I would argue her best book was Right-Wing Women, published in 1983. It is shorter than some of her other works, but she absolutely nails what the political right and the political left are all about. Having been an activist in the 1960s, she KNEW what the dudes were all about, and they didn't give a shit about women except to use them sexually. The political right and the political left are two sides of the same rotten, woman-hating coin.
The visceral hatred towards Dworkin acted as a warning to women not to engage with a radical type of feminism. However, we need it more than ever right now. Rape convictions are as rare as hen’s teeth; revenge porn is a daily reality for many women and girls; and trafficking of women into the sex trade is endemic. One investigation into major pimping gangs in England found that police were happy to blame the victims for their fate. The soft feminism most prevalent today is inadequate for the climate of misogyny that women are being forced to endure. The focus, particularly of young and university-based women, on individual identity and lifestyle choice will not withstand the onslaught of the men’s rights movement.
The truth about Dworkin is everywhere, but so is the distortion of her work and of her politics. In 1998, I visited Dworkin in her Brooklyn home. We were talking about the latest attack on her by pro-pornography feminists, which had clearly upset her. “I have a feeling that after my death I might be finally understood.” I asked what she meant. She did not expand.
She is widely misunderstood and misquoted--on purpose--because she asked questions most didn't dare to ask. However, she wasn't the only one who did.
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Another death by selfie. It makes me wonder how many young people die every year just to get that "perfect shot."
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