In Regards to
F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre's The Unpleasantness at the Baloney Club
8 April 1999
This seems to be a comedy of manners, mocking those people who take their silly customs seriously. These rules seemed to matter more than either those who are effected by the rules.
I loved the ironic ending. I don't think that's about limiting club or social group membership. I just saw it as the running joke: "Just room for one" was the message in his dream, the message on the bus, and then the message from the grim elevator attendant.
I don't know if the author really intends that we should view the Baloney Club as a microcosm for the world. Just because a story is written without women does not mean the author is either sexist or addressing sexism or patriarchy. If a man rights about men, it could be that he is just writing about what he knows best and sees no need for female characters within the cast. And of course, if he arbitrarily changes a character to female, then he gets criticized "Why is this person female?" or "No woman would do this." A male author can hardly win when it comes to casting or not casting females in the story. Everything is interpreted as intentional. This is absurd. Stories can be stories. If I want to write a philosophical message, I write a philosophical message. If I want to write an alagory, I write an alagory. Why write an alagory so subtle that everyone is going to miss the point except a few elitist critics who have made up their minds on the issue before they open your book!