A new book argues that witchcraft’s proponents were among the first to champion the cause and compares their treatment with that of Hillary Clinton Men have always feared powerful women, Kristin J Sollee argues in her new book, Witches, Sluts, Feminists: Conjuring the Sex Positive, and the witch is the ultimate personification of that terror. “Witches, sluts, and feminists are the trifecta of terror for the patriarchy,” Sollee explains. “To me, the primal impulse behind each of these contested identities is self-sovereignty … witches, sluts, and feminists embody the potential for self-directed feminine power, and sexual and intellectual freedom.” Sollee’s book positions itself as a whirlwind history of the witch in America and her shared history with sexually liberated women and radical liberationary politics. It’s a bite-sized grimoire than spans centuries, name-checking mythological menaces like Hecate, the Greek goddess of witchcraft, alongside historical heroines such as Joan of Arc and modern day figures such as Malala Yousafzai. There’s also plenty of space for midwives, satanists, sex workers, and the wise brujas holding court at local botánicas. Sollee guides the reader through centuries of mania, magic, and malice. She also unreservedly dives into the thornier political issues of intersectionality, sex workers’ rights, and the unique oppression faced by witches of color. Continue reading...
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