But this is "Dilbert" we're talking about, so there you go

Flea wrote Scott Adams a letter asking him to explain a recent comic to her to see if he is sexist or criticizing sexists. Sometimes things are pretty much what they seem, a lesson that I keep learning as much as I'd like to resist it. This is Adams' reply:

I'd have to say that none of you are too close. It's just a fact that women get a seratonin rush from shopping.

Effing wonderful. Of course, it caused that rush of Feminist Guilt in me, because I do get a kick out of shopping, but then I remembered that almost all my girl friends hate shopping and think I'm a relic. Then I went and shoved a guitar catalog under my boyfriend's nose and saw his eyes light up, a sure sign of seratonin rushing and remembered that ah yes, seratonin is not a hormone emitted from the ovaries at the sight of new shoes, but is in fact a hormone both men and women have that makes them happy. And getting something new that you like is something that pleases us both.

I have to wonder if Adams is thinking of any specific study. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a study where they measured women's seratonin levels after they spent an hour in shoe heaven and claimed that was all the proof they needed that women are natural shoppers. One way or another, I am really surprised at how hard you have to avoid thinking to see why Adams' little joke here doesn't make any sense. Martians like to have a new piece of clothing that they think will make them look sexier, even if they are more reluctant to admit it than Venusians are.