In Defence of Witches: Why women are still on trial

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Although the book provides some relevant points, the historical connection happens poorly and very confusingly. She realizes she “simply couldn’t imagine [her]self without a man”: “without one, I felt lost as a dog without a master; rootless, faceless, undefined.

In Defence of Witches by Mona Chollet, Sophie R Lewis

Women who disrupted the patriarchal structure by forgoing married life or children were viewed with contempt, labelled as witches, and excluded from society. Renowned journalist Mona Chollet recasts the witch as a powerful role model: an emblem of strength, free to exist beyond the narrow limits society imposes on women. The parts about women hating marriage, fearing children, but giving in because of societal pressure (among other things) therefore becoming a husk of their former selves, aw a story as old as time. In Defense of Witches demonstrates that a woman’s decision to go against the grain — especially by not having children — inevitably becomes a political act, even an act of resistance. Even witches, who existed outside of the boundaries of respectable society, were not granted autonomy.Chollet’s informed and passionate treatment will appeal to readers looking for more substance amid the witch trend that’s otherwise been largely commodified and often scrubbed of its feminist origins. Accessible, full of fascinating facts and figures, In Defense of Witches is a great read and wonderful reference. On the point of sending it to her publisher, she savors her happiness, leaning on a gatepost, facing into the golden sunlight. That year, Bella Abzug, a Congressional Representative for the state of New York, passed a law authorizing the use of “Ms” on federal forms. As Rebecca Solnit wrote, ‘ the revolt against brutality begins with a revolt against the language that hides that brutality,’ and Chollet looks at instances of language such ‘Ms’ becoming an accepted honorific, or even they/them pronouns gaining common usage, as a way to better identify oneself on their own terms.

In Defence of Witches by Mona Chollet, Sophie R Lewis In Defence of Witches by Mona Chollet, Sophie R Lewis

A stubborn misogyny, which still tints the way our societies look at single women, childless women, aging women, or quite simply, free women . Malgré quelques citations de féministes afro-américaines, on parle surtout de femmes blanches, blondes et brunes, et il y avait des occasions d'étoffer certains sujets. Payments made using National Book Tokens are processed by National Book Tokens Ltd, and you can read their Terms and Conditions here. One day, in March 1990, on CNN, Larry King is hosting Gloria Steinem, the American feminist superstar. It was overturned in 2017 by the European Court of Human Rights, but the message is that society sees older women as lacking sexual desirability as well as fertility and are, thereby, less valued.But the idea that women are sovereign individuals, not mere appendages, still has a long way to go before it becomes the accepted norm—and not only among conservative politicians. THE problem for feminists writing about “witches” is that the myth of unconventional rebels casting spells against the patriarchy is so appealing it can seem a shame to debunk it.

In Defence of Witches: Why Women Are Still on [PDF] [EPUB] In Defence of Witches: Why Women Are Still on

As a young girl she was captivated by Flutter Mildweather from The Glassblower’s Children, a novel by Swedish author Maria Gripe. Mark Fisher's concept of Capitalist Realism (in his book of the same name) discusses how modern media often provides sanitized versions of subversive ideas to be consumed in ways that will not actually be threatening to the systems the ideas wish to challange, so too have concepts of witchcraft often been co-opted into sanitized fun or consumable aesthetics in place of the actual cultural traditions of origination. In Defence of Witches asks us to really consider how today’s society treats women who are no longer young, fertile or conventionally beautiful, which is to say, judged to be no longer of use.Ariel moves house in a panic the day that, arriving home with her daughter, she finds a doll pinned to the front door, daubed in red with the words: “Die, welfare slut. Even the introverted, awkward geek has had his revenge, becoming the Prometheus of the contemporary world, garlanded with money and success. Unfortunately, there is no quick fix, but so long as women support each other and make their voices heard, there is a path forward. Rather than being a brief moment in history, the persecution of witches is an example of society’s seemingly eternal misogyny, while women today are direct heirs to those who were hunted down and killed for their thoughts and actions.