9th April would have been the 80th birthday of radical feminist Valerie Solanas, perhaps most widely known for shooting Andy Warhol. Solanas blamed all of society’s ills on men and articulated her hatred for men in the notorious pamphlet SCUM Manifesto (SCUM is often taken to mean Society for Cutting Up Men, though Solanas never actually clarified that).
Her views can be seen as divisive and counter-revolutionary in that they split the working class by gender and most on the revolutionary left would see class, rather than gender itself, as the source of capitalist oppression. Militant feminism is often lampooned, e.g. Millie Tant in Viz, or accused of being a middle class stance. The ridicule and criticism is ironically very often from men who fail to address the continued issues of patriarchy and male violence. However, Solanas did intertwine her hatred of patriarchal culture into a broader critique of capitalism which certainly contributed to my understanding of the different strands of radical thought and sexual politics. As a rather asexual male I may not have fully embraced all her ideas but they at least gave a lot of food for thought.
The opening lines of the SCUM Manifesto: “Life in this society being, at best, an utter bore and no aspect of society being at all relevant to women, there remains to civic-minded, responsible, thrill-seeking females only to overthrow the government, eliminate the money system, institute complete automation and destroy the male sex.”
The SCUM Manifesto is not an easy read but it is worth reading to see if you can challenge or accept the arguments. Valerie Solanas was certainly a fascinating character within 20th Century radical thought. I am always interested in people who articulate their passionately held beliefs and can rant well.
A woman’s place is in the revolution.
The SCUM Manifesto can be read here:
Further reading about Valerie Solanas
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