So she was very intrigued to learn from Gramsci that Askmen.com had recently posted a survey to come up with the Top 49 Men - the best representatives of the gender. In the process, they hoped, criteria would emerge which would somehow be defining.
What emerged, instead, was a list. Most of the people on it were men the Cow had never heard of - obscure sports players or singers or even <gasp!> cooks and clothesmakers, but scattered amongst these were people who might even be recognised outside of Minnesota or Iowa.
The order was a little perplexing though. Justin Timberlake rated above Steve Jobs? David Beckham above Bill Cinton?? And who was this George Clooneythat got the top spot?
It seemed rather like the Senate discussion on The Next VC. It seemed that what was wanted there was Stephen Hawking in Brad Pitt's body, though - given the expressed preference for an internal candidate - the Cow feared the selection committee would land up with the empty set, as she'd yet to encounter such a specimen on Campus.
But it did raise methodological questions about popular definitions. The AskMen.com list left her no closer to understanding masculinity. She suspected that some people simply had bigger PR establishments to click mouse buttons in their favour.
Though perhaps when discussing masculinity, didn't it all come down to size in the end?