“Of course there are women taxidermists. That I was ever surprised by this, that it's even a topic of comment or worthy of note, is a factor not of some novelty within the field but of some pervading sexism we may not want to admit. There are taxidermists who are women just as there are doctors who are women. Police officers, too. Ask a female firefighter what it's like being a female firefighter and rightfully she'll stare at you without an answer. Because what are you asking her? Are you asking her what it's like to do her job or what it's like to be her sex, the sex she's been her entire life? Our biological sex is not some hobby we take up. My assumption that taxidermy would ever be a domain exclusive to men betrays a fundamental misunderstanding about the effect animals can have on us all. ”