I don’t wish to necessarily single out Laurie Penny for criticism in this post, but she’s such a typical example of the phenomenon I want to write about that I don’t have much choice. If a Nickelodeon was asked to come up with a cartoon of a hard-left third-wave feminist, they’d simply ask an artist to follow Laurie around all day.<\/p>\n
In June last year, the estimable David Thompson<\/a> linked to this piece<\/a> of hers in the New Statesman<\/em>:<\/p>\n I had been struggling to find language for my growing anxiety over the fact that, at almost 30, I still have no desire to settle down and form a traditional family. I\u2019ve been waiting, as open-mindedly as possible, for a sudden neo-Darwinian impulse to pair up and reproduce.\u00a0And yet here I am, and it hasn\u2019t happened. Despite no small amount of social pressure, I am happy as I am.<\/p>\n …<\/p>\n Study after study has shown that it is men, not women, who benefit most from marriage and long-term partnership. Men who marry are, on the whole, healthier and happier than single men. Married women, by contrast, were no better off than their single counterparts.<\/p>\n …<\/p>\n If women reject marriage and partnership en masse, the economic and social functioning of modern society will be shaken to its core.<\/p>\n …<\/p>\n I happen to believe in dismantling the social and economic institutions of marriage and family.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n So Laurie is happy and doesn’t want to get married, and thinks marriage is bad for women and she wants to see the institution, and that of the family, destroyed. She then goes on to tell us that:<\/p>\n When partnership ceases to be mandatory, it only becomes more special. Next week, one of my partners is getting married, and this week I went to his stag night as part of the groom\u2019s party. I\u2019m happy for him, and for his fiancee, whose permission I got before mentioning her in this piece.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n As regular readers know, Laurie is – or at least was – polyamorous<\/a>. Well, good for her.<\/p>\n Now here’s what The Times<\/em><\/a> says about Laurie, and they meant it as a compliment:<\/p>\n A writer and polemicist, a\u00a0bad-ass, contrary, angry, bisexual\u00a0troublemaker\u00a0who is never happier than when she’s upsetting someone, or preferably everyone \u2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Here’s what she had to say about, erm, herself on ABC recently<\/a>:<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think, as political people, as activists, and as people who care about a livable future for the human race, we should be moderating our language at this point.<\/p>\n The opposite. I think this is when we go harder. Because, ultimately, you can\u2019t do feminism, you can\u2019t do anti-racism, you can\u2019t do any kind of progressive politics if your first objective is to make the other side feel comfortable.<\/p>\n …<\/p>\n Well, I\u2019m sure some people DO feel uncomfortable with the pace of social change, but I would suggest they get used to it, really. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s my job to make people who are sexist feel more comfortable. I\u2019m not a politician, I\u2019m a writer, and my job is to push the discussion forward.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Here’s what she said about herself<\/a>\u00a0(again) in march last year, in another New Statesman<\/em> article:<\/p>\n I\u2019m happy because I live in my own bubble and give zero fucks \u2013 a bit like a teenager.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Here’s Laurie praising her sister:<\/p>\n @batrachianlips I fucking love you and I’m fucking proud of you. xx<\/p>\n \u2014 Laurie Penny (@PennyRed) October 11, 2012<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n