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Original poster

These stupid women are doing feminism no favours at all.

112 replies

solidgoldbrass · 24/08/2012 22:29

Tired of explaining that feminists are not spiteful, humourless, ignorant bullies? Unfortunately we're going to have to do a bit more of it.

No one who advocates book burning can ever expect to be treated with any respect. It's never a good idea. It just shows you up as a historically ignorant, idiotic control freak.

OP posts:
Dawndonna · 25/08/2012 13:15

I'd love to know what Angela Carter would have thought of it. Now that would have been bloody funny!

threesocksmorgan · 25/08/2012 13:20

yanbu I haven't read the book and have no plans too. that is my choice.
I am sure a lot of people have read it and enjoyed it.
I think burning books is sick, and ignorant

Acepuppets · 25/08/2012 13:47

The problem with burning the books is that it will generate more publicity for the book as opposed to the reason why the books are being burnt. What we really need to do is ignore anything to do with the books completely - I admit to reading them ,mainly to see if the story got any better, but found the content to be disturbing because of the whole dominance issue originating from child abuse.

ArielThePiraticalMermaid · 25/08/2012 13:51

In Britain we do not burn books.

And that's the end of the matter.

Acepuppets · 25/08/2012 13:52

Beside Ana was a gold digger who probably found the perks of the job (laptop, ipod etc.) worth the pain. If a man had written this book there would have been a completely different reaction - women betray each other in the end - for moneyHmm

MadBusLady · 25/08/2012 13:55

Dear gods, this is a quote from Clare Phillipson near the bottom of the article:

There?s an assumption that Nazis are the only people who burn books. What we are saying is: this book is rubbish and we would like to reduce it to ashes.

That is fucking chilling.

amybelle1990 · 25/08/2012 13:58

My problem with these feminists is that they have a problem with sexual violence in the book.

I haven't read it but I've been informed that all of the sex scenes in the book are consented and are (fairly tame and experimental) sado-masochism. These feminists say that this sort of behaviour shouldn't be normalised... archaic much?

The people that I know that have read the book have said that it is more concerning that the 'leading man' is an emotionally abusive and manipulative character that makes the 'leading lady feel like she should change to accommodate his needs.

But it is true that burning the book won't have that much of an impact- I thought people had grown out of that 50 years ago!

MadBusLady · 25/08/2012 13:58

Where do they find these people? I would have hoped that people who run refuges are chosen for (among other things) being strong and compassionate and humane enough to overcome the baser instincts one might expect to crop up in a job where you see so much awful shit.

I expect most are.

SigmundFraude · 25/08/2012 14:07

"Dear gods, this is a quote from Clare Phillipson near the bottom of the article:

There?s an assumption that Nazis are the only people who burn books. What we are saying is: this book is rubbish and we would like to reduce it to ashes.

That is fucking chilling."

That is radical feminism. Love this btw....

'People who can't distinguish between fiction and reality have ishoos that 50 shades isn't going to exacerbate much.'

So very true.

Original poster
solidgoldbrass · 25/08/2012 15:01

Claire Phillipson sounds like just another one of the type of feminists who happily joined forces with the religious right (those important champions of women's freedoms) in the early 90s on the grounds that banning porn was so important that it justified teaming up with people who wanted to reduce women's freedoms and rights in nearly every other area. There is a type of feminism that's very much more focussed on condemning and patronizing other women than on fighting male privilege, and the people this stuff appeals to are generally both bullies and losers: everything's someone else's fault for Not Listening To Meeeeeeee!.

OP posts:
24HourPARDyPerson · 25/08/2012 15:11

No sigmune fraud it isn't radical feminism. I know you love taking a popat feminists all over the boards, so I just thought I'd clarify that for anyone who is reading who is unaware of your agenda.
Again , this book
burning is just a symbolic stunt.its against the ritualised symbolic play acting of violence against women in the books.
But bookburning has too many horrifying connotations to be an effective protest against anything. It becomes the story in itself.

rogersmellyonthetelly · 25/08/2012 15:12

Don't agree with the burning, just makes it worse really. I'm tempted to wipe my arse on my copy though, to show my contempt.

BoneyBackJefferson · 25/08/2012 15:15

I wouldn't call the woman a feminist, I would call her a loon that is jumping on the band wagon.

As various posters have said up thread, it makes me worry about what is happening inside of the refuge that she is running.

24HourPARDyPerson · 25/08/2012 15:33

What on earth do ye think is happening inthe refuge? Seriously? Great wayto malign somebody who is actually measurably improving women's lives. Books don't suffer whether they are burned or pulped. So that's not evidence of her evil own evil sadistic nature

BoneyBackJefferson · 25/08/2012 15:40

24HourPARDyPerson

I'm agreeing with this posted by solidgoldbrass

"LastMango: Actually, calling for a book burning makes me wonder just how much help she might have been to other women. I wonder if they had to obey her or be refused help, for instance."

Strange that you didn't pick up on SGB's post.

carernotasaint · 25/08/2012 15:42

TheDogDidItSat 25-Aug-12 09:05:57

They may have read no other books, but does that mean they believe the book that they do read? I just can't imagine that a work of fiction would encourage a woman, however badly-read, to engage in sexual acts that she wasn't interested in, or continue them once started if she wasn't enjoying it.

You should have seen some of the comments on my Facebook feed.

24HourPARDyPerson · 25/08/2012 15:48

Why on earth would either you or SGB make that leap, though? Disapproving of VAW - even sexy play acting fictional VAW - does not scream intolerant woman hater to me. Burning the book is just a publicity stunt, not a jack booted attempt at world domination.

MadBusLady · 25/08/2012 15:58

FWIW I have known (in the sense of known and chatted to on the internet) several radical feminists and I can't think of a single one who wouldn't think book-burning was at worst horrific and at best counter-productive.

Shelby2010 · 25/08/2012 15:58

Not buying the book is quite a passive way of disapproving of it. I suggest following RogerSmelly's advice & using for arse wiping - however to avoid giving the publishers/author more money it will have to be done in the bookshop itself...... Those of a more modest disposition could blow their noses on in instead.

missymoomoomee · 25/08/2012 15:58

I haven't read the book, it looks a bit crap really, but surely people would have to buy copies of the book in order to burn them. Why don't they just encourage people to not buy it instead. Confused

Original poster
solidgoldbrass · 25/08/2012 15:59

24Hour:
People who want to burn books are generally stupid, self-righteous and inclined to bully others. It's a pretty awful thing to do.

Stupidity and self-righteousness are not great qualities in a person whose job involves helping the vulnerable - but unfortunately, some of the people who are drawn to this sort of work (with abuse survivors, or addicts, or people with MH problems) are actually power-hungry bullies who find the work feeds their egos. Claire Phillipson's other statement to the effect that no one else was condemning the book, as it is completely wrong, does rather imply a big sense of self-importance.

OP posts:
Original poster
solidgoldbrass · 25/08/2012 16:01

MadBusLady: I've encountered a few who would think it was all right as long as they were the ones doing the burning...

OP posts:
MadBusLady · 25/08/2012 16:08

Maybe I've just been lucky enough not to come across them SGB. Smile

It is, as your original OP implied, a great shame that authoritarian tossers get slammed as being feminists, rather than as being authoritarian tossers.

24Hours · 25/08/2012 16:08

I don't agree with book burning as i said, because of the horrible connotations of real repression and real censorship.

But I don't much agree with sexy pretend VAW either, because of the horrible connotations of real violence and real coercion.

Funny how one gesture is acceptable and one isn't. After all nobody is getting hurt.

I don't know anything about the woman or her work, SGB so I'm not going to speculate on her motives or personality. But this stunt doesn't immediately lead me to plump for self righteous bully. Maybe just infuriated at the level of violece and degradation she sees every day, and frustrated, wants to make a public point.
I don't know, so I won't condemn her.

SigmundFraude · 25/08/2012 16:08

'No sigmune fraud it isn't radical feminism. I know you love taking a popat feminists all over the boards, so I just thought I'd clarify that for anyone who is reading who is unaware of your agenda.'

Bit touchy and personal, 24Hour. Anyway, Clare Phillipson IS a radfem.