"I have lived in societies dominated by men. I believe your book is about societies where women were neither dominated by men, but often did the dominating. Am I correct?" She waited for a confirmation before she continued. "As such, I am not sure that I would be qualified to talk to your class. Besides, I don't even like teaching my own groups, what makes you think I could be convinced to lecture yours?" It was true. Izzy hated crowds. They made her feel claustrophobic. It was why her art classes were held in classrooms with many windows or on the patios with lots of natural light by which to paint or draw. And she didn't do a lot of lecturing. She coached, each person individually.
She could appreciate that Gideon enjoyed teaching. She did, too, though not on a grand scale. She preferred tutoring, but that didn't pay nearly as well. She observed him for a moment, relishing his chocolate and the idea of a spark in his students. He was a man, very masculine and handsome, and she wondered what compelled him to seek out books like Mead's that focused on women. Wasn't that more of a Women's Studies type of discussion? Well, it didn't matter, at least there was one man willing to look into the boundless societies of male domination and say Look, here are successful societies, if not primitive, that can operate with women in charge. At least someone was paying attention.
"You're a very complicated creature, Gideon." She mused, taking another square of her chocolate and placing it delicately on her tongue. She let the chocolate melt on her tongue for a moment before she began to chew, then swallow. "Many men wouldn't care to do the research you do. Scholars or not. They're," she thumped her chest with her fist, "manly men who think the little woman should stay in the kitchen. You're not like that, I think."