Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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88 of 125 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
A Pronounced Inability to Evaluate Sources, July 2, 1999
By A Customer
I had read so much of Dworkin second-hand that I decided to seek out this wildly-praised "feminist classic" and see her in her own context.Oh, Brother (sister?) This is an EXECRABLE work. It's bile and hatefulness towards people who happen to be born with a Y chromosome seems "heroic" to some readers, but what struck me more than this rather obvious fact is that the book is quite poorly written, one long screaming screed. Any pretense toward logical argument, careful evaluation of sources or the traditional processes of reasoned scholarship are thrown out, like the proverbial baby with the bath water. Many will claim that such claims for 'linear' argumentation are part of the 'male hegemonic power structure'. Ho hum. All I'm asking for is coherence. The book will primarily appeal to people who find hatemongering illogic compelling when deployed against men and appalling in other contexts. I went into this book thinking that Camille Paglia had done Dworkin a horrible disservice, and now I think she was being kind. Evidence not of insight or courage but, I'm afraid, of a warped consciousness and deep-seated biases. What makes this especially sad is that so many of Dworkin's *conclusions* deserve a hearing, but they are seated next to absurd ones that -- I'm not making this up, as Dave Barry might put it -- 'boldly' assert that heterosexual relations are at base a structure of domination, and that women who 'want it' are somehow psychologically mutilated. Sorry for the flippancy here; you don't come across something so achingly bad, and so wildly overpraised, every day.
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16 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A book of extreme intensity., February 7, 2003
As the title suggests "Intercourse" explores perhaps the most private and primitive of human acts. Topics of scrutiny include: virginity, possession, patriarchy, law and death each sliced and dissected with the sharp knife of blatant realism. "Intercourse" is not against penetrative sex per se, it suggests an alternative approach to intercourse, one where the female is wholly - body, mind and soul, in control of the act: the initiator and the dictator. Throughout reading this text you can feel very frustrated simply because you do not agree with the point of view of the writer. You might, for example, believe that god exists, and find the whole atheist approach that Dworkin takes, in "exposing" the scams of religion, very frustrating. When you are reading it is rather like a conversation with a very talkative person who goes on and on without any breaks for you to speak. It can feel very oppressive if you disagree at a fundamental level and want to raise an objection. It can be difficult to carry on "driving" yourself forward through the text. On the other hand, many issues seem implausible when you first come across them. If you were only to read what you already agreed with, you would not learn very much. Part of reading such literature is learning to cope with not feeling too happy with what the author is saying - distancing yourself from your hostile feelings and reading on to see what arguments are put forward. Eventually you may or may not decide that the author has a point, as I did, but you need to give yourself a chance to find out what is on offer. It is best to read the book in short bursts preferably than long drawn-out sessions. Rather than plunge, take a dip into the deep, morbid and yet thrilling pool of Dworkin's unique critic. It may take some time to become accustomed to the style and specialist language in which Intercourse is written. Accept this language and take it in your stride. I found the underlying purpose of reading this book is to develop your thoughts; to weave new ideas and information into the understanding you already have and to give new angles to your thinking. If you are a feminist, atheist and social truth-seeker, as I am, you will relish this book!
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9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Intercourse, June 6, 2007
After Betty Friedan, Andrea Dworkin seems to top the list as one of the most referenced feminists. Her popularity did not prepare me in the least for what exactly her book de jour is. That is, Intercourse, the book coined as "saying" "all sex is rape," is actually an intriguing literary criticism with a brief peppering of art history. Any quotes I previously listed by Dworkin were taken out of context in that it would only make sense that after Dworkin is read a conversation must occur on art's ability (and lack of) to reflect and represent life.
Dworkin's book begins at Tolstoy and moves through biographies of he and his wife and his literary work The Kreutzer Sonata. The book provides a feminist and specific sexual critique on how sexuality is represented throughout classical, fictional pieces ranging from Tennessee Williams to James Baldwin to Bram Stoker to the Bible and how these works reflect the reality of the culture they were produced in. This bundle of information is presented to the reader and then weaved together in a luxurious manner to critique present views on sexuality. (Absolutely fascinating to me as this is what I did for my late modern art assignment last semester.)
Similar to Reading Lolita in Tehran, it is not necessary that you've actually read any of these works. However, as with any literary criticism it's a bit difficult to rebut or disagree with it without reading the actual texts the critique is based on. Overall, it's a brilliant piece of feminist literature that is blunt and honest and thought provoking. Whether or not you agree with everything (or anything) that Dworkin says, it's a thought stimulating book that consistently questions the reader.
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