Review by Booklist Review
ldquo;Feminism must be relentlessly truth-telling, not least about itself," writes Srinivasan, Chichele Professor of Social and Political Theory at All Souls College, Oxford, in her first book-length collection of essays. Approaching each of her topics, Srinivasan orients readers with care, nuance, and intersectionality. Her approach is itself a political act, eschewing any feminism showcasing commonality, as such broad-stroke painting is always at the painful expense of some women, which is not the work of twenty-first century feminism. She considers the "problem" of false rape accusations and what pornography reveals about the construction of desire. She offers careful readings of the pseudo-apologies of some men, accurately exposed by #MeToo, claiming that the real problem is not their behavior but the--supposedly--outsized consequences applied to their behavior. Why, she asks, does the clarity regarding the prohibition on therapists having sex with patients not overlay onto professors having sex with students? To accompany Srinivasan on her thought-work into unpacking, questioning, considering, contextualizing, and deepening contemporary feminist issues is to be stretched into new shapes that the world needs. Srinivasan's powerful thinking is matched by her powerful language, often striking like an electric revelation at the core of an issue. This is required reading.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Philosopher Srinivasan debuts with a fascinating collection of essays on issues facing the feminist movement today. Calling on feminism to be "relentlessly truth-telling, not least about itself," Srinivasan discusses consent, intersectionality, misogyny, and gendered violence, among other topics. In "The Conspiracy Against Men," she points out that false rape accusations are more often made by law enforcement officials (in an attempt to convict the wrong suspect for an actual crime) than by women, and describes the slogan "Believe women" as both a "corrective norm" to a legal system that skews in favor of wealthy white men and a "blunt tool" that obscures how race, class, religion, and other factors affect the handling of sexual assault allegations. In "Talking to My Students About Porn," Srinivasan revisits the anti-porn/pro-sex debates of the 1980s and early '90s in light of how digital pornography has become a "built-in feature" of her students' lives. Throughout, Srinivasan returns to the question of who has power, and how it is wielded to protect the status quo, rather than to remake the world as a fairer and more equitable place. Marked by lucid prose, innovative thinking, and a penchant for resisting easy answers, this is a must-read. Agent: Amelia Atlas, ICM Partners. (Sept.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
In this sharp and thoughtful collection of essays about attitudes towards sex, philosopher Srinivasan (social and political theory, Oxford Univ.) takes a step back and looks at the bigger picture regarding how these attitudes are formed and how they affect people's lives. She draws on her experience, as a professor and an observer of feminist movements over time, to cover topics as wide-ranging as consent, incels, pornography, online dating, racial bias in dating preferences, punishment of sex crimes, and student-teacher relationships. Srinivasan doesn't back away from uncomfortable moments and offers a reasoned, multifaceted analysis that may change the simplistic ways we sometimes view such issues. The attitudes she discusses are mostly rooted in Western mores, but she connects sex crimes, cultural norms, and gender violence to broader general systems of oppression. Ideas from other scholars, activists, and journalists are expertly woven into her essays, making for a rich and balanced narrative that is fascinating to read. VERDICT This exceptionally well-written collection is among the most insightful works yet about sex in modern culture. It effectively merges academic analysis with lived experience in an accessible read that will interest readers from diverse professional and personal backgrounds.--Sarah Schroeder, Univ. of Washington Bothell
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Potent, thought-provoking ruminations on feminism as a political movement capable of eradicating the subordination of women. Responding primarily to situations in the U.S. and the U.K., Srinivasan, a professor of social and political theory at Oxford, presents a series of essays with titles like "Coda: The Politics of Desire," "On Not Sleeping With Your Students," and the titular "The Right to Sex," a version of which first appeared in the London Review of Books. "There is no right to sex," writes the author early on. "To think otherwise is to think like a rapist." In "The Conspiracy Against Men," she continues, "there is no general conspiracy against men. But there is a conspiracy against certain classes of men." This collection contains a staggering amount of research; the notes and bibliography sections span nearly 100 pages, and each essay contains citations from numerous scholars and writers: Ida B. Wells, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Angela Davis, Ellen Willis, Andrea Long Chu, Audre Lorde, Catharine A. MacKinnon, and dozens more. Srinivasan addresses pornography, delineating its role in anti- and pro-sex feminist debates as well as sharing her experience of asking her undergraduate students if porn bears "responsibility for the objectification of women, for the marginalisation of women, for sexual violence against women." (Their emphatic answer is yes.) The author twice quotes Robin Morgan's declaration that "pornography is the theory, and rape the practice." Of the unilateral injunction to believe women ("a blunt tool"), Srinivasan argues that "when factors other than gender--race, class, religion, immigration, status, sexuality--come into play, it is far from clear to whom we owe a gesture of epistemic solidarity." Throughout, Srinivasan considers significant, pressing questions: "Can a working-class movement afford not to be anti-racist?" "Where does morality end and moralising begin?" "Whom, exactly…did the sexual revolution set free?" Featuring excellent criticism of subjects such as carceral solutions and sex education, this is a vital, compelling collection. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
