Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/01/23/john-wilcock-valerie-solanas.html
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Valerie Solanas was a genius. Up Your Ass is a very funny gender-bending play (I saw it staged in SF in the 90s) & “The S.C.U.M. Manifesto” has one of the best openings ever:
Life in this society being, at best, an utter bore…
I’ve read the manifesto which had its moments. I might have responded better to it, if it weren’t for its frame, a couple essays from major fans of hers. Her fans really put me off her, especially the claim that the SCUM Manifesto was satire. That’s a difficult position considering her shooting of Warhol.
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Some authors have argued that the Manifesto is a parody of patriarchy and a satirical work and, according to Harding, Solanas described herself as “a social propagandist”, but Solanas denied that the work was “a put on” and insisted that her intent was “dead serious”
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It’s not satire, more haha only serious - as a man, it makes you appreciate the patriarchy that lets you laugh at it at all.
It’s of a piece with A Clockwork Orange or Ubiq or Lord of the Flies - it’s like a funhouse mirror where you see another reality.
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Solanas is an odd character that I’m surprised I only learned about in 2 places: American Horror Story and here on BoingBoing.
(OK, honestly, it’s not surprising I learned more about her here…)
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It might have been in “Sisterhood is Powerful”, edited by Robin Morgan. Or maybe some other anthology. I read about it about forty years ago, the context a bit more serious.
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