Arts Mar 15, 2017 at 4:00 am

Or, I Read Jessa Crispin’s New Book and I Have Regrets

Comments

1
Sounds like how I felt after reading (and being unable to comment on) Erik Henrikson's latest thing about how liberals have as much confirmation bias as anyone else. "You're not getting the nuances, in ways I think I could never explain to you..."
2
And it also sort of sounds like the issue of Groups. How any affinity group or ideological school is going to be made of people, and therefore a certain amount are going to be shitty, crazy, stupid, etc. Doesn't mean that the entire movement is any of those things, but anyone who claims that those elements don't exist in said movement are being hopeful, to put it nicely.

I haven't read this. I think it's interesting that she's sort of obliquely name-checking Bertrand Russell with the title; she thinks she's knocking down walls, yes? I kinda wonder about it, but I bet I know this one: Why Yes, If That's What Feminism Actually Was, That Would Be A Giant Tragedy, Wouldn't It? But...
3
Maybe you're right, Megan, or maybe Crispin is just stating something you don't want to hear.

She's written some interesting things on the origins of the early Spiritualist movements in America which predated feminist polemics (and Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for US President), and yes, her particular focus is on radical thought. https://thebaffler.com/salvos/madam-pres…

That said, it's probably a bit self-deceiving to wear the mantle of feminism while supporting the Clinton legacy. Many women see HRC, despite her lifetime of political efforts, as a dogged proponent of elite feminism and an apologist for stratified corporate existence, but an opponent of movements to advance the status of women collectively.

Try Barbara Ehrenreich, Lucy Ellmann, Yasmin Nair, and Susan Faludi.
4
Yeah, the Baffler. That was the last place I read the argument that Erik Henrikson was making in that thing he decided we don't get to comment on: Hey! Did you know that political satire isn't going to fix everything? WELL DID YOU?

I just hate that particular variety of dewy-eyed true believer. No matter how much any one particular politician or entertainer is ever going to do, there will be one asshole there to say, "WELL, THANKS A LOT FOR NOT PREVENTING THE HUMANITARIAN TRAGEDY IN SYRIA, JOHN OLIVER!" It's an argument stunning in its simplemindedness, but totally flies among absolutists and ideological purists.

Damn. I used to love The Baffler. So Jessa Crispin writes for them, too, huh?
5
I'm not exactly sure what you are talking about.

But yes, The Merc has effectively disabled comments on their blog, or at least made them nearly invisible. A lot of news sites are doing that.
6
Oh, just noting that a fairly specious argument put forth by one of the writers here was -coincidentally- one I last read on a website you linked to. That's all.
7
Crispin: Carceral feminism often leads to police only going after minority suspects and giving 'em long sentences, so we should be careful with it.
You: Oh, so you don't want rapists to go to jail?
Crispin: Intersectionality can sometimes result in a cry or a shield for a diversified upper class instead of going after the structure itself.
You: It's problematic that she's going after Beyoncé as a white person.
Crispin: Also I'm not interested in what men think of this, go do your own work.
You: This was written for brocialists.

Damn, this must've hit close to home.

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