Περί γυναικών

by Susan Sontag, Δανάη Σιώζιου (Translator)

Η Σούζαν Σόνταγκ δεν υπήρξε μονάχα μια από τις πιο πρωτότυπες και επιδραστικές φωνές των αμερικανικών γραμμάτων, αλλά και μια από τις σπουδαιότερες προσωπικότητες του εικοστού αιώνα. Στον ανά χείρας τόμο συγκεντρώνονται για πρώτη φορά ορισμένα από τα πιο διεισδυτικά της άρθρα και δοκίμια, κείμενα παθιασμένα και αιρετικά, για τα μείζονα ζητήματα που απασχολούν τη σύγχρονη γυναίκα: την ομορφιά, τα γηρατειά, τη χειραφέτηση, τη σεξουαλικότητα, την αντίστασή της στην εξουσία της πατριαρχίας, και γενικότερα τη θέση της σε έναν κόσμο διαρκώς μεταβαλλόμενο και με ελάχιστες σταθερές.

Genres: Nonfiction, Feminism, Essays, Philosophy, Womens, Politics, Gender

296 pages, Paperback

First published May 30, 2023

About the author

Susan Sontag was born in New York City on January 16, 1933, grew up in Tucson, Arizona, and attended high school in Los Angeles. She received her B.A. from the College of the University of Chicago and did graduate work in philosophy, literature, and theology at Harvard University and Saint Anne’s College, Oxford.

Her books include four novels, The Benefactor, Death Kit, The Volcano Lover, and In America; a collection of short stories, I, etcetera; several plays, including Alice in Bed and Lady from the Sea; and nine works of nonfiction, starting with Against Interpretation and including On Photography, Illness as Metaphor, Where the Stress Falls, Regarding the Pain of Others, and At the Same Time. In 1982, Farrar, Straus & Giroux published A Susan Sontag Reader.

Ms. Sontag wrote and directed four feature-length films: Duet for Cannibals (1969) and Brother Carl (1971), both in Sweden; Promised Lands (1974), made in Israel during the war of October 1973; and Unguided Tour (1983), from her short story of the same name, made in Italy. Her play Alice in Bed has had productions in the United States, Mexico, Germany, and Holland. Another play, Lady from the Sea, has been produced in Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, and Korea.

Ms. Sontag also directed plays in the United States and Europe, including a staging of Beckett's Waiting for Godot in the summer of 1993 in besieged Sarajevo, where she spent much of the time between early 1993 and 1996 and was made an honorary citizen of the city.

A human rights activist for more than two decades, Ms. Sontag served from 1987 to 1989 as president of the American Center of PEN, the international writers’ organization dedicated to freedom of expression and the advancement of literature, from which platform she led a number of campaigns on behalf of persecuted and imprisoned writers.

Her stories and essays appeared in newspapers, magazines, and literary publications all over the world, including The New York Times, The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, The Times Literary Supplement, Art in America, Antaeus, Parnassus, The Threepenny Review, The Nation, and Granta. Her books have been translated into thirty-two languages.

Among Ms. Sontag's many honors are the 2003 Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, the 2003 Prince of Asturias Prize, the 2001 Jerusalem Prize, the National Book Award for In America (2000), and the National Book Critics Circle Award for On Photography (1978). In 1992 she received the Malaparte Prize in Italy, and in 1999 she was named a Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government (she had been named an Officier in the same order in 1984). Between 1990 and 1995 she was a MacArthur Fellow.

Ms. Sontag died in New York City on December 28, 2004.

Reviews

[Klara · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you know me, you know that I am a Susan Sontag girl. If I could talk to one person, dead or alive, it would be her. If I had to name a single favorite author, it would be her. If I could pick my dream career, it would be hers. Susan's diaries have carried me through dark COVID days, her essays have made me, and I firmly believe it, a better thinker, writer and person. Bold statment, I know. i said it anyways.

David Rieff, her son and editor, is thankfully very much alive and the person who still supplies me and the world with new Sontag texts to read. In May, he published yet another collection of essays by his mother: "On Women", texts about, and I quote, "aging, equality, beauty, sexuality and fascism". Of course I read it. And here's how I liked it.

Susan Sontag is brilliant. Period. Her arguments are so precisely worded, so well-thought-out, that I do not envy anyone who ever had to debate her. The first four essays gave me just what I wanted: Susan's take on feminist issues, food for thought, and more quotes than I could underline.

But then, on page 104 of 180, we got started on fascism. And I have to say: I have no idea what moved David Rieff to include the last three chapters in this book. They kept revolving around the same point, which was, arguably, an interesting take on the intersection between fascism and sexuality, but they were so LONG and self-referential that I (I can't believe I am about to type this out) got bored. Yes, bored!
And I DON'T think that that was Susan's fault, but that these texts were poorly contextualized. If you pick up this book, you need to know what you can expect, which is 60% feminism and 40% nazism, fascism and comments on propaganda.

So: 3/5 stars for the collection, but 5/5 stars for Susan Sontag's writing, because duh, this woman just can't go wrong, can she?

[Dream.M · Rating 2 out of 5]

این کتاب که درواقع کتاب هم نیست، بنظر میاد یکسری بدیهیات رو مطرح میکنه که برای امروز دنیا خیلی از اونها حل شده هستند. و البته توی فرهنگ ایرانی هم تا اونجایی که من میبینم در حال حل شدن ان.
بنابراین هیچ حرف تازه ای برای گفتن نداره و ما دیر خوندیم یا بهتر بگم برای خوندنش دیره. شاید هم بعضیا باشن که از حرفهای تکراری کتاب خوششون بیاد نمیدونم.
بهرحال من گوش دادم که کاری کرده باشم، اما نکردم.

[Rosemary Atwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite much engaging writing, this occasionally laborious collection fails to really showcase Sontag’s capabilities. And the title is slightly unnecessary too.

[sAmAnE · Rating 3 out of 5]

حقیقتش خوندن فصل اولش حجم عظیمی از ناامیدی رو بهم تحمیل کرد... ادامه دادم و هم‌چنان دیدم همین‌طوره...
ولی خب از واقعیت‌ها گریزی نیست...

[Paula Mota · Rating 4 out of 5]

A primeira responsabilidade de uma mulher “emancipada” é a de levar a vida mais plena, livre e criativa possível. A segunda responsabilidade é a da solidariedade para com as outras mulheres. Pode viver, trabalhar e fazer amor com homens. Mas não tem o direito de representar a situação dela como sendo mais simples ou menos dúbia, ou menos repleta de cedências do que realmente é. As boas relações que tem com os homens não podem ser obtidas à custa de trair as irmãs.

O ensaio que inclui esta afirmação, “O Terceiro Mundo das mulheres”, é indubitavelmente um catecismo do feminismo e constitui juntamente com “A beleza de uma mulher: fator de descrédito ou fonte de poder?” e “O duplo padrão do envelhecimento” o corolário do pensamento de Susan Sontag sobre as mulheres. Não vou perder o meu tempo a esmifrar esta resenha porque o Goodreads neste momento não me está a dar amendoins suficientes para macacadas, mas deixo antes as sábias palavras da autora com umas achegas de quem ouve demasiado Youtube quando desce em si o espírito de doméstica.

As mulheres devem fazer lobby, protestar, manifestar-se. Devem ter aulas de karaté. Devem assobiar aos homens na rua, (…) boicotar os fabricantes que produzem brinquedos sexistas (…) dirigir as suas próprias clínicas psiquiátricas e de aborto gratuitas, dar aconselhamento feminista ao divórcio (…), adotar o nome de solteira das mães como apelido, vandalizar os placards publicitários insultuosos para as mulheres (…), recolher assinaturas para renunciar às pensões de alimentos e às risadinhas (…), organizar concursos de beleza masculinos, apresentar candidatas a todo e qualquer cargo público. Embora nenhuma ação seja necessária em termos individuais, os atos “extremos” valem por si mesmos, já que ajudam as mulheres a aumentar a sua própria consciência. (…) Revelar-se-ão muito mais eficazes em termos políticos se forem grosseiras, incómodas e – segundo padrões sexistas – “feias”. Serão ridicularizadas, coisa que não devem simplesmente aguentar com estoicismo. Na verdade, devem recebê-lo de braços abertos. Só quando os seus atos forem descritos como “ridículos” e as suas exigências descartadas por serem “exageradas” e “insensatas” é que as mulheres militantes poderão ter a certeza de que estão no caminho certo.

A propósito das ameaças à liberdade de expressão nos EUA, pátria de Sontag, Jane Fonda voltou a ser notícia por, ao lado de mais artistas, ter recuperado o Committee for the First Amendment criado pelo seu pai durante a caça aos comunistas na era McCarthy. Quando abri o vídeo para assistir à entrevista, em vez da senhora de quase 90 anos que esperava ver, apareceu-me alguém que poderia ser minha irmã ligeiramente mais velha e não minha mãe. Se Susan Sontag fosse hoje viva, iria decerto confirmar e rever alguns pontos do primeiro ensaio desta obra à luz dos avanços no campo dos tratamentos estéticos e, por outro lado, da positividade corporal que se advoga hoje em dia, não esquecendo a metrossexulidade que entretanto atingiu os homens que ela achava tão displicentes com o seu aspecto. Escrito em 1972, “O duplo padrão de envelhecimento” tem tanto de verdadeiro como impiedoso.

O rosto de uma mulher corresponde a uma tela na qual ela pinta um retrato alterado e corrigido de si própria. Uma das regras dessa criação é que o rosto não mostre o que uma mulher não quer que ele mostre. O seu rosto é um emblema, um ícone, uma bandeira. A maneira como ela arranja o cabelo, o tipo de maquilhagem que usa, a qualidade da pele – tudo isso são sinais, não do que ela é “realmente”, mas de como quer que os outros, sobretudo os homens, a tratem. Essas coisas definem o seu estatuto enquanto “objeto”. As mulheres são muito mais penalizadas do que os homens pelas mudanças normais que a idade inscreve em qualquer rosto humano. Logo no início da adolescência, as raparigas são advertidas para protegerem o rosto das marcas do tempo. As mães dizem às filhas (mas nunca aos filhos): “Ficas feia quando choras. Para te preocupar. Não leias demasiado.” Chorar, franzir o sobrolho, semicerrar os olhos, inclusive rir – todas estas atividades humanas produzem “rugas” (…) No rosto de um homem, as rugas são equiparadas a sinais de “personalidade”. Manifestam força emocional, maturidade – qualidades bem mais estimadas nos homens do que nas mulheres.

Sontag faz aqui uma espécie de tratamento de choque…

Para as mulheres, envelhecer consiste num processo que as torna sexualmente obscenas, pois os seios flácidos, o pescoço enrugado, as mãos cheias de manchas, o cabelo branco e a ficar ralo, o torso desprovido de cintura e as pernas com varizes de uma velha são considerados obscenos.

…com propósitos pedagógicos, para que as mulheres mudem essa mentalidade de quererem ser tratadas como cidadãs de segunda categoria pelos homens, sendo as escolhidas, as preteridas por mulheres mais jovens, as que alimentam os estereótipos de vaidade, fragilidade e frivolidade, as que exibem a necessidade de validação externa, tudo o que as protege como mulheres mas as trai enquanto adultas.

As mulheres têm outra opção. Podem aspirar a ser sábias e não apenas simpáticas; competentes e não apenas prestáveis; fortes e não apenas graciosas; ambiciosas para si próprias e não apenas para si próprias em relação aos homens e aos filhos. (…) Em vez de serem raparigas, raparigas durante o máximo de tempo possível, que depois envelhecem, transformando-se humilhantemente em mulheres de meia-idade e, por fim, obscenamente em velhas, podem tornar-se mulheres muito mais cedo – e permanecer adultas ativas, que desfrutam de longa vida erótica de que são capazes, por muito mais tempo. As mulheres deviam deixar que os rostos mostrem as vidas que viveram. As mulheres deviam dizer a verdade.

[Roya · Rating 3 out of 5]

با اینکه تکرار مکررات و بدیهیات بود، اما خوندنش خالی از لطف نیست چون نشون میده که زن‌ها چه راه طولانی رو برای داشتن ساده‌ترین حقوق‌شون اومدن.
در طول خوندنش فکر می‌کردم که دیگه خیلی از این موضوعات مطرح شده فاصله گرفتیم ولی از طرفی می‌دونم که توی شهرهای کوچک‌تر و خانواده‌های سنتی همچنان این دغدغه‌ها پابرجاست و زندگی سخت‌تره.

[Miss Ravi · Rating 3 out of 5]

یه بحثی که معمولاً وقتی صحبت از برابری می‌شه، آدم‌ها، به‌خصوص انواع مذکر سریع مطرحش می‌کنن اینه که برابری زن و مرد برای زن می‌تونه دردسرساز بشه و می‌گن مثلاً زن‌ها حاضرن برن سربازی؟ و مثال‌هایی از این دست. سانتاگ درباره برابری خیلی توضیح خوبی داده که متأسفانه هیچ‌کدوم از اون آدم‌هایی که درباره معایب برابری سخنرانی می‌کنن این کتاب رو نمی‌خونن. یکی از مواردی که توی برابری ازش حرف زده شده، موضوع قدرته. قدرت از اون‌ چیزهاست که کم‌تر زن‌ها می‌تونن واردش بشن. منظور هم لزوماً قدرت‌های رأس جامعه نیست.

درباره کتاب که بخوام بگم، جستار اول شرح بدیهیاته. از اون موضوعاتیه که احتمالاً مشمول گذشت زمان شده ولی جستار دوم خیلی خوبه. مثلاً یه موضوع چالش‌برانگیزی که سانتاگ درباره‌ش حرف زد، انتقاد به کانون و بنیان خانواده بود. سانتاگ می‌گه خانواده از اساس متضاد با حقوق زنه و به همین صورت شکل گرفته، به امروز رسیده و ما هم داریم ادامه‌ش می‌دیم. طرفداران خانواده هم نگران نباشن چون منظورش این نیست که خانواده باید از هم بپاشه. داره می‌گه که ما چطور و کجا می‌تونیم تحولی ایجاد کنیم.

[Hana Hmp · Rating 2 out of 5]

من خیلی ذوق داشتم برای سانتاگ‌خوندن اما خب راستش اونقدری که ذوق داشتم خوب نبود. شایدم با سانتاگ خوبی شروع نکردم. ممکنه تاثیر ترجمه هم بوده باشه چون نظرات مترجم تو مقدمه هم خیلی اعصاب‌خورد‌کن بود. کلا پیش‌پیش برای کتابی ذوق نکنید. :)
احساساتم نسبت به جستارها خیلی مختلف بود. یه جاهایی اصلا نمی‌تونستم ارتباط برقرار کنم و یه جاهایی خیلی چیزها برام شخصی می‌شد و یادآوری‌های کثافتی رو می‌آورد بالا که خب جاش احتمالا تو ری‌ویوی گودریدز نیست. :)

[Jennie Yang · Rating 4 out of 5]

First half of this book was positively fantastic. Sontag loses some steam when she starts talking about fascism and the book begins to read more like an academic journal.

[nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

READING VLOG

*3.5 rounded up

“𝘋𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴, 𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺, 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴. 𝘐𝘧 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴, 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 — 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 — 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘮𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘢.”

With Moser's interview at The Strand in September of 2019, he came across a question from his biography of Lispector in regards to Sontag’s viewpoint on taste: “What is a woman on the page?” What makes feminine writing? And then how or why, then, does it become feminist?

The construction of this collection of essays is clever in that it ends with an interview, but before that, we get an exchange between Rich and Sontag about queer tastes surrounding fascist fashion and the desired brutality of the patriarchy.

With Sontag’s response, she’s hard-headed, but consistent in her thinking that expresses growth and strength. It’s grounded. Sound. Difficult. Hard to persuade that the beginnings of her initial argument are still there. Refined. It’s constant work, to think, and to be that work entirely is an art in itself.

I’ve come to the conclusion that we read Sontag to become better speakers or writers. That there is context behind every catch-grab word, every headline. That there is a beyond that must be lived and thought-through. Because if not, all if you have is literally every other single person on Tiktok, out on the street, clueless.

It’s of its time and I’m quite curious to know whyabouts of this recent publication, but I always find it fascinating when we go back to the archives to see what thinking was at the forefronts of cultural movements or stirrings. She’s right. We are made up mostly of the past. And it’s beautiful to see some of her past, as she saw It, spoke it, wrote it. Lived it.

[مِستر کثافت درونگرا · Rating 3 out of 5]

چند جستار مختلف از خانم سانتاگ که در قالب یک کتاب و در مورد زن جمع‌آوری شدن
فمینیسم محترم و بشدت جذاب خانم سانتاگ باعث میشه اکثر اثارشون جذای باشه

[Gabrielė Bužinskaitė · Rating 5 out of 5]

For women, aging is failure, and Sontag wastes no time sugarcoating it. Society tells us our worth is youth, and youth has an expiration date.

We’re taught to fear time. Every wrinkle feels like a countdown to our inevitable irrelevance. Some men gladly benefit exploiting this artificially implanted fear: “Hurry. Marry. Have children. Settle for me, or you’ll end up discarded, unwanted, and bitter.” They call it advice, but it’s a threat and a reminder that, in their eyes, our value is diminishing.

Too often, we comply. We see ourselves through their eyes, fighting the inevitable with needles and scalpels, chasing approval from a world ready to reject us. We tell ourselves we do it to feel better, but rarely ask ourselves why.

Sontag’s sharp, unputdownable essays expose society’s distorted standards for women. Her words punch hard; they feel vulnerably personal because they are—for every woman, I’m sure. I felt deeply understood and inspired reading this book. Truly, I loved every word of hers.

She doesn’t leave us in defeat. Sontag reminds us our strength lies in how we see ourselves in OUR eyes. Our true worth grows with time. It’s in our intellect and individuality—not in the youthful look society expects us to chase.

P.S.
The high rating is solely for the essays on women. The essays on fascism, also for some reason included in this book, were uninteresting, so I skipped them and left them out of my rating.

[Weltschmerz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Povremeno razmišljam o ljudima s kojima često imamo priliku da se sretnemo u javnom prostoru. Obično je reč o intelektualcima, izuzetno uspešnim u nekoj oblasti, koji, međutim, tom uspehu duguju samopouzdanje čije se granice prostiru i nedogled i koje kao takvo mora biti neosnovano. Prema mom mišljenju Suzan Sontag (ili Zontag?) je jedna od tih ljudi, a meni još teže pada kad su ti ljudi žene.

Kada piše o onome što zaista poznaje, autorka je maestralna. Međutim, ova knjiga pretenduje da bude studija o položaju žena u društvu i kada je o toj temi reč, ona je prepuna opštih mesta, a to što je nešto istina ne znači da ga treba ponavljati u nedogled. Takođe, za ženu koja sebe naziva feministkinjom, Susan Sontag je zapanjujuće neizanteresovana za feminističku teoriju, na primer, pa dozvoljava sebi da se vrlo proizvoljno služi određenim terminima i donosi jednako proizvoljne zaključke koji ne slede iz prethodno izrečenog.

Uprkos tome, ova knjiga je zanimljiva za čitanje, naročito pojedini delovi, poput eseja o Leni Rifenštal.

[Hadis · Rating 3 out of 5]

کتاب اثری مستقل از سوزان سانتاگ نیست و شامل مصاحبه و جستارهایی از ایشونه که گردآوری شده و در این کتاب به صورت یکجا منتشر شده‌اند.
جستار اول به بررسی سن و جایگاه مهم اون در زندگی زنان می‌پردازه و این موضوع رو مطرح می‌کنه که زنان در جوامع و فرهنگ‌های گوناگون، بعد از دوران جوانی و ورود به میانسالی از بیان سن‌شون پرهیز می‌کنن چون پیر شدن برای اون‌ها به معنی فرسوده شدن و از دست رفتن شادابی و انرژیه بدون اینکه به مابقی ویژگی‌های شخصیتی اونها توجهی بشه. اون‌ها دائما در پی تغییرات ظاهری برمیان تا شادابی خودشون رو حفظ کنن. همچنین به الزاماتی که در سنین جوانی برای زنان مطرح میشن مثل ازدواج می‌پردازه و اینکه انگار زنان به دنیا میان که ازدواج کنن و این ازدواج یا در رابطه بودنه که جایگاه زنان رو تعیین می‌کنه. سانتاگ در نهایت از زن‌ها میخواد که در هر سنی که هستن واقعیت رو بیان کنن و از فرصت‎‌هایی که طی اون دوره براشون وجود داره استفاده کنن به جای اینکه تلاش کنن دائما خود را کم سن و سال‌تر از آنچه هستن نشون بدن.
‌جُستار دوم که یک پرسش و پاسخه، موضوعات مختلفی مثل تاثیر خانواده‌ها در ایجاد باید و نباید‌های نخ‌نما برای دختران و پسران (و شکل‌دهی سرکوب های نخستین) و اقدام برای متوقف کردن این چرخه، عدم امکان دستیابی به برابری و عدالت با یک روش واحد جهانی و هزینه‌هایی که باید در این راه پرداخت کرد، عدم اشتغال زنان به مشاغل مهم، حساس (یا تعداد اندک شمارِ آنها در چنین مشاغلی) و نقش ثابت زنان در کمک خرج بودن و نه تاثیرگذار بودن، و ... رو پوشش می‌ده.
دو جُستار آخر هم به طور دقیق مفهوم زیبایی زنان رو از زاویه‌های مختلف مانند مسیحیت و فرهنگ یونان باستان (ویسی که گذاشتم در کانالم) و تغییر مفهوم زیبایی در آینده با توجه به تغییر نگرش به زیبایی، سوژه‌های زیبا، تغییر سلیقه مردم و ... می‌پردازه.
پ.ن: اگر تابه حال کتابی در حوزه زنان نخوندید، خوندن این کتاب گزینه‌ی خوبیه در کنار آثار دیگه.
پ.ن2: انتقادم به کتاب «باید و نباید» تعیین کردن نویسنده‌ست، به نظرم بیان عقاید و طرز فکر به خودی خود در یک اثر جالب هستن اما اینکه سعی کنیم به مخاطب دستور بدیم چه انجام بده و چه انجام نده جالب نیست. در اصل من (به شخصه) ارائه راهکارها رو دوست دارم، در عین بازتاب دادنِ مشکلات و مسائل، اما دستور دادن رو خیر. علت کم کردن دو ستاره هم همین هستش، اما در کل کتاب اثر خواندنی به حساب میاد. یه جاهایی هم ترجمه و مشکلات نگارشی کتاب اذیت کننده بود برای من.

[✨ jami ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the first essay about aging a lot, and the one about the aesthetics of facsism was interesting in parts, but beside that I think there are much better essays on most of these topics.

[Ramona Boldizsar · Rating 5 out of 5]

E prima mea întâlnire cu Susan Sontag și m-a cucerit la fel cum a făcut-o și Bell Hooks, a fost grozav să fac această călătorie în mintea ei. Avem aici o colecție de eseuri pe diverse teme, preferatele mele sunt cele care ating problematica sexismului, frumuseții, dublului standard al îmbătrânirii și problematici asemănătoare. În ultima parte avem și un interviu suculent, dar și un dialog între ea și poeta Adrienne Rich pornind de la un eseu pe care Susan Sontag l-a scris despre fascism („Fascinantul fascism”, prezent în carte) și regizoarea Leni Riefenstahl (considerată, paradoxal sau nu, și o mare feministă și o susținătoare a fascismului prin filmele ei). Mi s-au părut interesante gândurile lui Susan Sontag și despre artă, interpretare, modul în care apare sau nu apare feminismul în toate celelalte practici de analiză și gândire (ca articolele despre regizori și filme, de exemplu).

Sută la sută recomand.

[Stetson · Rating 3 out of 5]

On Women is a posthumously published collection of Sontag's essays and interviews on women and feminist thought/social criticism. Many of these essays had already been published before and concerns feminists debates in the 70s or early 80s. The introduction is by a rising literary scholar, Merve Emre, who is known for caring about the form/style distinctions that made Sontag prominent.

I've enjoyed Sontag's criticism. She's a clear, forceful writer. I think she has real expertise and valuable critical insights on meaningful works of literature. She also makes aesthetic arguments that are worth wrestling with. The most important aspect of this is that she does actually focus on substantial literature (as opposed to many of her political compatriots in the academy who increasingly became obsessed with triviality and dressing it in obscurant prose). Her later focus on film as a medium made sense given her critical position on art and literature, but it also presaged dire things for literature in Western culture.

Unfortunately, the arguments presented in On Women are antiquated, having been outrun by an onslaught of scientific knowledge about the consequences of sexual difference on biology and psychology. For example, in one of Sontag's essays she exhorts women to behave like men, including catcalling men on street. She envisions this turnabout of gendered behavior as some empowering gesture. There's since been no such turnabout because such behavior runs contrary to the natural inclinations of women, and it is decidedly unlikely to result in empowerment. Men are not intimidated by sexual attention from unknown women. They eagerly welcome, if not thirst, for it. On the other hand, unwanted sexual attention is generally quite alarming to women. There simply isn't a universe where women are generally asserting more social dominance or authority. This is deeply rooted in biological difference and is something our ideas and institutions cannot abolish.

However, I do feel it is unfair perhaps to hold Sontag to my standards for informed contemporary debates about sexual politics. In some ways her work still resonates with contemporary complaints about the social position of aging women and the status value of beauty. These again are complaints that have roots in biology. There are also available solutions to these complaints, but they generally require a re-introduction of institutions and practices that are considered reactionary or traditional. Subsequently, they tend to be rejected by those championing feminist complaints.

There are some positives to the arguments presented by Sontag. She deftly illustrates that socialist and communists movements don't offer anything special to those championing women's liberation. She also defends elite cultural preferences and distinguishes them from what can be available to those participating in mass politics. In other words, Sontag can often be a shrewd observer, identifying problems with ideas or trends in human behavior and emotion, but oftentimes her shrewdness ends before real prescriptions can be postulated.

I have trouble envisioning modern young women with feminist leanings enjoying Sontag's arguments. They would likely be received as profoundly enervating. Almost a half-century later, which in some ways can be characterized by remarkable liberation from the sociosexual norms and obligations of the past, has done nothing to address many of feminism's core complaints.

[Ruthie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really excellent start talking about the double standards of aging and I loved the conviction and nuance she brought to answer basic questions about radical feminism. BUUUUT it really really bothered me how several times Sontag would compare women’s liberation to black liberation ,,, which signaled to me that when she was talking about “women” she was really only talking about white women. It just made me wonder about what other whitewomanisms I was missing and felt like her perspective lacked a great amount of self awareness (and also pissed me off lol)

[Laura Noggle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes books find you at the perfect time in your life. This book coincides with so may things, even just finishing Hannah Arendt's *Origins of Totalitarianism* earlier this summer.

I'm going to have to reread this for sure, especially loved the analogy of the treatment of women as neocolonialism.

[Annelies Gerits]

Betere titel was “over witte vrouwen”. De volgorde van essays was zeker een tactische keuze : van 90% onderlijnde zinnen in “De dubbele moraal van het ouder worden” tot gauw horizontaal de zinnen doornemen in “Het Salmagundi-interview”.

[Britta Böhler · Rating 4 out of 5]

30 Books in 30 days / Book #23

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

My brain hurts. Send help.

Sontag is a fierce intellect. A force to be reckoned with. The kind of agile mind that can distract from her own contradictions with sophisticated wordplay and verbal a***-kickery. Convince you that you've got it all wrong regardless of reality.

She'll elegantly explain the patriarchy, but then pooh-pooh advances in equal human rights as "reformist" & suggest we should politicise our sexual preferences (ideas I can't get behind despite largely agreeing with her critique of the system.)

I didn't live through the 70s. This was my first foray into Sontag's writing. Reading other reviews, I'm assured this isn't her best work.

Sontag fans... what would you recommend?

[Anastasiia Mozghova · Rating 5 out of 5]

i might never stop being fascinated by Sontag's intelligence and the complexity of her thinking! this is definitely one of must-reads on feminism.

[jocelyn • coolgalreading · Rating 4 out of 5]

i felt like the last couple of pieces were out of place within the context of the other essays but i really loved the first 4 pieces

[Pat Madrzyk · Rating 2 out of 5]

pretty disappointed for this being my first susan sontag book, but I know it will not be the last.

the first chapter contains the meat of the book, however the ideas are pretty rudimentary in my opinion and very repetitive; women are held to a higher standard of beauty and are judged more harshly as they age, men are judged less harshly as they age, blah blah blah.. it may also be because i’m a woman that I feel the urge to say “well yeah duh” but there was genuinely no deeper analysis.

that being said, it did make me feel a bit upset having this reaction because it made me realize these ideas have been in my head for so long that it seems silly to even point them out… let alone write a whole book about it? maybe that was her point? idk

other than that, I did enjoy her style of writing for the most part. last half of the book is about fascism which is pretty random and unexpected so I skimmed most of it.

I guess I was hoping for a fuller discussion “on women” ..

[Brianna Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lordy Lordy sontag helped me turn 40

[od1_40reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Susan Sontag is without a doubt one of my literary heroes, and it’s in her critical writing that I think we really gage the height of her fierce intellect and literary powers. ‘On Women’, this most recent 2023 collection of essays compiled and edited by her son David Rieff, is certainly no let down.

Mostly written during the early 1970s, the compilation feels (unofficially) split into two halves. The first half deals mainly with misogynistic societal issues, with essay titles such as, ‘The Double Standard of Aging’, ‘A Woman’s Beauty: Put Down or Power Source?’ and ‘Beauty: How Will it Change Next?’. The but second half takes an unexpected turn, and moves on to looking at feminism and fascism.

I’ve read quite a few reviews here on GoodReads criticising the book for this, saying that the second half doesn’t feel at all well placed with the first. On the contrary, I disagree entirely with this. To me it seems clear that Rieff’s intention to include that latter essays is that in them Sontag fully explains her stance on the feminist movement and political issues of the time, which Sontag does not always affiliate herself with. Anyone reading this for the first time, I urge you to stick with the second half, as the initial essays on fascism lay the groundwork for the final pieces.

Sontag’s work is one of a kind, and I only wish we were able to hear her thoughts and views on our current societal and global issues.

[Jakob · Rating 2 out of 5]

She has some great analysis in this but I had to put this book down after the lines “I see little relation at present between the class struggle and the struggle to liberate women” and “the freeing of colonized peoples from imperialist control is basically irrelevant to the struggle of women as women.” I get that this was written in the 70s but it’s hard to read some of her writing in this collection today with anything but a critical eye.

[Julia Dillman · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked the idea of collecting her essays on women/feminism over the years, but it ended up getting a bit repetitive at times

[Masih Reyhani · Rating 4 out of 5]

- یک ستاره را به خاطر قدیمی بودن و بعضا عدم تطابق برخی از مسائل با زمان حاضر، کم کردم.