The SCUM (Society for Cutting Up Men) manifesto, put bluntly, is hilarious. It’s so outlandishly radical, and the fact that Solanas took her writing seriously makes it even funnier. Solanas was a categorically insane radical feminist who was known for, other than writing the SCUM manifesto, attempting to assassinate Andy Warhol. In summary, her writing details how men are the root of all problems, from war to rape to traumatizing childhoods. There are some contradictions with how she describes the male psyche; for instance, she repeatedly asserts that men deep down know their own worthlessness and want to be women instead, but also claims mens’ overinflated egos and overconfidence in themselves is what leads to violence. I know it’s sexist to say this to a woman, but make no mistake, Solanas had some serious daddy issues, and they likely left her traumatized and inspired her hatred and dehumanization of the male gender. While one might consider her so radically “progressive” that she fell off the deep end, her homophobia towards gay men and general transphobia point to a more radically conservative side of her views. During her time, transphobia was much more common in feminist spaces, and though feminism is more intersectional today, there are sects of TERFs, or “trans-exclusionary radical feminists” who echo these harmful views. To be honest, I think some of those people should read Solanas’ manifesto to learn where their ideology stems from and reflect on how stupid they look.
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