I do not like that essay in the Paris Review at all.
“It might sound as though I’m conflating two things—male predators and female finishers—in a troubling way. And I am. Because when women do what needs to be done in order to write or make art, we sometimes feel monstrous. And others are quick to describe us that way.”
Except that ‘female finishers’ *are not* monsters, and male predators *are.*
How can someone (a woman) look at a Weinstein or a Woody Allen, look at what they’ve done, at the people they have treated like objects, and think, “ah but in our hearts of hearts, aren’t we all, in our way, monsters?” What does this do for the victims? And for the predators?
It’s true that when publicly condemning monsters, people are sometimes being disingenuous and just want to say ‘well, *I’m* not a monster, I’m not like that.’...
...But I think that choosing to emphasise this is also undermining the very real chance we have to act as a united community - a real ‘we’ - where people truly *empathise* with the victims, and decide *together* to stop this misogyny.
I don’t think this is a time to get cynical and say ‘these people who seem outraged by all this - they’re just covering their asses.’
That you’re struggling with this weird feeling where despite all they’ve done, you kind of envy the selfishness of a Polanski or a Woody Allen, fine. That you would think this (privileged, tone-deaf) perspective could be worth publishing, no.
The ending of this essay [Am I a monster?] makes me furious. No, you’re not, because raping someone isn’t like being a ‘selfish woman’. And taking the time to write your book doesn’t make you ‘selfish.’
The number of people who still believe that being an artist necessitates being horrible to others is staggering.
I am mad at this piece not just because it is bad, but because I'm afraid it will make people think that 'the best artists are the most selfish' is a real fact of life, and that the behaviour of people like Allen & Polanski is just an unfortunate, *awkward* consequence of that.
Why are we so ready to believe "being an asshole => great art" but not "being a generous, understanding, caring person = great art"? How does that make any sense?
sorry, meant to write an arrow rather than the '=' sign there.
