Asylumbaitt - Nuts.

healing happens in circles, not lines. you will return to old places with new eyes.

*

jennifer willoughby, the sun is still a part of me

What are your favorite radical feminist books?

This is a great question - I read pretty broadly, so most of these aren't classic radical feminist books by self-identified radical feminists, but I do believe they're foundational in understanding radical feminist issues. They're U.S. centric for the most part, so if anyone with a more international focus has additional recs, please feel free to add on!

The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan is what got me hooked on feminism, because I saw so much of what she was writing about in my own family and my own mother, so this one holds a special place in my heart.

Right Wing Women by Andrea Dworkin is one of the most brilliant books I've ever read - her articulation of what bargain conservative non-feminist women are making with the patriarchy still holds so much accuracy with the current political situation in the United States.

Why Does He Do That? by Lundy Bancroft is absolutely critical for all women to read - it's been my guidebook in how to support women who are in abusive relationships, and understanding the stark reality of "men who are violent believe that their violence is acceptable, there is no accidental violence" has been key in informing my feminist advocacy.

Trans Kids by Tey Meadows is going to be an unusual recommendation, since the author is pro-gender ideology, but the book speaks for itself - it depicts the divide within the trans community on medical intervention for "trans youth", and even the author notices how reductionist the community is becoming on gender norms and stereotypes when it comes to these trans kids and their families. (I have complicated feelings on the trans community as a gender-critical feminist, but that's going to need to be a separate post)

Hags by Victoria Smith is great for understanding the way ageism intersects with feminism and the suppression of women's wisdom and community. I would recommend pairing this one with Naomi Wolf's The Beauty Myth, since they cover some parallel concepts from different points of view.

White Americans ... are terrified of sensuality and do not any longer understand it. The word “sensual” is not intended to bring to mind quivering dusky maidens or priapic black studs. I am referring to something much simpler and much less fanciful. To be sensual, I think, is to respect and rejoice in the force of life, of life itself, and to be present in all that one does, from the effort of loving to the breaking of bread. ... Something very sinister happens to the people of a country when they begin to distrust their own reactions as deeply as they do here, and become as joyless as they have become. It is this individual uncertainty on the part of white American men and women, this inability to renew themselves at the fountain of their own lives, that makes the discussion, let alone elucidation, of any conundrum—that is, any reality—so supremely difficult. The person who distrusts himself has no touchstone for reality—for this touchstone can be only oneself. Such a person interposes between himself and reality nothing less than a labyrinth of attitudes. And these attitudes, furthermore, though the person is usually unaware of it (is unaware of so much!), are historical and public attitudes. They do not relate to the present any more than they relate to the person.

--James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time, 1963

the problem i run into men, without fail, is trying to talk to them like i talk to women and realizing that even the most conscious and progressive and evolved man just cannot reach me at the depth that women can. i want and expect that depth and complexity every time, but i need to let it go. i still enjoy talking to a handful of men, it’s not like it’s all horrible and boring—there’s fun and charm there. it’s just different.

⚜️panic at the disco with ⚜️the dresden dolls & ⚜️the hush sound posters!

pretty cool

(i dont own these sadly)

David Cronenberg, Consumed / Saltburn (2023)

#siblings