Choice, Preference and Utility: A Response to Sommers1

Christina Sommers chides “gender feminists” for ignoring what women actually want in order to promote what they believe women ought to want. Sommers, however, ignores the crucial distinction between what women choose, given their current alternatives and what women would choose if their options were less restrictive. The costs, benefits and risks of pursuing the same goals are different for women than they are for men, consequently women, acting as rational, self-interested and informed choosers will naturally make different choices from their equally rational, self-interested and informed male counterparts.