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| Hearsay: |
Jessa over at Bookslut is getting some grief in the form of a well-written, but ultimately misguided, essay criticizing her for choosing “slut” to follow “Book” in her blog name. A gross misreading of Crispin’s intentions, I think, and a bizarre devaluing of her contribution lo these many years. A clever writer, a great editor, a committed feminist, and a standup drinker of gin—-that’s the Jessa I know. I understand that this essay is trying to set up a strawman to examine systemic oppression and sexual scripts, and I could agree with chunks of if if it’s pointing finger of blame didn’t have such bad aim. As I’ve said before, one of the reason’s Bookninja is at Bookninja.com is because Bookslut.com was taken. Of course, between Jessa, myself, and the other book bloggers who’ll cover this with increasing levels of incredulity, we’re probably driving more traffic to this site than it’s ever seen.
I first heard about Bookslut last summer, after traveling to Chicago where I’d been invited to read my poetry at a launch party for Another Chicago Magazine. When, during conversation before the reading, one poet mentioned the online lit magazine, I was struck by how none of the other poets present seemed bothered by the idea of a woman’s passion for reading — her simply feeling joy over books and words — being used to identify her as a specific kind of slut, a bookslut.
Certainly as a feminist, I believe women are entitled to an egalitarian sexuality, (should we choose to be sexually active), one that goes along with our struggle for equality. But I also think there is an important difference between feeling pride and freedom about one’s sexual self, and allowing others to sexualize us in ways that ultimately reinforce male dominance. In Chicago, I found myself wondering why are women writers and readers still persistently sexualized even after decades of feminism?
Why do men still expect us to behave in certain ways, particularly when we attempt to be accepted as artists? In my experience as a poet, men seem most comfortable around women they perceive as sexy, bubbly, seductive and eager to have sex, women who may attempt to write as well, but who understand the importance of being attractive to men while doing it. Most of all, I wondered how women’s sexuality — or the male-supremacist version of it — could still be used to market almost everything in a consumption-obsessed America, including, it would now seem, literary magazines, without women writers even batting an eye?
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July 2nd, 2008 at 9:45 am
Look, I’m a damned proud feminist. I see both sides of the argument. But a lot of the time, feminism and sexuality don’t mix. Sex is bad and male. Women have been oppressed by it for years. Wrong. Why can’t women reappropriate this word? Why can’t a woman say she’s a feminist AND a slut? What’s the definition of slut, anyway–someone who has sex with lots of people? So what. Great! Don’t you think the world would be a happier place if more people were sluts?
Aren’t writers whores, anyway? Though I prefer ho…
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:21 am
Nah, Nicole – reviewers are whores, in it for the money. Cheap whores, true, but whores nonetheless.
Writers are sluts – utterly wanton, with no financial return.
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:30 am
That a woman as intelligent and well read as Jessa decides to name her blog in the same ironic, cheeky fashion as everyone else, and then to infer that in her case, it must be evidence of a grander, insidious system of gender bias rather than of Jessa’s personal agency and taste, seems to me the sort of sexism we should really make a stink about. Hasn’t she equal access to the flippant, irreverent style of discourse afforded her male cohorts? One can still be a feminist with one’s tongue in one’s cheek. This is as ridiculous as Edward Said charging Bookninja with Orientalism.
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:35 am
Yes, I’ve known some really slutty writers. And I’ve loved them all. But aren’t reviewers pimps?
Jessa is really above this silliness.
July 2nd, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Wow. Queer feminists already hashed out this discussion back when I was 13 (ie, 25 years ago).
July 2nd, 2008 at 12:56 pm
“Bookslut.” I goddamn hate the term. Somewhere between reading a blog post by an obviously preteen girl who was gushing in TXT MSG :P style about how she was “lol such a bookslut” because she was reading all the Harry Potter books, and reading an 800 word post by some woman who stretched the metaphor to its absolute limit, my loathing of such a clunky phrase burst from its cocoon in a fully mature state.
BOOKS AREN’T MEN. YOU DON’T HAVE SEX WITH THEM.
July 2nd, 2008 at 1:04 pm
The original meaning of “slut” was a slovenly woman, i.e. a poor housekeeper. Therefore all Jesse is implying is that she is too busy reading, and blogging about everything she reads, to dust the damn bookshelves. As are we all!
July 2nd, 2008 at 3:05 pm
I don’t know, Mitch–lying in bed at night, cozy under the covers, not too many clothes on, or, possibly, already naked, an exciting verb and ripe metaphor, the light’s a bit dim, there may be some wine in the belly, the musty perfume of dusty pages…is anyone else getting turned on?
And, um, it’s not just men sluts have sex with.
July 2nd, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Is it ironic, in this particular case, that the term “tightass” might be used as an antonym for “slut”?
Some people are too uptight for their own good. Loosen up, folks… figuratively speaking at the very least.
July 3rd, 2008 at 7:18 am
Looks like enrollment’s up at what Molly Ivins used to refer to as Aunt Eula’s Home for the Terminally Literalminded. I suggest we draft Yarn Harlot onto the defense committee. I want to be behind a solid piece of furniture when someone suggests to that Canadian feminist that her title is sexist/exploitive.