A review by itsnkbitch
Daddy by Madison Young
3.0
Daddy is a memoir about Madison Young, porn-actress&director, sex educator, and art curator. Thematically, the through line this book keeps going back to is Madison's search for her Daddy. However, Madison proves herself to be a very independent person with her own work, passions, and interests that are also explored in the space of this book. She owns her own art-gallery in San Francisco, for example, where she features feminist and queer voices. She finances the gallery through sex work, primarily by modeling and acting in shoots and films. She never is fully-defined by her interest in submission or her relationship with her Daddy. Her interest in kink is a compliment to her complex and compelling life.
I really like Madison Young herself. I really respect that she straight up was like: hey, my birth-Father growing up was not exactly world's best Dad. He cheated on my Mother and was a p/t Dad, not taking responsibility and just enjoying the fun. Yet, I had that fun. I I loved him and felt safe around him anyway.
I like that she blended that narrative with her kink narrative, showing us the reader that Madison is open to the possibility that her interest in D/lg could be from her actual Father, but, at the same time, just because something stems in dysfunction doesn't mean it is that dysfunction.
Also, I'm very excited to read sex-workers, kinksters, and queer feminists write their stories. When I picked this book up (at Bluestockings, NYC), I was mostly motivated at reading a D/lg story, not knowing that what I was getting was a much more textured, much more important perspective.
That all said -- the writing in this story has some issues. Not the prose, which was clean, beautiful at times, and easy to digest. But The Big Ideas in this story, which were primarily skimped around on.
There is a lot of assumption that the reader has the same point of view as Madison, which is frustrating because I much rather read her explore her point of view. For example, she often mentions that her sex work is a feminist move because she has agency. That’s an argument I totally get behind, but I need more than like a literal sentence here or there telling us that she is in control and she is fighting the patriarchy by having control? Like this arguement is a complete book in itself -- there has to be more she could divulge on it. If not on a political level, than at least on an emotional level. She’s a feminist sex worker from a traditional family -- there is a whole emotional arc there and we breeze right past it. And... that’s just one example of many... >>;
Also the Daddy himself? He becomes a douchebag... and his redemption path doesn’t do it for me. But it does for Madison -- so that's an awkward confliction to have. Espec when this is a memoir...
But to end on a positive note -- another big part of this book is San Francisco. The book is an ode to the sex-work, feminist, queer, kink, and art community venn-diagram that used to define San Fran. I use past-tense because ... these communities are dying out. When Madison Young had to close her art gallery -- that was a sign of the times. It’s sad, but it is also really interesting to learn about what San Fran used to be, and really compels me to fly out before everything interesting about San Fran dissolves into dust.
I really like Madison Young herself. I really respect that she straight up was like: hey, my birth-Father growing up was not exactly world's best Dad. He cheated on my Mother and was a p/t Dad, not taking responsibility and just enjoying the fun. Yet, I had that fun. I I loved him and felt safe around him anyway.
I like that she blended that narrative with her kink narrative, showing us the reader that Madison is open to the possibility that her interest in D/lg could be from her actual Father, but, at the same time, just because something stems in dysfunction doesn't mean it is that dysfunction.
Also, I'm very excited to read sex-workers, kinksters, and queer feminists write their stories. When I picked this book up (at Bluestockings, NYC), I was mostly motivated at reading a D/lg story, not knowing that what I was getting was a much more textured, much more important perspective.
That all said -- the writing in this story has some issues. Not the prose, which was clean, beautiful at times, and easy to digest. But The Big Ideas in this story, which were primarily skimped around on.
There is a lot of assumption that the reader has the same point of view as Madison, which is frustrating because I much rather read her explore her point of view. For example, she often mentions that her sex work is a feminist move because she has agency. That’s an argument I totally get behind, but I need more than like a literal sentence here or there telling us that she is in control and she is fighting the patriarchy by having control? Like this arguement is a complete book in itself -- there has to be more she could divulge on it. If not on a political level, than at least on an emotional level. She’s a feminist sex worker from a traditional family -- there is a whole emotional arc there and we breeze right past it. And... that’s just one example of many... >>;
Also the Daddy himself? He becomes a douchebag... and his redemption path doesn’t do it for me. But it does for Madison -- so that's an awkward confliction to have. Espec when this is a memoir...
But to end on a positive note -- another big part of this book is San Francisco. The book is an ode to the sex-work, feminist, queer, kink, and art community venn-diagram that used to define San Fran. I use past-tense because ... these communities are dying out. When Madison Young had to close her art gallery -- that was a sign of the times. It’s sad, but it is also really interesting to learn about what San Fran used to be, and really compels me to fly out before everything interesting about San Fran dissolves into dust.