Andrea Dworkin

[firecat]

From an article by Susie Bright about Andrea Dworkin (but not an obituary as someone characterized it; it was written in 2000). I'm not entirely comfortable with the subject and general tone of the article, but this was really well said and is primarily what I have been thinking about since learning that Dworkin has died.

Dworkin, as veteran observers know, is usually depicted as a shrill fatty. It's painful to read mainstream media coverage of her, because they insist that her entire reputation can be distilled to a lack of fashion sense, a fatal lack of "femininity." I don't think there's a female public figure alive who's been more castigated for their looks. It's frightening to consider that, if she was slim and blonde ( like MacKinnon) she would actually be treated in the diminutive; her views would be considered with at least a modicum of respect. But I don't care how loud or fat she is, in fact those are probably two of my favorite things about her, because they express her defiance.

Comments

Re: Andrea Dworkin

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

i didn't even know she was fat. i knew she was "loud", but i thought that to be less of a literal description than it seems now. i am really tired of such descriptions, to the point where i count them as a bad mark against the writer/publisher -- which means i read a lot less crap these days.

i didn't care for much of what dworkin wrote, but i think she played an important role in western feminism. only 59. damn.

it'll be interesting to read the mainstream obits now.