RIP

Andrea Dworkin died on Sunday.

I've come to find that I have a great deal of respect for her as a thinker. She had the courage of her convictions, and while I don't necessarily agree with her hardline stances on pornography, prostitution and sexuality, I have nothing but admiration for the way in which she constructed and defended those stances.

You may have guessed this is a new stance for me. As a teen, I didn't read her work but had heard the gist of it somewhere; I thought it was fantastic. Later, I rethought that, and decided that the ideas were simplistic, too black-and-white, too negative.

About a month ago, I actually read some of her work. I nearly bought her book 'Pornography' last week, and I think I will next time I'm at a bookstore. I find her arguments constructive, courageous and convincing, as well as enjoyable to read ... although I'm still not sure I agree with her basic premise.

I'm giving a presentation on one of her articles for a class next week, an article in which she discusses her grief at the way pornography treats women. I had a few ideas about opening a space to discuss the article using the True Porn Clerk Stories (who knew that the author can still be found online here?) or perhaps this article by Annie Sprinkle.

Now, after reading Susie Bright's elegy for Andrea, I'm wondering how I can best incorporate this. She raises some interesting points that I'll certainly be pondering in the days to come. I like the idea of Andrea Dworkin as the inspiration for the new wave of women's porn. (If you have time, I'd recommend finding Susie's elegy for Hunter S. Thompson, too.)

Andrea Dworkin, you got me thinking. Thank you.

PS. This is not Deviancy Week.