I happened to start reading this in the wake of an election that has left women feeling more hated than ever, so (I suppose) the timing couldn't be beI happened to start reading this in the wake of an election that has left women feeling more hated than ever, so (I suppose) the timing couldn't be better. It's amazing to read what Dworkin wrote twenty, thirty, forty, sometimes fifty years ago and it resonates in a way it never did while she was alive. We're just barely beginning to catch up with her, becoming conscious of how serious she was about misogyny and how wide and deep it goes.
When it comes to Dworkin this was the best I could do as far as getting my hands on her work. Her books are out of print and if you find a copy they're very expensive. Overall I got the impression that they're out print for a reason: certain powers that be don't want them out there. What's more, for years and years this woman has been painted as some sort of feminist monstrosity, an extremist too unbalanced for public consumption. The more you read the more you realize that isn't the case.
I keep in mind that what I've read are excerpts from a much larger body of work, and what has been selected here is the best and most solid of her arguments and experiences. When she explains that she has died hundreds of deaths I understand, although our lives are vastly different in many ways. Despite this there is a universal truth that we share. We both know what it is to live in fear of stalked, beaten, raped and/or murdered by men, because if it ever happens that violence is excused and celebrated by our fellow humans.
Living with that threat may seem normal but it shouldn't be, and unfortunately there are millions of dead women that make it unbearably real. Upon finishing this, I believe that this is what Dworkin was all about. We simply weren't listening....more
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