Paglia became a media sensation by specializing in quirky, unfashionable opinions; for example, her analysis of Madonna as “the future of feminism.” In brief, Madonna is the future of feminism because she understands sex. We know she understands sex because (a) she portrays herself doing a lot of it and (b) she constantly changes her hair and clothing styles, indicating a profound grasp of none other than … sexual personae. (“Like me.”) But most of Paglia’s thinking isn’t so much unfashionable as just plain trite. Man is creative; woman is sensitive. Man is “contoured for invasion” while woman is “a cave of archaic darkness.” Man is physically strong, but woman has the vast power of her mysterious sexuality. Paglia calls herself a radical; perhaps it does take some daring to sign your name to this creaky old stuff.
The most controversial ideas in this collection are Paglia’s thoughts on rape, which she calls “an outrage” and “a horrible problem” but also views as inevitable. " Hunt, pursuit and capture are biologically programmed into male sexuality," she writes. “Feminism, with its solemn Carry Nation repressiveness, does not see what is for men the eroticism or fun element in rape . . .“Of course feminists see it, but what irks Paglia is that they define it as misogyny, not eroticism. More offensive to Paglia than rape, at least judging from the amount of anger she displays, is the feminist notion that rape is a crime of violence, not of sex. For Paglia, sex is sex, “a dark and turbulent power,” no matter how it’s negotiated. On the messy subject of rapes that sure look like violence-the ones that are accompanied by savage beatings, for instance-she is uncharacteristically silent. Battered wives? According to Paglia, many stick around for the “kinky” sex.
After feminists, Paglia’s favorite target is academics, especially those in women’s studies. Yet she seems incapable of sustaining an argument against any of the people on her enemies list; instead she simply hurls vitriol. Her attack on deconstruction theory is equally vitriolic, and here many would agree with her. But how much more satisfying it would have been to read a solid indictment, rather than an outpouring of shapeless rage.
Careers built on bluster and bombast have a strange life span: one moment you’re center stage, the next moment you’re a sideshow, just another freak. With this bizarre little book, all raving and name-calling and braggadocio, Paglia may have inadvertently found her niche. It’s three stalls down from the tattooed lady.
