SCUM Manifesto

Wow. I am frankly blown away by how someone can be so incisive and laser focused on some things, while just so horrifically, wildly off on everything else. This got an extra star for some good ideas and making me genuinely laugh out loud a surprising amount. Credit where credit is due, this is definitely a manifesto.

Cards on the table, I am an anarchist intersectional feminist who is also Queer, Genderqueer (as it seems relevant, transfemme), as well as having chronic physical and mental conditions and disabilities. Take what you will from that and my perspective on this.

Currently, I don't see myself as an insurrectionist, though I do understand and agree with a number of insurrectionist ideas, of which there are a whole bunch on show more display here to the point where if you took some of the more ridiculous stuff out, this would read as a pretty basic anarcho-feminist insurrectionist manifesto. The problem is it is filled with utter hateful nonsense that targets and ignores a whole lot more than just males side by side with some seriously important truths and ideas.

There seems to be a confusion of meaning or specificity that, if she meant the patriarchy I would be more on board, though still not with the indiscriminate (regardless of how she describes it) killing of men and the what amounts explicitly or otherwise to the killing of all other genders and women not on board with this manifesto.

It's the bioessentialism that really does it for me, along with the ignorance and erasure of LGBTQIA and what amounts to explicit transphobia and homophobia, ableism and calls for eugenics, and no mention at all of race and culture and the specific ways in which all of this effects BIPOC, which gives this whole thing a feel of radical suffragettes or certain modern radicals who exclude transgender people, sex workers, and have yet to reckon with white supremacy.

Smash the system. Topple the state. Do away with money and the concept of work. Move forward with automation to help all, not just reduce overheads for the wealthy. Destroy the patriarchy, white supremacy, toxic masculinity, and all other prejudices and marginalisations that effect people in our societies. Fuck yeah. But the idea that men and inherently bad and women are inherently good is fucked. People are people. Authority corrupts and if our history was that of matriarchal societies, rather than patriarchal we would still be fucked.

To ask the ludicrous question of one of the avatars of the evils of patriarchy, what is a woman? Easy. Someone who fucking tells you she is. That's it. Same with men, non-binary, agender, or any other gender or element of identity.

All men are conveyed a privilege under patriarchy (as well as difficulties everyone faces from toxic masculinity), just as all white, able bodied, neurotypical people, etc. are also conveyed privilege in the majority of the world. This does not make all of these people inferior or evil, and it doesn't go anyway to show what intersections of marginalisation anyone from these groups have and how that effects their life. It's not a numbers game, but we all have individual needs and difficulties. I'm Queer, trans, disabled, neurodivergent. I am also white and my sex and assigned gender at birth were male, regardless of my rejection of any of this aspects and/ or the ideologies behind them. There are privileges, marginalisations, and experiences I have that others won't. It doesn't make me any better or worse a person as anyone. The most privileged person could be one of the nicest people, no one chooses the circumstances of their birth. Equally, the most marginalised person doesn't mean they will be the nicest. Actions, rather than circumstances or labels determine a person's character. There might be honus on those with privilege to not allow passivity to make them culpable in the harm done by the systems that benefit them. But thinking any element of identity confers inherent good or bad is just fashism--noone has to care for their oppressors, but generalisations of any intrinsic element is fucked. Landlords and cops are all bastards, but anyone can stop being that.

As much as I laughed, this shit is just depressing, both for how close, but so far it is, but because I totally see how somone could get so twisted as to get lost in this sauce. I don't want to have to waste time arguing and fighting with people who think like this when the people in charge are the actual issue. It's just sad and scary just how many people who should be comrades we have to keep an eye on and make sure they don't kill us, before the system does.

This is hateful bullshit spewed by a broken person who wants something better for her and hers, but wr can only truly make something better for all. I just wish more of us broken folx could stick together.

Edit: I kinda think whether or not this is satire becomes moot based on her actions and sole of the truly terrifying stuff I've seen taking this extremely seriously. As satire, the inversion of the the last two thousand years is striking and definitely makes you think. Perhaps, this hit different when it was first published, but in 2023 with manosphere, TERFs, SWERFs, and the rise of LGBTQIA , particularly trans, hatred and legislation, it reads as real and as scary as I think it was mostly meant.

The women who want men dead are scary, as the men are likewise, though I understand why they feel that way. The men in the comments and replies being chauvinist pricks, as much I as I have issues with this, you are the reason this exist in the first place. Shut the fuck up because the rest of us aren't that bothered if you get plugged full of Warhols. show less

The Manifesto opens with the following declaration:[
"Life" in this "society" being, at best, an utter bore and no aspect of "society" being at all relevant to women, there remains to civic-minded, responsible, thrill-seeking females only to overthrow the government, eliminate the money system, institute complete automation and eliminate the male sex.
Solanas begins by presenting a theory of the male as an "incomplete female" who is genetically deficient due to the Y chromosome. According to Solanas, this genetic deficiency causes the male to be emotionally limited, egocentric, and incapable of mental passion or genuine interaction. She describes the male as lacking empathy and unable to relate to anything apart from his own physical show more sensations.
The Manifesto continues by arguing that the male spends his life attempting to become female, and thereby overcome his inferiority. He does this by "constantly seeking out, fraternizing with and trying to live through and fuse with the female." Solanas rejects Freud's theory of penis envy, and argues that men have "pussy envy". Solanas then accuses men of turning the world into a "shitpile" and presents a long list of grievances.
The bulk of the Manifesto consists of a list of critiques of the male sex. They are divided into the following sections:
• War
• Niceness, Politeness and "Dignity"
• Money, Marriage and Prostitution, Work and Prevention of an Automated Society
• Fatherhood and Mental Illness (fear, cowardice, timidity, humility, insecurity, passivity)
• Suppression of Individuality, Animalism (domesticity and motherhood) and Functionalism
• Prevention of Privacy
• Isolation, Suburbs and Prevention of Community
• Conformity
• Authority and Government
• Philosophy, Religion and Morality Based on Sex
• Prejudice (racial, ethnic, religious, etc.)
• Competition, Prestige, Status, Formal Education, Ignorance and Social and Economic Classes
• Prevention of Conversation
• Prevention of Friendship and Love
• "Great Art" and "Culture"
• Sexuality
• Boredom
• Secrecy, Censorship, Suppression of Knowledge and Ideas, and Exposés
• Distrust
• Ugliness
• Hate and Violence
• Disease and Death
Due to the aforementioned grievances, the Manifesto concludes that the elimination of the male sex is a moral imperative. It argues that women must replace the "money-work system" with a system of complete automation, as this will lead to the collapse of the government and the loss of men's power over women.
In order to accomplish these goals, the Manifesto proposes that a revolutionary vanguard of women be formed. This vanguard is referred to as SCUM. The Manifesto argues that SCUM should employ sabotage and direct action tactics rather than civil disobedience, as civil disobedience is only useful for making small changes to society. In order to destroy the system, violent action is necessary: "If SCUM ever marches, it will be over the President's stupid, sickening face; if SCUM ever strikes, it will be in the dark with a six-inch blade."
The Manifesto ends by describing a female-dominated utopian future with, eventually, no men. There would be no money, and disease and death would have been eliminated. It argues that men are irrational to defend the current system and should accept the necessity of their destruction. show less

"Life in this society being, in the best of cases, a total bore, and no aspect of society being at all relevant to women, it remains to civic-minded, responsible and thrill-seeking females only to overthrow the government, eliminate the money system, install complete automation and destroy compulsive heterosexuality." When I read that sentence I knew I had to have the book; it's a brilliant, excoriating expression of a radical feminism that I wouldn't want to see implemented any more than I would want to see Biblical law enforced. But I can enjoy both the Bible and the Manifesto for their amazing prose, and I feel sorry for those who can't separate the medium from the message.

Radical feminist manifesto, arguing that men have ruined the world and it was up to women to fix it. The book surged in popularity following Solanas' attempted assassination of Andy Warhol in 1968, which the publisher Maurice Girodias details in the preface here.

Solanas begins by presenting a theory of the male as an "incomplete female" who is genetically deficient due to the Y chromosome. According to Solanas, this genetic deficiency causes the male to be emotionally limited, egocentric, and incapable of mental passion or genuine interaction. She describes the male as lacking empathy and unable to relate to anything apart from his own physical sensations.

The Manifesto continues by arguing that the male spends his life attempting to show more become female, and thereby overcome his inferiority. He does this by "constantly seeking out, fraternizing with and trying to live through and fuse with the female". Solanas rejects Freud's theory of penis envy, and argues that men have "pussy envy". Solanas then accuses men of turning the world into a "shitpile" and presents a long list of grievances. show less

SCUM is short for “Society for Cutting Up Men”, and the manifesto is Valerie Solanas’ infamous text about why the destruction of the male sex is necessary, and her visions about a society free of men. A Stockholm theatre has done a staged version of the manifesto, more or less just presenting the text as it is, causing huge controversy. Public anti-feminist voices have been overbidding each other in condemning the performance, and the actress (but not the male director, go figure) has received numerous death threats, forcing her to play several shows under police protection. A few weeks ago I went to see the performance, and it was really good. This prompted me to pick up the text itself, which I got for Christmas last year from show more my brother, and has been lingering on my shelf for a year.

There’s no doubt Solanas text is very strong medicine indeed. The male is presented as a genetic defect, incapable of any feelings and genuine relations to other, which has created a highly destructive society only to mask this fact.

It’s very much a shame that Solanas actually shot Andy Warhol – this act makes it hard to overlook the possibility to read her agenda literally. Otherwise this whole work can just as easily read as a sharp metaphor. But really, you need to have an extremely low degree of self-distance in order to be as offended by this as many white hetero men have been. Instead, if you dare to actually look past the verbal slugging and extreme positioning of Solanas, deranged at times, there are some genuine points made. There is stuff here for a western man to actually ponder. And then, reading this text actually becomes a rather liberating experience. Also, Solanas is funny as hell at times.

Absolutely not for everyone, but if you can stand getting slapped around a bit (or well, maybe more than a bit), this is a manifesto well worth reading. show less

This is one impressive train wreck. If I didn't know the background, I'd say this is great, amusing satire that does a good job poking fun at the more extreme feminists.

However, I did look into Valerie Solanas' history beforehand. Wow. It blows my mind to think this is supposed to be taken seriously. So, if I need to evaluate its value as a worthwhile piece of information with a reliable opinion... blech.

But if I were to evaluate its entertainment value, tis much higher. It's very memorable and quotable, but likely not in the way Solanas had intended. This is so terrible in so many ways... and I would recommend it.

As a rant, it's an excellent one and very funny in parts.

I had issues with the ableism of it, and I'm not sure what to do with the anti-gay slurs. Which seem ... not to be slurs to Solanas? Which doesn't give her the right to use them.

Read as a parody of the typical women-hating rant found in an awful lot of books by Manly Man, it's brilliance. Read literally, it's horrifying in parts and very, very clever in others.

For a 60-page work, it's generating more thought than anything else I've read this year.