In The New Woman's Broken Heart, Andrea Dworkin concludes one of her stories with the line: "I never did like that crap about the child being father to the man" (10). So with that as my starting point, here is my barrier - tearing - down experiment for Bastille Day -- "Far beyond the barricade is there a world you long to see?" Yes, there is! Not a world without men, not a world without Christmas or "America the Beautiful," just a world without gender exclusive language. I ALWAYS DID HATE THAT CRAP
about the child being father to the man
about the proper study of mankind is man
about whoso would be a man
about no man is an island
about what art man that thou art mindful of him
about Our Founding Fathers
about all men are created equal
about the City of Brotherly Love
about "first in war, first in peace and
first in the hearts of his countrymen"
about Faith of our Fathers
about Our Father who art in Heaven
about the Fall of Man
about the Son of God
about the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
about Unto us a Son is Given
about lo he abhors not the virgin's womb
about offspring of a virgin's womb
about with God as our Father, Brothers all are we
about I now pronounce you man and wife
about One small step for Man; one giant leap for Mankind
about our fellow man
about stand up and fight like a man
about take it like a man
about manpower & man hours
about each man for himself
about when you say "Man" you mean "Woman" too
(and so on and so forth)
Some Favorite Comments from Andrea Dworkin
"Sitting with Ricki, talking with Ricki, I made a vow to her: that I would use everything I knew, including from prostitution, to make the women's movement stronger and better; that I'd give my life to the movement and for the movement. I promised to be honor-bound to the well-being of women, to do anything necessary for that well-being. I promised to live and to die if need be for women. I made that vow some thirty years ago, and I have not betrayed it yet" (122).
from Heartbreak: The Political Memoir of a Feminist Militant
by Andrea Dworkin, 1946 – 2005
American writer and radical feminist
When asked how she would like to be remembered,
Dworkin said:
"In a museum, when male supremacy is dead. I'd like my work to be an anthropological artifact from an extinct, primitive society."
[Julie Bindel, "Obituary" in The Guardian, April 12, 2005]
