Andrea Dworkin: Our Blood: Prophecies and Discourses on Sexual Politics

In this fierce and beautiful book, the author of Pornography: Men

Possessing Women confronts our most profound social disgrace:

the sexual, cultural, and political subjugation of women to men,

and with rare eloquence examines the systematic crimes of our

male-dominated society against women.

“Our Blood is long overdue—all women must welcome the vigor

and the incisive perception o f this young feminist. ”

—Flo Kennedy

“Andrea Dworkin’s writing has the power of young genius

—Leah Fritz

“Andrea Dworkin has dedicated the title chapter of her book to the

Grimke sisters, and it would have pleased them , I think—since it

contains material which can serve at once as source and inspiration

for women. ”

—Robin Morgan

“Women, looking into the mirror of Out Blood, will feel anguish

for our past suffering and enslavement—and outrage at our present

condition. Men, if they dare to look into this mirror, will turn away

in shame and horror at what they have done. ”

—Karla Jay

“It is great—scary and innovative and great. ”

—Karen DeCrow

“Our Blood takes a hard, unflinching look at the nature of sexual

politics. Each essay reveals us to ourselves, exposing always the

dynamics which have kept women oppressed throughout the ages.

Our Blood compels us to confront the truth of our lives in the hope

that we will then be able to transform them. ”

—Susan Yankowitz

WOMAN B

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THE NEW WOMANS BROKEN H EART

p o r n o g r a p h y : m e n p o s s e s s i n g w o m e n

Perigee Books

are published by

G. P. Putnam’s Sons

200 Madison Avenue

New York, NY 10016

Copyright © 1976 by Andrea Dworkin

New preface copyright © 1981 by Andrea Dworkin

All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof,

may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

Published simultaneously in Canada by Academic Press

Canada Limited, Toronto.

“Feminism, Art, and My Mother Sylvia. *' Copyright Q 1974 by Andrea

Dworkin. First published in Social Policy, May/June 1975. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Renouncing Sexual ‘Equality. ’” Copyright © 1974 by Andrea Dworkin.

First published in WIN, October 1 7 , 1974. Reprinted by permission of the

author.

“Remembering the Witches. ” Copyright © 1975 by Andrea Dworkin. First

published in WIN, February 20, 1975. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“The Rape Atrocity and the Boy Next Door. ” Copyright © 1975 by Andrea Dworkin. First delivered as a lecture.

“The Sexual Politics of Fear and Courage. ” Copyright © 1975 by Andrea

Dworkin. First delivered as a lecture.

“Redefining Nonviolence. ” Copyright © 1975 by Andrea Dworkin. Published in WIN, July 17, 1975. Delivered as a lecture under the tide “A Call to Separatism. ” Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Lesbian Pride. ” Copyright © 1975 by Andrea Dworkin. First published

under the title “What Is Lesbian Pride? ” in The Second Wave, Vol. 4, No. 2,

1975. Delivered as a lecture under the title “What Is Lesbian Pride? ” Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Our Blood: The Slavery of Women in Amerika. ” Copyright © 1975 by

Andrea Dworkin. First delivered as a lecture under the title “Our Blood. ”

“The Root Cause. ” Copyright © 1975 by Andrea Dworkin. First delivered

as a lecture under the title “Androgyny. ”

Grateful acknowledgment is made to Random House, Inc., for permission

to reprint from The Random House Dictionary o f the English Language.

Copyright © 1966, 1967 by Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Dworkin, Andrea.

Our blood.

Reprint. Originally published: New York: Harper &

Row, cl976.

Bibliography: p.

1. Women—Social conditions. 2. Feminism. I. Title.

HQ1154. D85 1981

305. 4'2

81-7308

ISBN 0-399-50575-X

AACR2

First Perigee printing, 1981

Printed in the United States of America

C ontents

Preface

xi

1. Feminism, A rt, and My M other Sylvia

1

2. Renouncing Sexual “Equality”

10

3. Remembering the Witches

15

4. The Rape Atrocity and the Boy Next Door

22

5. The Sexual Politics of Fear and Courage

50

6. Redefining Nonviolence

66

7. Lesbian Pride

73

8. Our Blood: The Slavery of Women in Amerika

76

9. The Root Cause

96

Notes

113

FOR BARBARA DEMING

I suggest that if we are willing to confront our own

most seemingly personal angers, in their raw state,

and take upon ourselves the task of translating this

raw anger into the disciplined anger of the search

for change, we will find ourselves in a position to

speak much more persuasively to comrades about