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FEATURES ‘The woman is a disaster!’: Camille Paglia on Hillary Clinton
The Spectator ^ | Oct. 26, 2016 | Emily Hill

Posted on 11/13/2016 8:05:01 AM PST by Tom D.

Talking to Camille Paglia is like approaching a machine gun: madness to stick your head up and ask a question, unless you want your brain blown apart by the answer, but a visceral delight to watch as she obliterates every subject in sight. Most of the time she does this for kicks. It’s only on turning to Hillary Clinton that she perpetrates an actual murder: of Clinton II’s most cherished claim, that her becoming 45th president of the United States would represent a feminist triumph.

‘In order to run for president of the United States, you have to spend two or three years of your life out on the road constantly asking for money and most women find that life too harsh, too draining,’ Paglia argues. ‘That is why we haven’t had a woman president in the United States — not because we haven’t been ready for one, for heaven’s sakes, for a very long time…’

Hillary hasn’t suffered — Paglia continues — because she is a woman. She has shamelessly exploited the fact: ‘It’s an outrage how she’s played the gender card. She is a woman without accomplishment. “I sponsored or co-sponsored 400 bills.” Oh really? These were bills to rename bridges and so forth. And the things she has accomplished have been like the destabilisation of North Africa, causing refugees to flood into Italy… The woman is a disaster!’

Not that Paglia was always opposed to the Clintons. She voted for Bill Clinton twice before becoming revolted by the treatment meted out to Monica Lewinsky: ‘One of the very first interviews I did here — the headline was “Kind of a bitch — why I like Hillary Clinton”. My jaundiced view of her is entirely the result of observing her behaviour. And last election, I voted for Jill Stein’s Green party. So I have already voted for a woman president.’

As far as most feminists are concerned, such a view is unconscionable. Gloria Steinem and Madeleine Albright made it their business to castigate American girls who wanted Bernie Sanders, while Madonna has promised a blowjob for every Clinton vote. Professor Paglia does not seem to mind much if she makes herself violently unpopular with her contemporaries — she’s an expert at it. Currently professor of the humanities at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, she first shot to fame in 1990 with the publication of Sexual Personae — a manuscript turned down by seven publishers before it became a bestseller.

Paglia’s feminism has always been concerned with issues far beyond her own navel and the Hillary verdict is typical of her attitude — which is more in touch with women in the real world than most feminists’ (a majority of Americans, for example, have an ‘unfavourable view of Hillary Clinton’ according to recent polling).

‘My philosophy of feminism,’ the New York-born 69-year-old explains, ‘I call street-smart Amazon feminism. I’m from an immigrant family. The way I was brought up was: the world is a dangerous place; you must learn to defend yourself. You can’t be a fool. You have to stay alert.’ Today, she suggests, middle-class girls are being reared in a precisely contrary fashion: cosseted, indulged and protected from every evil, they become helpless victims when confronted by adversity. ‘We are rocketing backwards here to the Victorian period with this belief that women are not capable of making decisions on their own. This is not feminism — which is to achieve independent thought and action. There will never be equality of the sexes if we think that women are so handicapped they can’t look after themselves.’

Paglia traces the roots of this belief system to American campus culture and the cult of women’s studies. This ‘poison’ — as she calls it — has spread worldwide. ‘In London, you now have this plague of female journalists… who don’t seem to have made a deep study of anything…’

Paglia does not sleep with men — but she is, very refreshingly, in favour of them. She never moans about ‘the patriarchy’ but freely asserts that manmade capitalism has enabled her to write her books.

As for male/female relations, she says that they are far more complex than most feminists insist. ‘I wrote a date-rape essay in 1991 in which I called for women to stand up for themselves and learn how to handle men. But now you have this shibboleth, “No means no.” Well, no. Sometimes “No” means “Not yet”. Sometimes “No” means “Too soon”. Sometimes “No” means “Keep trying and maybe yes”. You can see it with the pigeons on the grass. The male pursues the female and she turns away, and turns away, and he looks a fool but he keeps on pursuing her. And maybe she’s testing his persistence; the strength of his genes… It’s a pattern in the animal kingdom — a courtship pattern…’ But for pointing such things out, Paglia adds, she has been ‘defamed, attacked and viciously maligned’ — so, no, she is not in the least surprised that wolf-whistling has now been designated a hate crime in Birmingham.

Girls would be far better advised to revert to the brave feminist approach of her generation — when women were encouraged to fight all their battles by themselves, and win. ‘Germaine Greer was once in this famous debate with Norman Mailer at Town Hall. Mailer was formidable, enormously famous — powerful. And she just laid into him: “I was expecting a hard, nuggety sort of man and he was positively blousy…” Now that shows a power of speech that cuts men up. And this is the way women should be dealing with men — finding their weaknesses and susceptibilities… not bringing in an army of pseudo, proxy parents to put them down for you so you can preserve your perfect girliness.’

In an hour’s non-stop talking, Professor Paglia is only lost when asked which younger feminists she would pass the baton to. ‘I would love to inspire dissident young feminists to realise that this brand of feminism is not all feminism…’ she says, before citing Germaine Greer as the woman she admires most alive, and Amelia Earhart and Katharine Hepburn as heroines alas dead.

As with Greer, it is Paglia’s power of speech that utterly devastates. Her collected works read like a dictionary of vicious quotations. (Leaving sex to the feminists? ‘Like letting your dog vacation at the taxidermist.’ Lena Dunham? ‘She’s a big pile of pudding.’) Paglia is pro-liberty, pro–pornography, pro-prostitutes and anti- any and all special treatment when it comes to women in power: ‘I do not believe in quotas of any kind. Scandinavian countries are going in that direction and it’s an insult to women — the idea that you need a quota.’ Which brings us back to Hillary and the so-called victory her re-entering the White House would represent: ‘If Hillary wins, nothing will change. She knows the bureaucracy, all the offices of government and that’s what she likes to do, sit behind the scenes and manipulate the levers of power.’

Paglia says she has absolutely no idea how the election will go: ‘But people want change and they’re sick of the establishment — so you get this great popular surge, like you had one as well… This idea that Trump represents such a threat to western civilisation — it’s often predicted about presidents and nothing ever happens — yet if Trump wins it will be an amazing moment of change because it would destroy the power structure of the Republican party, the power structure of the Democratic party and destroy the power of the media. It would be an incredible release of energy… at a moment of international tension and crisis.’

All of a sudden, the professor seems excited. Perhaps, like all radicals in pursuit of the truth, Paglia is still hoping the revolution will come.

7im-nov-2016-970x250-v2After the American people have voted, what next for the US and the rest of the world? Join panellists including Sir Christopher Meyer, KCMG, former British ambassador to the US, for a discussion chaired by Andrew Neil on 30 November at RIBA, London. Tickets include a drinks reception. In association with Seven Investment Management. Book now.

Camille Paglia was a speaker at the Battle of Ideas in London last weekend. Her book Free Women, Free Men: Sex, Gender, Feminism will be published next year.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
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Camille views the world through clear eyes. She got the election right and she gets a lot of other stuff right too.
1 posted on 11/13/2016 8:05:01 AM PST by Tom D.
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To: Tom D.

All honest people have known that Hillary is a disaster since she first erupted like a bubo onto the world scene, a sign that something terrible was wrong. Let’s hope the world has healed itself once and for all and that the horrible plague is over.


2 posted on 11/13/2016 8:08:49 AM PST by Savage Beast (Trump is the Resistance! Vive la résistance!)
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To: Tom D.

Yes. While I think she’s a fool with her sexism, she at least has thought it through and she explains herself pretty well too.


3 posted on 11/13/2016 8:10:46 AM PST by faithhopecharity ("Politicians are not born. They're excreted." Marcus Tullius Cicero.)
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To: Tom D.

But you don’t have to spend two or three years on the road asking for money.

Trump proved that, and so did Jeb for that matter, as Jeb proved that money cannot buy you the presidency or the nomination.

What you have to do is reach the voters and close the deal.


4 posted on 11/13/2016 8:15:28 AM PST by chris37 (It's time to burn the GOP down.)
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To: Tom D.

Whenever I read Paglia’s stuff, I think she sees people without gender. If you’re a dolt who propagates bad ideas or treats people badly, she will hold you accountable regardless of gender. Likewise, she has a high regard for strength of character and trueness to one’s beliefs, as we saw in her treatment of Sarah Palin. That’s why she is a refreshing read for people of all political stripes.


5 posted on 11/13/2016 8:17:09 AM PST by bigbob (We have better coverage than Verizon - Can You Hear Us Now?)
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To: faithhopecharity

She lost me at pro-pornography. Porn rots the soul.


6 posted on 11/13/2016 8:17:52 AM PST by SVTCobra03 (You can never have enough friends, horsepower or ammunition.)
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To: Tom D.

Oh, great, now I can’t enjoy pudding, either... ;)


7 posted on 11/13/2016 8:24:13 AM PST by W. (Aw, crap, it's daylight already.)
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To: Tom D.

I am so lucky to have grown up in a family with no feminists. Instead I am surrounded with capable, competent woman who realise that you don’t legislate your way to equality, you earn it. The women in my family manage businesses, fly planes, become doctors, or stay at home with their children if they feal its the right thing to do and to not give a damn what some feinist thinks. Thsy raise their daughters to do the same and their sons to respect women.


8 posted on 11/13/2016 8:25:12 AM PST by CrazyIvan (Socialists are just communists in their larval stage.)
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To: SVTCobra03

Yes porn is rotten. (But it ain’t going away— I’d like to just keep it out of regular entertainment channels. That step alone would help us a lot ).


9 posted on 11/13/2016 8:26:29 AM PST by faithhopecharity ("Politicians are not born. They're excreted." Marcus Tullius Cicero.)
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To: SVTCobra03

Yes...I noted that also..
Pro porn. Not good. Wonder where her logic is in that.


10 posted on 11/13/2016 8:28:16 AM PST by goodnesswins (Say hello to President Trump)
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To: Tom D.
Trump wins it will be an amazing moment of change because it would destroy the power structure of the Republican party, the power structure of the Democratic party and destroy the power of the media.

HOORAY Camille. HOORAY Mr. Donald J. Trump. Thank you, sir.

11 posted on 11/13/2016 8:32:34 AM PST by PGalt (CONGRATULATIONS Donald J. Trump)
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To: goodnesswins

It’s a freedom thing. You should be free to ‘exploit’ yourself if you choose.


12 posted on 11/13/2016 8:32:52 AM PST by sparklite2 (I'm less interested in the rights I have than the liberties I can take.)
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To: Tom D.
"There will never be equality of the sexes if we think that women are so handicapped they can’t look after themselves."

Funny that this is exactly how liberals view minorities. It is a core part of the liberal world view.

13 posted on 11/13/2016 8:35:47 AM PST by SunTzuWu
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To: Tom D.

“You can’t be a fool.”

Ooops, there goes the whole Democratic Party right there....


14 posted on 11/13/2016 8:38:43 AM PST by proxy_user
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To: Tom D.
....while Madonna has promised a blowjob for every Clinton vote.

Awwwww. Madonna's grandchildren must be so proud of Granny.

15 posted on 11/13/2016 8:45:23 AM PST by Texas Eagle (If it wasn't for double-standards, Liberals would have no standards at all -- Texas Eagle)
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To: Tom D.

Hopefully this is the end of the age of Clinton. Fortunately for freedom loving people, Chelsea is inarticulate, ugly, and not very bright.


16 posted on 11/13/2016 8:46:21 AM PST by Lonesome in Massachussets (The Democratic Party supports full civil rights for Necro-Americans!)
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To: Savage Beast

What I will never understand is how sane people I respect could possibly make a reasoned choice between an abrasive unknown candidate and a dishonest well known one to run our country. The only rationale I can come up with is that 8 years ago the unknown candidate won out, and look where that got us. Clearly, in my mind, if the Democrats ran the clown Biden instead of the evil Hillary it would have been a much easier choice for many people to make.. I hope and pray the Donald will surprise all of us like Reagan did.


17 posted on 11/13/2016 8:55:13 AM PST by immadashell (Save Innocent Lives - ban gun free zones)
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To: Lonesome in Massachussets

Nov 8th 2016, Bastille Day. NO MORE CLINTONS.


18 posted on 11/13/2016 9:03:59 AM PST by scottinoc
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To: Tom D.

To Hillary’s career of devastation in government, she has now added the crowning achievement of wrecking the Democratic Party.


19 posted on 11/13/2016 9:07:26 AM PST by Rockingham
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To: bigbob

I don’t see how Paglia can be such an astute woman and still say she believes in the things she does. She is far left in her politics and supported Bernie despite the horrible failure of socialism. She chose her lesbian lifestyle and is a libertine when it comes to sex - this promiscuity contributes to the severe depression and STDs rampant among many feminists and lesbians. Thankfully she has been a consistent voice against the whining “feminists” who really don’t want equality but expect special treatment and access due to their girlie parts. Camille adopted a male child (not sure how old he was), and perhaps that has softened her appreciation as she sees him grow into a man.


20 posted on 11/13/2016 10:16:59 AM PST by Sioux-san
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