Mary Harrington on US liberal feminism

From what I can remember that I've read somewhere, she is an Oxford graduate with a first in English Literature, worked in New York, something to do with IT, then at a fairly late age had a child and got married, I'm not sure in what order, and I think must have come back to UK, wrote for Conservative Woman and now blogs, and writes for UnHerd and maybe others.

Does anyone know what her actual background is? I had a brief look and it's surprisingly difficult to find out anything about her education or career. It's like she sprang fully formed from Zeus' head to Unherd and the Spectator.

Absolutely, Nonny.

Oh that completely went over my head until you pointed it out! 😆

I like her stuff. It's different and makes me think, whether I agree or not. It's good to have a diversity of viewpoints when it comes to women's lives and rights. Feminism and feminist ideas should be able to withstand questions and criticism. And I would hope feminists feel able to honestly admit where there might be weaknesses in certain areas / issues, and look for ways to strengthen the arguments for or against them.

She's an interesting writer, but seems to have really strong tradwife leanings, and increasingly comes out with a lot of tired RW talking points (casting doubt about the West's support for Ukraine and stuff like that).

I think it's 'Reactionary Feminist'. She's written lots of very interesting stuff, much of which I don't agree with. It's provocative and thoughtful. All to the good.

Rayon, Yes, I would say the same and she does criticise feminism or feminists. It surprised me when she seemed to say she was a feminist - I think I saw a label of Reluctant Feminist or something like that on one of her articles. She is quite traditional in ways, such as in regard to motherhood, family and marriage, having changed as she got older and given up the kind of life and work she'd enjoyed before.

I have mixed views on Mary Harrington. Sometimes her writing is really quite astute and walks a genuinely unique line between valuing women's unique experiences (like motherhood) and condemning them to be defined by them, but other times she does rather come across as one of those conservative women who lectures other women for being too feminist from the comfort of her well-paid and well-connected career.

I read the article a few days ago as well and found it very interesting and insightful. I have never heard of the term AWFL either but I know LOTS of women who fit the profile.