Slavoj Žižek: We Must Save Ourselves
Judith Butler takes on TERFs, Melissa Febos unpacks girlhood, and more.
October 21, 2021
End Times
“What will remain of humanity if, through technology, everything that constitutes a human is lost?” Slavoj Žižek talks with Leonardo Caffo about “the end of philosophy,” a proper Hegelian attitude, and why super-anthropocentrism is our only chance for survival. (October 20, 2021, translated by Thomas Winn)
The War on Trans Identity
Hannah Leffingwell examines the social media controversy over Judith Butler’s comments about “trans-exclusionary radical feminists,” and finds an important lesson beneath the fracas. “The antidote to fascism is not feminism, but queerness—a theory and a politics built on the notion that nothing is natural and no one owns the truth of gender.” (October 19, 2021)
Empty Consent
“It’s cumbersome to say, ‘I consented to lots of sexual experiences about which I felt ambivalent or actively did not want.’ That’s a mouthful to repeat over and over and over again.” New School author Melissa Febos chats with Public Seminar about sex, mother-daughter dynamics, and her new memoir, Girlhood. (October 20, 2021)
Read an excerpt from Girlhood, released earlier this year with Bloomsbury Publishing. (October 20, 2021)
The Site of Trauma
In an interview with Alexandra Kleeman, author Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi discusses how desire interacts with colonialism in her latest novel, Savage Tongues. (October 15, 2021)
“It dawned on me then why all the women called one another guapa here. It was a code of solidarity, a rallying against the abusive language catapulted at them by certain men. It was a collective affirmation of their dignity.” Read an excerpt from Savage Tongues, out now from Mariner Books. (October 15, 2021)
Only the Rich
A federal program promised to encourage wealthy investors to put their money in disenfranchised neighborhoods, reducing poverty and boosting business. As Arlene Martínez writes in her review of David Wessel’s new book, it didn’t work out that way. (October 20, 2021)