Fausta's Blog

American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

October 28, 2006 By Fausta

Saturday blogging: Camille Paglia

I’ve been a fan of Camille Paglia for many years. Her writing is always interesting, always clear and always thought-provoking. You can go back and read her essays and they’re still as fresh as the first time you read them.

She does tend to get carried away with the meaning of symbolism: For instance, while skyscrapers might be phallic, the very obvious reason men (and women) architecs design them is not because they are phallic, but because so far they’re the most practical way to maximize the use of space in highly populated areas.

Be that as it may, while you might not agree with her views, it’s worth reading her books. (I make an exception: I haven’t read the one on Madonna because if it was up to me Madonna would still be working at the IHOP. ‘Nuf said on Madge.)

I first started reading her work in the early 1990s when I came across her book Sexual Personae at a used book store in Manhattan. I bought it because of her essay on Pre-Raphaelite art, about which I have an interest, and after that I kept going back for more of Paglia’s writing. This kind of writing is not light reading, however. It demands commitment and attention.

Her very successful book of commentary on poetry classics is much easier to read, and it lends itself to reading in brief intervals, as you want to read the poem, think about what it says to you and then read what she has to say. Reading is two minds communicating; in Break Blow Burn it’s three minds.

Now she has a new book about visual images coming up, and Salon has an interview. Here’s a sampler:

On Foley and the Democrats

And with the Democrats’ record of sex scandals, what the hell were they thinking of? For heaven’s sake, after we just got through the whole Clinton maelstrom! What Clinton did with Monica Lewinsky was far worse than any evidence I’ve seen thus far about what Foley did with these pages. Clinton, whom I voted for twice, used his superior power as an employer to lure Monica Lewinsky, who was perfectly willing, into these squalid sexual assignations on the grounds of the White House. There was a time when feminists were arguing, in regard to sexual harassment in the workplace, that any gross disparity in power cannot possibly produce informed consent. All of a sudden, all of that was abandoned for partisan reasons in the Clinton case. I take the European view that any government official has the right to conduct as many sexual affairs as he wishes — off government property. But Clinton, with all his power, somehow couldn’t figure out a way to discreetly meet his chosen women at the mansions of his many friends. I can understand why hotels and motels might have been difficult to manage, with the telltale Secret Service presence. But to use the hallway off the Oval Office for those encounters — to be serviced by a young woman to whom he gave no other dignity and whom he used like a washrag — he turned that hallway into a sleazy mosh pit! The Democrats are being extremely imprudent to arouse all those sleeping tigers again — particularly if their next presidential nomination is Hillary Clinton. They’ve reignited the endless series of charges about Clinton’s allegedly abusive physical encounters with women, beginning when he was governor of Arkansas. The Foley case shrinks in comparison to Clinton’s rumored history of hitting on women in subordinate positions.

On Condoleezza Rice:

Every feminist who wants to smash the glass ceiling should realize she has a stake in Condi Rice’s success.

On a woman president:

If we want a woman president, we need to start training ambitious young women not in women’s studies, with its myths of universal male oppression and female victimage, but rather in military history and national security issues.

On Bob Woodward:

Oh, Woodward, what a big yawn! Who the hell cares about Woodward? I mean, at this point, he’s just an inside-the-Beltway figure. I certainly don’t need him to clarify my view of the Iraq debacle.

Chomsky certainly doesn’t fare any better, and neither does robo-Hillary.

Read the interview, buy the books.

Prior Paglia post
(technorati tags Camille Paglia books)

Share

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Comments

  1. A.M. Mora y Leon says

    October 29, 2006 at 7:47 pm

    Skyscrapers aren’t phallic, where does she get that idea – she misses the obvious one – it’s not their elogated shape that sends a message, it is their vast size. Big is inherently heroic. She shouldn’t have missed that one. That said, I love Paglia, too.

  2. A.M. Mora y Leon says

    October 29, 2006 at 7:48 pm

    Skyscrapers aren’t phallic, where does she get that – she misses the obvious one – it’s not their elogated shape that sends a message, it is their vast size. Big is inherently heroic. She shouldn’t have missed that one. That said, I love Paglia, too.

Tweets by @Fausta
retirees_raise-2015_300x250

Pages

  • About
  • Email

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Previous Posts

  • Mrs. Maisel goes full Alinsky on Mrs. Schlafly
  • Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?
  • You need to unfriend me
  • Go ahead and Kiss the Girl, if you dare
  • Ashamed

Recent Comments

  • John on Mrs. Maisel goes full Alinsky on Mrs. Schlafly
  • Today’s hot topics: Democrats’ collusion shift, tax-return rift, Venezuela drift, and more! – PoliticalWitchDoctor.com on Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?
  • Today’s hot topics: Democrats’ collusion shift, tax-return rift, Venezuela drift, and more! - AmericanTruthToday on Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?
  • Did Venezuela’s Minister of Defense Back Out At The Last Minute? on Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?
  • Roseanne Not Back, Khan not Invited, Operaman’s back, Jobs back, Fausta’s back (but not here yet) Thoughts under the fedora – Da Tech Guy Blog on Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?

Archives

  • 2019
    • December 2019
    • May 2019
    • January 2019
  • 2018
    • December 2018
    • October 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
  • 2017
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
  • 2016
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
  • 2015
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
  • 2014
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
    • October 2014
    • September 2014
    • August 2014
    • July 2014
    • June 2014
    • May 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • January 2014
  • 2013
    • December 2013
    • November 2013
    • October 2013
    • September 2013
    • August 2013
    • July 2013
    • June 2013
    • May 2013
    • April 2013
    • March 2013
    • February 2013
    • January 2013
  • 2012
    • December 2012
    • November 2012
    • October 2012
    • September 2012
    • August 2012
    • July 2012
    • June 2012
    • May 2012
    • April 2012
    • March 2012
    • February 2012
    • January 2012
  • 2011
    • December 2011
    • November 2011
    • October 2011
    • September 2011
    • August 2011
    • July 2011
    • June 2011
    • May 2011
    • April 2011
    • March 2011
    • February 2011
    • January 2011
  • 2010
    • December 2010
    • November 2010
    • October 2010
    • September 2010
    • August 2010
    • July 2010
    • June 2010
    • May 2010
    • April 2010
    • March 2010
    • February 2010
    • January 2010
  • 2009
    • December 2009
    • November 2009
    • October 2009
    • September 2009
    • August 2009
    • July 2009
    • June 2009
    • May 2009
    • April 2009
    • March 2009
    • February 2009
    • January 2009
  • 2008
    • December 2008
    • November 2008
    • October 2008
    • September 2008
    • August 2008
    • July 2008
    • June 2008
    • May 2008
    • April 2008
    • March 2008
    • February 2008
    • January 2008
  • 2007
    • December 2007
    • November 2007
    • October 2007
    • September 2007
    • August 2007
    • July 2007
    • June 2007
    • May 2007
    • April 2007
    • March 2007
    • February 2007
    • January 2007
  • 2006
    • December 2006
    • November 2006
    • October 2006
    • September 2006
    • August 2006
    • July 2006
    • June 2006
    • May 2006
    • April 2006
    • March 2006
    • February 2006
    • January 2006
  • 2005
    • December 2005
    • November 2005
    • October 2005
    • September 2005
    • August 2005
    • July 2005
    • June 2005
    • May 2005
    • April 2005
    • March 2005
    • February 2005
    • January 2005
  • 2004
    • December 2004
    • November 2004
    • October 2004
    • September 2004
    • August 2004
    • July 2004
    • June 2004
    • May 2004
    • April 2004
    • March 2004
Content Copyright Fausta's Blog

Site Developed and Managed by 300m.com