I've heard far too many people, feminists and antis alike, saying this. While I have yet to read the book which gave way to that myth ( Intercourse), this was important to see. Also, there were certainly sections of the book (the 'men hate intelligence in women' chapter) which were probably far more applicable a generation or several ago than they are now, though I'm sure there are men today to whom this applies (*coughJohnCarrollconservativescough*).Īlso, I read this in conjunction with Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards' Manifesta, in which they succinctly explain that no, Dworkin did not believe all sex was rape. I did, however, agree with her on a lot of what she said. I do not, for instance, consider pornography to be a base cause of anything, or even one of the biggest problems women face in society. And it was damn worth it.įirstly.did I agree with her on everything? No. But, in an attempt to figure out what the majority of my female relatives are thinking, I picked this up. Subordinate to men, sexually colonized in a sexual system of dominance and submission, denied rights on the basis of sex, historically chattel, generally considered biologically inferior, confined to sex and reproduction: this is the general description of the social environment in which all women live.'Īndrea Dworkin gets such a bad rap among (some) feminists and anti-feminists alike that I was slightly wary to actually go out and find one of her books. Here's a sample - see if you can stomach it: '.The fate of every individual woman - no matter what her politics, character, values, qualities - is tied to the fate of all women whether she likes it or not. Also, her writing style is dense but totally readable, which I appreciate.

I was floored - I think I underlined about 25% of the book. There's a lot of discussion amongst radical feminists about 'following a thought to its logical conclusion.' This means not stopping when an idea steps on PC toes or becomes uncomfortable - or downright dangerous - either personally or to the sex-class system at large (which obviously BECOMES personally dangerous for individual women.) Dworkin's book is radical - 'to the root' - in every single sentence, possibly every single word. Can I give this book 10 stars? No? Bummer.

Right wing women dworkin