TRASHING: The Dark Side of Sisterhood

by Jo Freeman

This article illuminated an aspect of the women's movement that many participants experienced but few wanted to discuss openly. Iwas written for Ms. magazine and published in the April 1976 issue, pp. 49-51, 92-98. It evoked more letters from readers than any article previously published in Ms., all but a few relating their own experiences of being trashed. Quite a few of these were published in a subsequent issue of Ms.

Genres: Nonfiction, Feminism, Essays

Unknown Binding

Published April 1, 1976

Reviews

[SN · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been watching for years with increasing dismay as the [Woman's] Movement consciously destroys anyone within it who stands out in any way. I had long hoped that this self-destructive tendency would wither away with time and experience...Trashing is a particularly vicious form of character assassination which amounts to psychological r*pe. It is manipulative, dishonest, and excessive. It is occasionally disguised by the rhetoric of honest conflict, or covered up by denying that any disapproval exists at all. But it is not done to expose disagreements or resolve differences. It is done to disparage and destroy.

This article is arguably far more relevant now than it was at the time of it's publication.

In the age of the internet, trashing - or today more commonly "cancelling" - has become an integral part of any form of activism, and more so, society at large.

The expressing of new ideas or ones that may be contrary to/critical of mainstream ideology are shut down without question and the individual who expresses them is ruthlessly shamed into either silence, submission or a downward mental spiral. She even mentions that some of her friends who have been "trashed" have suffered nervous breakdowns.

It also forced me to think on my own flaws when it comes to immediately passing judgement on those who don't conform to set "ideals" within a movement or ideology, which whilst uncomfortable, is important.

Essential reading.

[Meireads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was drawn to read the article after Kathleen Hanna mentioned it in her book Rebel Girl, and I’m so glad I did—it did not disappoint. Although I’ve never been directly involved in any feminist movement, I’ve had conversations with women who claimed to believe in gender equality, and holy shit—this article captured the quiet resentment I’ve often sensed beneath the surface. It even made me realize that, despite identifying as a feminist and embracing “girl power,” I’ve participated in trashing. The article was truly eye-opening, and I’ll definitely be recommending it to other women.

[Beth M · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I become more deeply involved in activism, I've been desperately searching for answers on the internal conflict resolutions one inevitably needs within these organizations. To say activism has infighting, develops cliques, and creates favoritism amongst leadership and general members is an understatement, and unfortunately this is nothing new.

Freeman offers perspectives, but as one might expect, really has no answers.

Internal conflicts will always show themselves regardless of intent. Movements require strong hands and stronger minds to make a difference. People will need to be weeded out, moved, strongarmed, or redirected. So much work needs to be done before you can actually move forward, and there will be so many set backs the work might not feel worth it.

Freeman's article has given me a lot to think about. I just wish it gave me higher hopes...

Article can be read here: https://www.jofreeman.com/joreen/tras...

[James Hogg]

Exiting the vampires castle bit in 1976 ... wild

[Lannie · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Trashing is also a way of acting out the competitiveness that pervades our society, but in a manner that reflects the feelings of incompetence that trashers exhibit. Instead of trying to prove one is better than anyone else, one proves someone else is worse. This can provide the same sense of superiority that traditional competition does, but without the risks involved."

Insightful and important piece of the time, and today.

[Neul · Rating 5 out of 5]

A small article on why Second wave feminism struggled to break free from traditional norms and contentions and phenomenon called trashing. Trashing is a close phenomenon to cancelling. Even though huge amount of people are using "cancel culture" phrase for justifying their shitty behavior, and that makes seem that this is not a real issue. But i believe that is a real issue, that can affect people's live or making ideologies that try to improve people's life less valuable by creating a pervasive, ineffective and hostile environment. Freeman defines, trashing as "character assassination", something that tries to make person's itself invaluable and evil by reducing their actions onto person's identity by separating and abstracting the behavior from the person, and represent person as "something", not someone who "did something". "To be", not "to do". Freeman talks about her own personal feelings when she encountered with trashing made by the community she trusted, how trashing made her isolated by stigmatizing her as "something bad" and symbolize her as an enemy. And she thinks, trashing can be something every ideology or society can have and weaponized.
It's short and meaningful article, that it's context still meaningful even today, i recommend it.

[Claria · Rating 5 out of 5]

“There is nothing new about discouraging women from stepping out of place by the use of psychological manipulation.

This is one of the things that have kept women down for years; it is one thing that feminism was supposed to liberate us from. Yet, instead of an alternative culture with alternative values, we have created alternative means of enforcing the traditional culture and values.”
——

Wow. A really superb piece that so greatly captures the unfortunate realities of the Movement, and at the very least, a reminder that today’s problems are far from new.

In the struggle for female liberation, it becomes easy to forget that our sisters are our comrades, not the enemy.
The reality is that our patriarchal socialization still shapes our view of women, and as Freeman perfectly says, rage is a logical result of oppression. Unfortunately, our sisters are simply an easy target, holding them to the same patriarchal standards we claim to free ourselves from.

In my genuine opinion, this is an essential piece to read, and goes hand in hand with ‘The BITCH Manifesto’ as well as ‘The Tyranny of Structurelessness’.

[Elio · Rating 4 out of 5]

In case you had doubts, groupthink + mobbing + lateral violence ain't just the province of millennial Twitterati. Succinct personal essay on "trashing"--i.e. relational bullying, gaslighting, character assassination--within second-wave feminisms in Nth America, circa 1976. The forms and the terms may have changed but Freeman's essay remains as relevant as ever for leftists siloed in ID pols.