SCUM Manifesto

Valerie Solanas was a radical feminist and a Lesbian. She had very specific ideas about society, culture, the gender programming between the sexes and Andy Warhol. She shot Andy after she wrote the Manifesto. But in many ways he was a contributor to her philosophy and that of the Society For Cutting Up Men. (S.C.U.M.) Valerie shot Andy Warhol in 1968. She died 20 years later of emphysema and pneumonia in the Bristol Hotel in San Francisco California. She was 52 years old. Troubled as she was she possessed a keen insight into the human condition. Especially responsible for this impression on her personal experience was Men. Humans are essentially selfish, self-absorbed and vicious. Valerie knew that first hand. Had she been tested I have no doubt she would have registered a genius IQ. As it is many see her as having died as a worthless indigent junkie Dyke.While nothing could be further from the real truth. Valerie was rich in the human experience. She was keen to the tricks of the trade in human politics and social conscience. And she shot Andy Warhol because he deserved it and so as to make them both famous in that immortal meeting between the minds of two spirits that saw this world as something more and far less than the plastic bloated facade that lives to this day thinking itself an example of civil~ization. Rest in Peace Valerie. And thank you for the wisdom, page after page. (Yes dear reader you have to look deeper to see past the scum.)

I realize there are a lot of negative things that can be said about Valerie Solanus and her harmful actions and results. Judging this work as a piece of writing, I believe it is excellent. This was an individual who wrote plays and fiction and aspired to be a writer. It would surprise me if she expected everything in this book to be taken at face value as her clear and honest opinion on men, women and society. I think more likely, it is written as hyperbole to illustrate a point and to remain vivid and interesting, exaggerating in order for more subtle points to flourish. I see this as a funny, utopian essay about how things could be. It is science fictionesque and I don't believe it's outdated. Her attack on the male species had me laughing and quite a bit of it made sense in a way I hadn't thought before. Her very complex reversal of the male mindset and the female mindset and the reversal of the good and bad qualities based on male agendas from ages ago was stunning. None of this means I agree with her, but if you want 50 pages of a fascinating study of the male psyche (part humorous, part scientific, part poetic, part rant) this is definitely worth an afternoon of reflecting and examining and enjoying.

Honestly, this book is hilarious and I enjoy sending excerpts to my male friends. I first learned of Valerie on American Horror Story and thought she was a made up character. I found her so interesting that I googled just to be sure and when I found out I could actually read her manifesto, I ordered it immediately. I have no regrets.

I was using this for research on a short story I was writing. It did have some interesting takes and was an interesting read.

A great book by a great thinker, a real inspiration in my life since i read it in middle school, and im a guy! And what the hell was this book doing in my middle school library anyway, thats crazy! Must have been some cool librarian slipped it in there to see what would happen.

man haters unite! this gal has issues---as entertaining as it is a book to ponder...

Ronell bored me to death and I put it down for a two months and picked it up last night. Just totally skipped the introduction by Ronell and a suggest you do to. The SCUM Manifesto. Society for Cutting Up Men (S-C-U-M). Before we begin the review it is necessary to say a word about its author Valerie Solanas. She was a product of the social upheavel of the 1960's. Radical to say the least, but more on that later. Solanas is the woman who shot Andy Warhol. Before she shot Warhol, she wrote and produced a few plays parroting her feminist views. Advocating militancy and finally becoming militant, Solanas ensured her place in popculture history even if only as a footnote. Solanas wastes no time in cutting up men. In the second paragraph she lays the basis for her arguement: men are incomplete women. "The male is a biological accident: the Y (male) gene is an imcomplete X (female) gene, that is, it has an incomplete set of chromosones. In other words, the male is an incomplete female, a walking abortion, aborted at the gene stage. To be male is to be deficient..." Okay, so far so good. The premise has be laid down, now to see where Solanas goes with it. Unfortunately from here on it falls apart logically and leaves all sanity behind. Solanas' critique on her world in 1967 is one of oppression where morality is manifested as being under the heel of man socially and economically. In response to this perception, she states that all women must become SCUM (Society for Cuttin Up Men). The SCUM must abolish the money/work system, begin total automation, and kill all men. "Just as humans have a prior right to existence over dogs by virtue of being more highly evolved and having a superior consciousness, so women have a prior right to exist over men. The elimination of any male is, therefore, a righteous and good act, an highly beneficial to women as well as an act of mercy." Government, religion, and "great" culture are all institutions that keep women in their place, and therefore, should be destroyed as well. Solanas goes on to say that science is on the pawn of the industrial complex a.k.a making money and rarely benefits womankind. According to Solanas science could eradicate all disease and even aging itself in a few short weeks if it was motivated. As I read deeper into the manifesto, it was clear she was angry at everything male which she percieved as oppressive to women and ultimately herself. She paints men as animals, when infact, she proposed a savage new world. An alternatvie with no men in the world to clear up the problems she saw at the heel of man. An interesting read as a whole, but only as an exercise in curiousity. The SCUM Manifesto was written in all seriousness by Solanas, but cannot be taken seriously. It should be read as a cautionary tale to sleep in the back of your mind. Only coming to the surface when you hear or see some radical militant spewing their rhetoric. To anyone who advocates anarchy, ask yourself are you really serious...

Absolutely wonderful!! A must read for EVERY woman!!

a piece of radical feminist art, outstanding language.

L'ho letto e riletto in formato digitale, in italiano e in originale, ma ho sempre voluto la copia fisica e le edizioni Verso sono sempre curate dal punto di vista qualitativo ed estetico. Copertina meravigliosa, peccato per il "blurb" del Guardian davanti che a mio parere poteva essere omesso - ma non apprezzo mai quando di un libro si aggiungono degli stralci di recensioni in copertina. Il volume nonostante piccolo è molto solido e di sicuro non cadrà a pezzi come succede spesso con varie edizioni economiche. Valerie Solanas fu un genio incompreso, per fortuna la sua eredità letteraria viene protetta da case editrici che le rendono giustizia. In Italia purtroppo la pubblica una CE di dubbia (a dir poco) qualità, ma poco male, per fortuna Amazon permette di acquistare i volumi Verso senza i prezzi di spedizione esorbitanti (grazie, Brexit).

A ce prix là, rien à redire. Livraison rapide. ATTENTION : Livre en anglais

Excellent if deranged. A lot of Solanas' observations are gender-oriented reframing of materials found in most undergraduate psychology courses. However, some of her wackier future observations, like seemingly predicting the streaming phenomenon (that men should be allowed to follow women on camera as they go about their day in the future utopia/dystopia) are genuinely interesting. Be warned, there is a slightly genocidal tinge aimed at men (although I found this comical in its extremity, if you're into that). On a more mundane note, you can skip the introduction, and the manifesto itself is only around 40 pages long. The book is a decent quality print, with minimal errors.

Great book. In great condition. Will order from here again.