoughts on a book could actually land you in some pretty deep trouble. That is, if you were a woman. Many of the earliest book clubs were founded by women themselves, back when female reading and intellectual discussion were widely frowned upon.
Historically, women had far less access to formal education, which made learning to read and write a real challenge in the first place. And once reading became more accessible, plenty of books were still considered off-limits for female audiences.
Some critics went as far as claiming that reading novels could genuinely be harmful to women. Fiction, they argued, might overstimulate the mind or distract women from the domestic roles society expected them to stick to.
So you can imagine just how controversial it was when, in 1600s Boston, a woman named Anne Hutchinson began hosting gatherings in her home where local women came together to discuss the Bible and unpack the week’s sermons.
According to 1000 Libraries, these meetings can be considered the first book club. At the time, interpreting scripture was largely seen as a man’s responsibility, so the gatherings went against the religious expectations of the era.
Once word got out about what Hutchinson was up to, the fallout was severe. She was put on trial and eventually banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Fast forward more than 100 years, and things had changed a little. In 1750s England, the Blue Stockings Society began bringing women together in salons to discuss books and exchange ideas. Led by noblewoman Elizabeth Montagu, the gatherings also included men, but women taking part in serious intellectual discussion was still unusual.
According to Historic UK, girls’ education at the time was often focused more on etiquette and accomplishments such as music than academic subjects. Even women who were well educated could be encouraged not to show it too openly, since appearing too intellectual was thought to hurt their chances of finding a husband.
By the next century, reading was becoming more accessible to a much wider part of society. The Industrial Revolution increased the need for literacy, and working-class communities began forming “mutual improvement societies” of their own.
Books were expensive, so members would often pool their money to buy a few and pass them around, giving more people a chance to read and discuss what they had learned.
And now, women are the ones who read more books than men
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Eventually, book clubs became the casual social groups we know today. Nobody needs to host a secret meeting just to talk about a novel anymore. People can gather at someone’s home, meet at a local library, or simply join a group online.
However, research shows that even now, women are still much more likely than men to take part in book clubs. They also tend to read more overall, buy more novels, and visit libraries more often. On top of that, women publish more books than men.
So women went from having to fight for space in intellectual conversations to becoming some of the most enthusiastic readers around. You would think that would be an achievement worth celebrating. Apparently, though, some people can still find a reason to feel threatened by it.
Just look at the husband in this story. Instead of being happy that his wife had found a hobby she genuinely enjoyed, he became uncomfortable with the fact that another man was part of the group, especially once romance books entered the picture.
What exactly was he worried about? That another guy sharing one interest with his wife was somehow enough to put their relationship at risk? Or that the fictional men in the books were setting the bar a little too high? Either way, his reaction seems to say much more about his own insecurity than it does about the Redditor.
What do you think? Did the Redditor handle the situation well, or could he have responded differently? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Commenters thought the husband was jealous and wasted no time calling him out for it
