Some of the economists's friends say Donald McCloskey spent years trying to please his father, Robert McCloskey, a distinguished political scientist at Harvard, who died of a heart attack at 53. Donald McCloskey himself was 53 when he announced his decision to become a transsexual. Some of that will change now, she suspects. The change will be shocking to many who are used to the old McCloskey. He was known for being a bit rude.
Some people say they have already recognised a change in the professor.
Jenifer Gamber, managing editor of the Eastern Economic Journal , received a personal note from Deirdre McCloskey recently. Claudia Goldin, a professor of economics at Harvard University, organized the all-female dinner party for Ms. McCloskey. She, too, has noticed, a change. Still, some female economists are uncomfortable with Ms. McCloskey's interpretation of what it means to be a woman. They question whether women are less combative or more caring than men.