“Norman Mailer used to be terrified that women were going to take over the world as a punishment for being bad to them over the centuries,” says Dowd, who is regularly ranked among the top 100 public intellectuals in America (we know this because it is pointed out twice in the book’s introduction). “All women needed, he said, were about a hundred semen slaves that they could milk every day... Dream on, Norman! All women need is a few cells in the freezer next to the cherry-flavoured vodka and we’re all set.”