BarelySentient reviewed Woman Hating by Andrea Dworkin
overall kind of whiplash-inducing
4 stars
first book by dworkin i've read, and also the first she wrote. mostly respect it for its scope/ambition. the best parts are her absolutely lacerating readings of cheap porn magazines and her chapter on the history of footbinding as an example of gender being both entirely invented and literally disabling. the mythological speculation toward the end might be more compelling if it didn't make sweeping universal claims like "we went from androgynous gods to female mother gods and maybe that's where the incest taboo comes from" while citing people like joseph campbell with a tendency to bullshit. the last section's surprisingly pro-trans for the reputation radical feminism usually has: it frames trans people as in direct conflict with the medical/psychiatric establishment and establishes the right to transition in no uncertain terms. (she also kind of maybe definitely defends bestiality but WE DON'T TALK ABOUT THAT.) be prepared for the preface …
first book by dworkin i've read, and also the first she wrote. mostly respect it for its scope/ambition. the best parts are her absolutely lacerating readings of cheap porn magazines and her chapter on the history of footbinding as an example of gender being both entirely invented and literally disabling. the mythological speculation toward the end might be more compelling if it didn't make sweeping universal claims like "we went from androgynous gods to female mother gods and maybe that's where the incest taboo comes from" while citing people like joseph campbell with a tendency to bullshit. the last section's surprisingly pro-trans for the reputation radical feminism usually has: it frames trans people as in direct conflict with the medical/psychiatric establishment and establishes the right to transition in no uncertain terms. (she also kind of maybe definitely defends bestiality but WE DON'T TALK ABOUT THAT.) be prepared for the preface making the horrible decision to quote yoko ono on woman being the __ of the world.
