Compassion or Cruelty? Poor Things and the Contested Legacy of Turn-of-the-Century Feminism
Who is the "real" Victoria McCandless?
Featured Author February continues, and this week we’re happy to announce our third new Featured Author: Philip Jeffery.
Philip Jeffery is a deputy opinion editor at Newsweek. He has written for numerous publications on politics, history, religion, and media.
He’s written for us before on social reproduction theory and Taylor Swift. Here’s what Philip has to say about Fairer Disputations:
In Philip’s first piece for us as Featured Author, he looks at Poor Things: the book, the film, and what each has to say about Victoria McCandless and the real-life feminist reformers she represents.
Compassion or Cruelty? Poor Things and the Contested Legacy of Turn-of-the-Century Feminism
Gray’s multi-layered book draws attention to the ways in which we can be tempted to flatten out the stories of complex, real-life women in service of our own political agendas. Unfortunately, the 2023 film adaptation of Gray’s novel falls into exactly that trap. The director, Yorgos Lanthimos, decisively chooses one version of the story and uses it to advance a clear narrative: that feminism amounts to personal sexual liberation and that the cruelty of sexual sadism is more liberating than the compassion of turn-of-the-century social reformers.
This Week in Sex-Realist Feminism: Sex Differences, Postpartum Depression, and a Sex-Realist UN Official
This week: Alex Kaschuta on how the science of sex differences made us forget individuals, Anne Marie Williams on postpartum depression, and Josephine Bartosch on the UN official criticized for naming biological sex. Plus: how to treat those with anorexia, waiting by the phone, how to change your personality, our Flowers of Fire book club—and more!
From the Archives:
Featured Author Philip Jeffrey examines how Taylor Swift’s music points toward a more integrated way of living.
Taylor Swift and the Dream of Being a Whole Person
Phil Jeffery
To the corporate third-wave-ism that insists that women “have it all” by engaging with alienating institutions on their own terms, Swift says “I already always was all I needed to be.”
Flowers of Fire Book Club:
Our Flowers of Fire book club, convened by Leah Libresco Sargeant and Patrick T. Brown, continues this week! We’d love you to join in (and register for our Zoom discussion even if you don’t have the chance to read the book)!
"Flowers of Fire" Book Club, Week I: #MeToo, #WithYou
"Flowers of Fire" Book Club, Week Two: “Where Did All the Girls Go?”
"Flowers of Fire," Week Three: “My Life is Not Your Porn”
Zoom discussion, open to all! Tuesday, March 11, 1p.m. EST