Book Review: Last Days at Hot Slit

Image: The cover of the book is a faded red. In the center is the title with "Last Days at" in white, italic letters and "Hot Slit" in yellow, larger, non-italic letters. Underneath in small white letters is "The Radical Feminism of Andrea Dworkin" an below that, "Edited by Johanna Fateman and Amy Scholder."

Content Note: This review contains mention of many kinds of abuse of women that I won't specifically list for worry of leaving something out as well as suicide.

I couldn't write a review without an analysis of Andrea Dworkin and everything that has developed since her contributions to the world. Dworkin is one of the most passionate, honest, and brave writers I have ever read. I had to take my time reading this book even though Dworkin's writing sucks me in. The book is extremely intense with lots of very heavy, difficult subject matter- which is common for Dworkin, but took a lot out of me nonetheless. There were some excerpts from books I had already read and it was interesting to reread them with where I am in life now. This is not a feel-good book but it is a necessary one. So, read this book and review with care.

The first time I read Andrea Dworkin years ago, it was with great hesitation. I was a member of the third wave "sex positive" feminist world. Some people I knew seemed to think that all radical feminists were either TERFs or joyless, sex-hating, oppressive prudes. However, I did enjoy the work of Carol Adams, Audre Lorde, and others. I was on a mission to understand everyone better- especially a woman who seemed to arouse such big emotional responses from all kinds of people. I read "Woman Hating," and I recall thinking, "Almost everything I heard about Andrea Dworkin is wrong." Dworkin is not only an excellent writer, but she is someone who truly loves women- including trans people- and who has survived hell on Earth only to use it as a vehicle to change the world and help other women. According to the editors' introduction, Dworkin was the first to widely and publicly use her own rape and trauma as a vehicle to discuss feminism and womens liberation. Dworkin has since then become an exercise in balance for me. While I do not agree with everything she says, it keeps me from going to the extremes of some third wave advocates that I really dislike. I teaches me feminist history and keeps me honest. I have read some but not all other works by Dworkin. When I saw that a collection was put out, it seemed like a great place to start reading the rest.

"Last Days at Hot Slit" is a collection of nonfiction essays, speeches, book excerpts including one autobiographical fiction excerpt, letters to her parents, and finally, a heartbreaking writing titled "My Suicide" that was found on Dworkin's hard drive after her death and was previously unpublished. I will say more on that at the end of this review.

I have a pretty hard line disagreement with Dworkin on some issues found in this book, but I still gave the book I high rating. Why I did will hopefully become clear in this review. When I started the book, very early on I was put off because Dworkin seems to cosign Yoko Ono saying, "woman is the n----- of the world." This obviously problematic phrase is often highlighted as a prime example of how white feminists erase Black women from feminism or claim and tokenize oppression that is not theirs. I began to wonder, however, if I misunderstood what she was saying. The rest of the section was devoted to a discussion about how white middle class women were centered far too much and how this was harmful, about what we now call intersectionality, and about the struggles of Black, poor, lesbian, and other marginalized women. So, she cosigned this horrendous phrase but it doesn't seem to match her politics and actions otherwise. This was also an excerpt from her first book and I'd like to think she has learned from it since then. I am not sure if the editors thought about this before choosing to include it or not.

I also have big critiques of how Dworkin and others of the second wave characterize femininity. I do believe that there is always room for critique regarding how we present ourselves. What do we do because we enjoy and what do we do because it helps us exist and/or get ahead more in the world? How do the choices we make in how we present ourselves affect our lives and the world at large? Am I being honest with myself? These are good things to think about regarding gender expression. But, the anti high-femininity often takes over in some second wave feminist texts, including Dworkin's, to the point that it gets more attention than toxic masculinity- which is actually a problem. The quest for androgyny in the second wave came from a desire to abolish forced gender roles and expression. But- and I wonder if Dworkin would have come around on this had she lived longer- there is nothing wrong with gender expression including binary and commonplace kinds like cis women femininity. Having known femmes who were around when this kind of thought ruled feminism, one who was even kicked out of a feminist book store for wearing lipstick and nail polish, I can't really cosign anything that critiques stereotypical feminine expression as negative. That said, I do think there is room to interrogate why we choose to express ourselves as we do.

The rest of the book made up for my disagreements on some things. There is also something to be said of the time these were written. Older writings will often be dated, but there is still a reason these schools of thought came to be and led to where we are today. And, at worst, we can look at these arguments as a feminist time capsule. As a person with a long history of all kinds of exposure to misogyny, I have always been disillusioned by how some third wave, "sex-positive" feminists characterize certain aspects of "sexual freedom." Some people will speak loudly about an unfavorable representation of a woman in a mainstream movie, but in another breath state that any critique whatsoever of the mainstream pornography industry and how it portrays women is "anti-sex worker." Some people talk about how empowering sex work is and silence those of us who have not found it empowering whatsoever. Andrea Dworkin is not anti-sex, nor were second wave feminists overall. She is vocally pro-sex and pro-fucking (yes, she says many positive things about "fucking" in this book) while anti-rape and exploitation of women. 

Dworkin's opinions in her essays on pornography are clear- it is all abusive exploitation of women and must stop. I think the truth is somewhere in between the third and second wave characterizations, which is why reading both Dworkin and third wave, pro-sex work writings is critical. In fact, reading Dworkin's writings along with Pat Califia's on similar subjects, I found myself- to my surprise as someone who is a kinky, trans and queer weirdo that supports queer porn- to agree far more with Dworkin. The essays on rape, sex, pornography, and intercourse in this book are a great selection of such words. The misrepresentations and simplifications of her work as "anti-sex" or "sex-negative" couldn't be more wrong. The myth that Dworkin said something to the tune of "all insertive sex is rape" is patently false. The excerpts from "Intercourse" included in this book are from the later edition where she sets the record straight. Dworkin's ideas and reality came from extensive research, personal experience, and endless conversations with women. Dworkin challenges us to always be interrogating our desires and to not fall into the "anything I like and everything that turns me on is liberation" trap of some third wave feminists or especially rich white male pornographers who were some of Dworkin's largest attackers. Even if you disagree with the second wave's takes on pornography and sex work, there is still something to be gained by reading Dworkin's words.

Dworkin also tackles topics such as intra and inter-racial abuse, general prejudice and supremacist thinking, being a non-Zionist, pro-Palestinian Jew who grew up being taught a different philosophy,  public cases of women in the media, and others. Her writing on Nicole Brown Simpson and Lorena Bobbitt is quite an interesting time capsule as there are now multiple documentaries and reenactments of these cases. These series send the messages Dworkin was trying to send decades ago. Having recently binge-watched Jordan Peele's 'Lorena,' it was both refreshing and frustrating to see the truth finally being played out rather than constant jokes about a woman who was horrifically raped and abused and who violently defended herself as a result. What would have happened had we listened to Dworkin and other feminists in regards to Nicole Brown Simpson and Lorena Bobbitt?

Throughout the collection, across multiple books, Dworkin discusses her own experiences with rape and intimate partner violence. She does not mince words or dance around issues. She does not question or hesitate. The power behind her words can be felt through the page as she describes being horrifically abused and stalked by her ex husband, multiple rapes, and other traumas. She talks about being harrassed and hated. She talks about chronic illness. She talks about being alone. Where this is the most intense is in the final, formerly unpublished essay- My Suicide. 

"My Suicide" is one of the most devastating, relatable, painful, accurate, and honest things I have ever read. Dworkin captures what it feels like to be drugged and raped. She captures what it feels like to be suicidal. She captures what it feels like to be chronically ill. She captures shame, regret, hopelessness, depression, fear, despair, and many other things. If you wanted a happy ending, there isn't one. Dworkin died of inflammation of the heart at only 58 years old. Her illnesses were undoubtedly compounded by both extensive trauma and how horrible it was to be a feminist that took center stage against misogynists and their supporters. If she had not died from her illnesses, would she have completed suicide? Reading this last entry makes one wonder. While reading this I just kept thinking, "Yes, someone gets it. Someone really gets it." And, without revealing too much more about myself, I can say that all I wanted to do after reading this was hold her and say, "I believe you. I am here. I understand. I truly understand. You are not alone." I say that as a person who is not very touchy-feely. But, some part of me believes that no matter how much Andrea was loved- and she was widely loved by feminists all over the world- life beat her down in ways no one can survive for long. She left us with a legacy anyways. She worked so hard and never gave up. While the last entry is full of hopeless wonder of how women and girls can survive in this world, I do hope that her last dream before death was peaceful. It is all I can hope for.

In conclusion, Andrea Dworkin gave her life for the feminist movement. None of us is perfect and no wave of feminism has been 100% right. But, we can all learn from each other. If you have not read Dworkin because of something negative you've heard, I urge you to push past that and read her with an open mind anyways. There is something to be gained for everyone in this book and this collection is an excellent place to start.

This review was also posted to my goodreads.