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A review by theanitaalvarez
The Sadeian Woman: And the Ideology of Pornography by Angela Carter
4.0
I love Angela Carter's fiction and have been waiting to read this book ever since I read about it in Edmund Gordon's [b:The Invention of Angela Carter: A Biography|28501482|The Invention of Angela Carter A Biography|Edmund Gordon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1466343851l/28501482._SY75_.jpg|48654559]. I haven't read Sade, and I don't really intend to, because all his books sound awful. But I wanted to understand how Carter read him, and it was really a very interesting perspective.
The first chapter, the introduction, discusses pornography as a art, because if we consider it an "art", we can being to question the ideology behind it and its aesthetics. And I think that this is probably the most relevant chapter today. This book came out in 1979, way before the internet has made porn widely available and became most men's sex education (there are studies about it!). So I think that her interrogation of porn's gender and power dynamics and the way in which they are part of a cycle of both reflecting and influencing society is even more important today than when it was first published. Angela Carter argues that there is a possibility of pornography being in the service of women. Now, I'm not sure I can agree with that, but that's beyond the scope of this review.
She sort of argues that Sade was the model for "model pornographer" since his pornographic writings appear to subvert the gender dynamics of 18th century France. Again, I haven't read these books and I don't want to. What Carter describes are stories that degrade women, but are in different in the way Sade puts their characters' attitude towards being degraded. While Justine resists it and is punished because of this, Juliette embraces being sexually abused. I hardly think that anything written by a rich aristocrat in 18th century France can truly be revolutionary in its treatment of women, but the idea that a woman is not actually defiled for having sex and enjoying it does sound like a surprising take for the time.
But the whole point that Angela Carter makes is that pornography has to be analysed to see how it reflects society and how women are treated. And it's definitely an interesting take, because popular discourse around certain porn stars kinda glorifies this idea of being "sexually liberated" but in a way that mostly benefits male. So, I appreciate what Carter did here, because it is a topic that needs to be examined way more deeply than it has, especially in academic circles.
The first chapter, the introduction, discusses pornography as a art, because if we consider it an "art", we can being to question the ideology behind it and its aesthetics. And I think that this is probably the most relevant chapter today. This book came out in 1979, way before the internet has made porn widely available and became most men's sex education (there are studies about it!). So I think that her interrogation of porn's gender and power dynamics and the way in which they are part of a cycle of both reflecting and influencing society is even more important today than when it was first published. Angela Carter argues that there is a possibility of pornography being in the service of women. Now, I'm not sure I can agree with that, but that's beyond the scope of this review.
She sort of argues that Sade was the model for "model pornographer" since his pornographic writings appear to subvert the gender dynamics of 18th century France. Again, I haven't read these books and I don't want to. What Carter describes are stories that degrade women, but are in different in the way Sade puts their characters' attitude towards being degraded. While Justine resists it and is punished because of this, Juliette embraces being sexually abused. I hardly think that anything written by a rich aristocrat in 18th century France can truly be revolutionary in its treatment of women, but the idea that a woman is not actually defiled for having sex and enjoying it does sound like a surprising take for the time.
But the whole point that Angela Carter makes is that pornography has to be analysed to see how it reflects society and how women are treated. And it's definitely an interesting take, because popular discourse around certain porn stars kinda glorifies this idea of being "sexually liberated" but in a way that mostly benefits male. So, I appreciate what Carter did here, because it is a topic that needs to be examined way more deeply than it has, especially in academic circles.