Ruth Davis Konigsberg has recently written an opinion piece for TIME magazine complaining that no women exist in the Tolkien universe. She basis this upon watching one film, rather than reading the books.
http://ideas.time.com/2012/12/31/the-hobbit-why-are-there-no-women-in-to...
Tolkien was well ahead of his time in promoting women in fantasy, and some of the strongest characters, Arwen, Éowyn and Galadriel were female. She even disparages Galadriel by calling her a princess rather than a Queen
Ruth acknowledges that she has not bothered to read any of the books before writing her piece, and does a disservice to English literature with her piece.
TIME magazine is a great magazine, and does not deserve to be drawn down by opinionated and unresearched article by Ruth