I'm with Stupid: One Man, One Woman, 10,000 Years of Misunderstanding Between the Sexes Cleared Right Up

by Gene Weingarten, Gina Barreca

Is God male or female? Why do women, but not men, flush public toilets with their feet? Why are men, but not women, obsessed with parallel parking? Why do women, but not men, leave eleven-minute messages on answering machines? Why do men feel guilty about nothing, and women feel guilty about everything? Was Marilyn Monroe...fat?These philosophical quandaries, and more, are finally debated in I'm with Stupid, an uproariously funny dialogue between Gene Weingarten, the gleefully misogynistic Washington Post humor columnist, and Gina Barreca, the gleefully feminist University of Connecticut professor.The first significant book about men and women actually written by a man and a woman, I'm with Stupid is privy to the dark secrets of both sexes. It's not a lecture, but an extended argument, a combustion of viewpoints that winds up unearthing startling truths. In the words of Gene and "Our Mars and Venus breach their orbits and collide in a screaming fireball from Hell."The subject matter spans art and expression, science and technology, politics and history, spirituality and religion, sex and sexuality, as well as the complex etiology, sociology, and etymology of dirty jokes. Learn at last how to know for sure when you are having a fight. Learn what he really means when he says "I'm sorry." Take sides as Gene and Gina face off in a haggling challenge in which the winner manages to get the lowest price for a Mercedes S500. Or just take in the show.I'm with Stupid is the book that finally establishes, conclusively, that women are funnier than men. And vice versa.

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Relationships, Essays

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

A Pulitzer Prize winning reporter and humorist for the Washington Post and author of a number of books.

Reviews

[Cara · Rating 1 out of 5]

The authors claim their book to be less patronizing, less insulting, less passive aggressive and more funny than Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus. Unfortunately, they are incorrect on all counts. Between the terrible writing, awful presentation, and shelves of unfunny jokes, I couldn't even finish it.

[Denise Louise · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh. Same old, same old. After noting in their introduction that they hoped to avoid "unnecessary generalizations", they proceed to write a book that was nothing but. If there were any new insights, they were lost in the foolishness of the dialog. No need to waste time finishing it; it didn't even make me laugh.

[Amir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and eye-opening. Crash course in feminism. You'll need a dictionary for reading this book, as the authors use many words never seen before (not by me at least). Didn't like the title and especially not the subtitle. Oh, well.

[Terry]

very, very funny book. feminist humor at its best

[Colleen Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intelligent in an entertaining way. A fun but not frivolous read.

[Dominique · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow this book is just amazing,I just finished in almost in one day. When I first saw this book I wasn't sure if it was a good purchase. My original intent was to learn about the misconception to between the two genders.

And I am happy to say that this books delivers and does more. The team of a male newspaper humor columnist and a female English professor who is a expert in humor and feminism to explain the misunderstandings of between the sexes. Sounds funny when you hear about it, well its hilarious when you read about it. The authors of this book are amazing on how they present their ideas and theories.I must say the highlights are defiantly the theories they share and their dynamic relationship.

This book is very informative and ridiculously funny with a little touch of cuteness (you will understand as you read from page to page) I would recommend to everybody its an easy read,it a great break from serious stories and its quite amazing what you learn.

[Nishani · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is SUCH a hilarious book. I laughed/giggled my way through almost every chapter. I've had people stare at me while reading this book in public because I just couldn't control my fits of laughter. Its written in dialog/debate format and gives good insight into the very different ways that men and women think. This is an old subject, I know, but its worth a read just for the humor. Heather and Dorothy, thanks for recommending this book to me we're going to be talking about it next time we meet.

[Natasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

FANTASTIC,

what a neat idea for a book. Honestly! I can't imagine better coauthors.
Some books I've read have reviews that state, "Laugh out loud" and I never do. Most of the jokes I read in books I just appreciate in my head, never do I 'laugh out loud'. But with this book - that's a whole other story. I couldn't stop laughing.
This was fantastic. Like a manuscript, it could totally be made into a play. I'll reread it forever.

[Mackenzie RM · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let's just say this book was AMAZING, and even that is an understatement in my opinion. I absolutely loved this book. Many books claim to be LOL funny and they seldom are, this one was different; it was downright hilarious! I laughed so many times to the point that my stomach was starting to hurt. :) Some places it's a little crude, but still funny. I found it to be such an interesting topic for a book. It was great! :)

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay I really liked this book, maybe even loved it, but I haven't rated a book 5 stars in so long, I just couldn't. We lost power last night, and I had like 3 pages left, and I finished by candle light. This book is just funny. I read in public a lot and was laughing out loud, asking people if I could read them parts. I finished this book in under a week, amazing! It is so enjoyable. Great summer read.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the Boop/Ventura continuum to the differences between the genders while car shopping, this is a witty and engaging look at the differences between men and women.

My favorite story involved the word 'schnauzer'.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written as extended debate with the viewpoint of a male humorist from the Washington Post and a femminst Connecticut Professor with a sense of humor. A lot of basic topics and insight into how the other side thinks. An easy read and a lot of fun.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A newspaper columnist and feminist/humour academic discuss gender specific stereotypes. It's actually funnier than that sounds and I found myself nodding along to quite a lot of the views. It's not a serious study but is an enjoyable read.

[James Pritchert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one funny book. It is written by two absolutely brilliant people and it will keep you going. I meet both authors and spoke with them about the book and other things. That was one excellent day and I enjoyed myself immensely.

[Alene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps not the most insightful book about relationships, but totally hilarious!

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

very funny contrast between the sexes...

[Laural · Rating 4 out of 5]

too funny!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Willing to loan or trade for another Gina Barreca book :-).

[Wendy]

I've seen her speak and she's wonderfully funny!

[Feliz Jameela · Rating 5 out of 5]

men, cant live with them...cant live without them..ugh!
cant stop laughing reading this book..

[Catvest · Rating 4 out of 5]

So funny..I pretty much learned about all the differences between men and women. I never realized how opposite we are and how we think...

[Hillary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good silly, summer read. The authors are pretty hilarious and bring up interesting questions on gender relations.

[Kristi Fedorowicz]

A quick, funny read. Good for a break from the deep stories I usually read. Made me laugh out loud a few times.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Pulitzer prize winning reporter and a feminist academic coauthor a book on .... gender stereotypes and fart jokes? The title is terrible, but I can't help it, it's a fun book.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was super funny. Loved the idea and the dialogue - would highly recommend to anyone looking for an entertaining read.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

A humorous book written as a conversation between a man Gene, and a woman Gina that taps into gender differences on everything from thoughts and actions. Reading the book is like listening to two radio show hosts battling it out verbally with good-natured humor and historical and literary references to back up expressed opinions. With chapters entitled "Why We Are Screwed: The Inordinate Importance of Sex" and "Infidelity: Get Out Your Hanky. And Your Panky." It's hard not to find something for everyone here.
A education examination of the war that's been waging since the Garden and Beyond!

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a joy and hilarious. I know it probably lacks sensitivity in our world today, but taking this with the grain of humor it's supposed to be taken with, I loved it. I read this twice, once as a teenager and again in my twenties and both times, it held up. If you want to see a typical 50's masculine, straight man and a typical 50's feminist, straight woman volley back and forth on just about every topic that divides these two camps, I would definitely recommend.

[Christina Gottwalt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious look at the difference between men and women and how those differences play out in real life. Gene Weingarten and Gina Barreca make a great literary couple, each bringing their own perspective, theory, and humor to the age old idea that "men are from Mars and women are from Venus".

If you can't see yourself in this book, what planet did you come from????

[Cheryl]

Not worth special request, but I am curious how something so likely to be insulting and pandering got such high reviews.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny book about the differences between men and women. He's a hoot to begin with, but she's the perfect partner to write this book with him.