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DiscussionNellie Bowles, Morning After the Revolution: Dispatches from the Wrong Side of History
Posted May 31, 2024 by [Deleted] in FeministBooks

Just ran through it. Here are some thoughts- I wonder what the rest of you thought?

Bowles has a fourth of the book- four whole chapters dedicated to gender nonsense. First is a reporting of the WiSpa flashing- Bowles does a good job covering the trial and the "protests" that followed the video. I wish she had spent a little more time trying to explain why single sex spaces were important, if she had interviewed some of the women who were affected? And a little more time exposing the lie of transgender identity claims. How is one supposed to tell who is a transwoman and who is a pedo appropriating trans identity to perpetrate a hoax? If one cannot- then shouldnt womens safety matter enough to make us consider single sex spaces? Why is Darren Merager's trans claims a hoax? Arent we supposed to just believe men when they say theyre female? She doesnt ask.

Second chapter is about asexuality, demisexuality, queerness, and all of the new LGBT things, and in contrast, incels and MGTOWs. She seems to be worried about the impact of all of this- the end of sex, the decline in fertility and childbirth. I wonder if shes thought about the causes behind any of it? Theres a part in this chapter where she describes a teenager identifying as "asexual/demisexual" because she doesnt want to have sex on the first date and so she has to "come out" at the end of the date to explain herself. Since when is "no" not enough? why do young girls feel like theyre not normal if they dont have male sexual behaviors and if they dont want to immediately sleep with everyone? Why do women have to make an identity out of their desires (or lack of) for men to respect them? Why are grown men not able to have a conversation with Bowles? What drives them to be so incapable of finding a date when clearly- the women dont have high standards? She doesnt go into it- I wish she had.

Third chapter is on children and gender medicine- this is the most impactful of the lot. I wish shed had time to write about cass review and discuss how the medicine evolved in its history -but its one chapter in a book and she does the best she can within the structure of the book. It made me the saddest.

Last chapter on gender is on TIMs colonising feminism, how they trash old feminists as dinosaurs, how their descriptions of "female" and "women" all come down to- that which is disgusting. Andrea Long Chu quote, Quote from Daniel Lavery, a couple of others. Mentions AGP but doesnt discuss it more. Mentions prisons but doesnt talk about california prisons handing out condoms to the female prisoners. Mentions sports but doesnt get into the weeds. Talks about how feminists across history are now being appropriated as "trans" or "nb" like Louisa May Alcott and Joan of Arc- because women have to be disgusting and they cannot be brave or smart or witty or any of it.

Its a good effort to show how absurd this thing has gotten. But honestly it just made me sad. I am less optimistic than ever that all this policy and talk and precedent and law can all be stuffed back in the box. Its upsetting.

Bowles also uses pretend pronouns for TIMs throughout- that was a little disorienting having to read about very male things done by she/hers.

Shes quite indulgent of TQ+ insanity in bits and pieces. you get the sense that these are kids mucking about and theres no real harm- which isnt true. Bowles also talks about how she had a drag queen rabbi officiate her daughters toddler Shabbat? And that chapter ends in this very incomplete way? I wonder what happened there.

viewed as a part of the larger book that covers george floyd and black lives matter and the non profit industrial complex and racial grifters and antifa and homelessness and autonomous zones and sanfranciscos drug problems- the part on gender feels tame. Like Bowles doesnt want to go too hard- or doesnt feel she has much new to add to the story. Maybe its just me though.

These were some of my thoughts. I would be keen to hear what y'all taught?

4 comments

[Deleted]July 24, 2024

I just ran across this book on Amazon. I am sad no one even responded to this post as I was going to post the book myself.

[Deleted]July 24, 2024

It was an interesting book! Bowles is quite dry and funny and I like her writing. She explores interesting topics in americas culture wars. I would be interested to know what you thought!

CharliXXAugust 17, 2024

I thought it was a pretty frothy read, think I got through it in a day. Agree the pretend pronouns were annoying, I know what she was going for (the absurdity of male brainrot supposedly being attributed to women) but it didn't work for me because that it what the media does everyday and expect us to shut up about it. I had to get a pen out and correct it I was so annoyed lol.

She is a dry and funny writer with a very specific vantage point as a former all-in lefty who now is mostly associated with The Free Press, but I think she would have benefited a lot from a better editor. I liked that the thing she seemed the most shakingly angry about was the transing of children, finally a crack in that oh isn't it all so mad veneer, like she's viewing the whole thing from a distance.

I think it ultimately worked best as a total indictment of modern mainstream media. The way her colleagues shunned her for dating a "wrongthink" writer, the way her (good!) ideas for articles that she came at with curiosity not judgement got shot down anyway because they didn't fit The Message, we all knew msm is filled with a certain kind of people pushing a certain kind of narrative but it was stark and depressing to see the childish little office politics of it all.

WalkFreelyAtNightAugust 8, 2024

Just finished it and came here to search about it! Loved most of it, it was a great read, particularly all those parts about outside forces that cannibalize existing movements. But the gender stuff was really upended by the drag queen portion at the end. Definitely felt like a deference back at handwringing liberal readers for flying too close to the sun.