April 17, 2005

MacKinnon on Dworkin

Catharine MacKinnon has a piece on Andrea Dworkin in today's NYT.

Instead of being lionized and admired for her genius, instead of being able to earn a decent living as a writer, Andrea Dworkin was misrepresented and demonized. In the words of John Berger, she was "perhaps the most misrepresented writer in the Western world."

The range of her literary contribution alone - 13 books spanning fiction, literary criticism, journalism, speeches (no one could move a room like she could), essays, history, political analysis - is exceptional. But there was no Nobel Prize nomination. Her voice was fresh, her ideas original and powerful, her perceptions and moral principles fearless, her eloquence oracular, direct and riveting.

Somewhat oddly, too, given how infrequently they comment on radical feminism, the NYT's Week in Review has an article collecting favorable thoughts from conservatives about Andrea Dworkin.

I can't say I was charmed. ... But despite myself, I was impressed. Dworkin was a woman of deep and broad reading. When I met her she was increasingly immobilized by illness, but her mind ranged free. ...

We talked about her respect for the Christian conservatives who fought against forced prostitution and sex trafficking and her revulsion against Bill Clinton's abuse of women. Politically she belonged to the far, far, far left, but she had little use for an antiwar movement that made excuses for Saddam Hussein or Islamic extremism. And in one respect at least, she shared a deep and true perception with the political and cultural right: She understood that the sexual revolution had inflicted serious harm on the interests of women and children - and (ultimately) of men as well.

- David Frum, columnist for The National Review

Posted by Cleis at April 17, 2005 12:20 PM
Comments

I was pleased to see the NYTimes publish the MacKinnon op-ed yesterday, but I find the Week in Review piece from today pretty upsetting (and not all that surprising). It seems in keeping with the media's efforts to portray Dworkin (and other feminists who attack pornography) as basically being conservatives who are "in bed" with the far right.

I know that people hate Andrea Dworkin--and that many feminsits don't like her either--but I'm really saddened (and yes, even surprised) by how much negativity there is in the mainstream press about her right now. It seems like her dying is being used as an occasion on which to reiterate what an awful influence she was on the feminist movement. That seems so unfair and unjust, given the many positive effects I think her life and her work had (as you've attested in your blog entry last week).

I know that her work has inspired many feminists (including many of whom don't agree with all of her positions), and yet all we seem to be hearing is the negatives... I guess I'm particularly disappointed in Katha Pollitt's column, though not really surprised, since I knew that was her view on pornography.

Posted by: Lisa at April 17, 2005 07:55 PM

Where are the people (apart from MacKinnon) going in to bat for her, saying: "she was intelligent AND she was right?"

Everyone seems very concerned to say, "well, I'm a feminist, and I think Dworkin was marvellous, but I don't really agree with her position."

Posted by: mh at April 17, 2005 11:35 PM