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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
mediocre collection.
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when I was in my sophomore year in university, my philosophy teacher taught us that one of the main manifestations of madness was a fragmented relationship to one's body. the hand becomes distinct from the body, and distinct from the self.
here's how Sontag defines feminity's relationship to beauty in a few essays of this collection:
Women are taught to see their bodies in parts, and to evaluate each part separately.
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when I was in my sophomore year in university, my philosophy teacher taught us that one of the main manifestations of madness was a fragmented relationship to one's body. the hand becomes distinct from the body, and distinct from the self.
here's how Sontag defines feminity's relationship to beauty in a few essays of this collection:
Women are taught to see their bodies in parts, and to evaluate each part separately.
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Her writing is incredible but it takes focus to read. It’s both inspiring because we, the feminist movement/women, have made progress and some of her statements are definitely outdated (which is to be expected, or even hoped for) but sadly, most of her comments still ring true. My first foray into essays and feminist lit, and I must say it’s been a success! She’s a true literary inspiration.
My personal favourite, and arguably the best, was ‘The Third World of Women’ but her essays on beauty are spot on.
I struggled more with ‘Fascinating Fascism’ because her point was interesting and something I hadn’t previously considered, but it did feel out of place. Switching from beauty to the eroticism of the Nazis gave me a bit of whiplash to be quite honest!
My personal favourite, and arguably the best, was ‘The Third World of Women’ but her essays on beauty are spot on.
I struggled more with ‘Fascinating Fascism’ because her point was interesting and something I hadn’t previously considered, but it did feel out of place. Switching from beauty to the eroticism of the Nazis gave me a bit of whiplash to be quite honest!
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
It was my first read of Sontag's writing. As it is a post-mortem collection of essays put together by her son, maybe it wasn't the best place to start. Other comments have highlighted that it isn't her greatest piece of work.
The quality of the different essays is quite uneven, to my opinion, but I also read this with the mind of a 21st century feminist. The double standard of aging is on point, but it seems like feminism has moved on from these arguments. Thus it's more a commentary on how I read/perceived it than how it was written.
"The Third World of Women" was spectacular, even if I'm still a bit unsure about the title. Her reformist/radical argument and contradiction is extremely interesting and hits the mark in today's feminism/feminist movements. She's anticipating the fight for anti-sexist language and sees further than abortion/voting rights/sexual 'freedom'. Her point on abortion was a little curious, though: "in itself, the right to abortion has no serious political content at all" - I would highly disagree, but it serves her point on reformist/radical fights and the need to go in deeper for struggles.
Sontag reads like a sort of pedantic genius, with disdain towards people asking for accessible intellectualism.
Is the "Fascinating Fascism" essay in this collection because it is centered on Leni Riefenstahl's works and intentions? Since she barely mentions feminism and nazism? If yes, then it is misplaced, imo.
Considering that it is the premise to "Feminism and Fascism" (an answer to Adrienne Rich) and The Salmagundi interview, then it makes sense to insert it here so that we'd have context; but the whole package feels out of place.
Curious to eventually come back to taste some of Sontag's genius. Maybe some day.
The quality of the different essays is quite uneven, to my opinion, but I also read this with the mind of a 21st century feminist. The double standard of aging is on point, but it seems like feminism has moved on from these arguments. Thus it's more a commentary on how I read/perceived it than how it was written.
"The Third World of Women" was spectacular, even if I'm still a bit unsure about the title. Her reformist/radical argument and contradiction is extremely interesting and hits the mark in today's feminism/feminist movements. She's anticipating the fight for anti-sexist language and sees further than abortion/voting rights/sexual 'freedom'. Her point on abortion was a little curious, though: "in itself, the right to abortion has no serious political content at all" - I would highly disagree, but it serves her point on reformist/radical fights and the need to go in deeper for struggles.
Sontag reads like a sort of pedantic genius, with disdain towards people asking for accessible intellectualism.
Is the "Fascinating Fascism" essay in this collection because it is centered on Leni Riefenstahl's works and intentions? Since she barely mentions feminism and nazism? If yes, then it is misplaced, imo.
Considering that it is the premise to "Feminism and Fascism" (an answer to Adrienne Rich) and The Salmagundi interview, then it makes sense to insert it here so that we'd have context; but the whole package feels out of place.
Curious to eventually come back to taste some of Sontag's genius. Maybe some day.
challenging
slow-paced
informative
fast-paced
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Though correct, I found a lot of her observations and analysis to be surface level. For me she shone when she didn’t say the quiet part out loud like in her essay on fascism. I did enjoy reading the essays but in terms of furthering my scope on feminism most of this was stuff I already knew.