>[Camilla Paglia is a mentor for me. I love her intelligent outspoken stand
>on many issues, especially feminism and education. Although she is a
>self-professed libertarian, she seldom brings her politics into her essays
>outright, but states her views on important issues in such a way that her
>ideas ring louder than political phrasings.]
I don't know what Sontag has been up to lately, but I'm completely off of
Camille Paglia, who I used to admire, for three reasons: (1) her refusal to
acknowledge the value of any scientific approach to studying the human
condition, insisting that we take our lessons from literature and
philosophy; (2) her predictable opposition to any attempt to improve or
change the human condition; and (3) her recent attack on Youth Pride and
concurrent denunciation of a five-year youth suicide study. She has indeed
brought her politics to bear in the case of Youth Pride, because her
comments make it obvious that she did not bother to find out any hard facts
about the organization but rather based them on her political opposition to
the gay movement in general.
For a while I thought she provided a refreshing counter to feminism, but,
having read all of her latest writings, I have concluded that she is not
breaking any new ground but rather engaging in attacks on anyone else who
attempts to do so. This, of course, has been the strategy for maintaining
many an academic career.
Kathryn Aegis