An overwhelming urge, then, is to save younger women from the abuse or just psychic damage inherent in being the sexy young thing, especially now that the erotic narrative is driven by ever more violent porn. Yet Smith drily acknowledges that years ago she too would disdain such warnings. Today’s young women are brought up to #bekind, to believe that “femininity is inclusion”, so they see the Terfs/hags who defend single-sex spaces not just as unkind, but repellent and unfeminine too.
I'm a younger woman, but the thought of being a "sexy young thing" has never crossed my mind. Maybe I'm a hag at heart - or shall I say, identify as a hag? 😆 I had somehow figured out "femininity" was a device to keep women down long before I discovered feminism.
The greatest joy of Hags is its lively erudition. Smith draws on the second-wave feminists I read as a student: Dale Spender, Andrea Dworkin, Adrienne Rich, Sheila Jeffreys and dear problematic Germaine Greer. All have fallen from fashion for no good reason except that, while every other social justice movement cherishes its elders, feminism cries wrong-think and burns them as hags. Smith deftly reconnects these snipped intellectual threads.
Victoria Smith's erudition is definitely one of my favorite things about her. It always pains me whenever a woman who claims to be GC expresses no interest in earlier feminist writings.
Me too! I’ve been figuring out this stuff long before I’ve been exposed to it. Makes me laugh when men say that we’ve been brainwashed by school or media. Nope! I was one of the girls bringing those thoughts to other girls if anything.
This is a circle to discuss and share feminist books. Share about your favorites, ask for recommendations, report on what you're reading, or start any other conversations about feminist books.
Essays, manifestos, zines, and other such documents that were published offline can also be posted here.
All fictional book discussion belongs in /o/Books.
Please don't post links to stores. Posting a link to the book's page on GoodReads is an alternative. All links with referral IDs that could be advertiser referral IDs will be removed.
https://archive.ph/mSRER
I'm a younger woman, but the thought of being a "sexy young thing" has never crossed my mind. Maybe I'm a hag at heart - or shall I say, identify as a hag? 😆 I had somehow figured out "femininity" was a device to keep women down long before I discovered feminism.
Victoria Smith's erudition is definitely one of my favorite things about her. It always pains me whenever a woman who claims to be GC expresses no interest in earlier feminist writings.
Me too! I’ve been figuring out this stuff long before I’ve been exposed to it. Makes me laugh when men say that we’ve been brainwashed by school or media. Nope! I was one of the girls bringing those thoughts to other girls if anything.