speaking of! I finished Reading Lolita in Tehran which spent very little time on Lolita, actually, splitting the book into four parts: lolita (as exemplifying totalitarian state), The Great Gatsby (exemplifying the exultation of capitalism and largely covers the revolution), Henry James (covers the war), and Jane Austen (covers the post-war regrets of those who'd supported the revolution only to find they'd ushered in the hard-liners). I have some criticisms of the book -- there's some repetition; she indulges in what Azadeh Moaveni calls the "not without my daughter" sentimentality at times, but you can hardly fault her for that. Moaveni never knew an Iran different than what she knows now. Nafisi knows an Iran without forced veiling. she knows of an Iran where women were not considered worth half a man. She knows of an Iran that once treated women relatively decently. She knows of an Iran that embraced a secular state and yet was "religious". So, it stands to reason that she's a little "bitter".
I then read (and laughed my ass off all the way through) Sarah Katherine Lewis's Indecent: How I Make It and Fake It as a Girl for Hire. Message:
1. Men who frequent sex workers are filthy disgusting pigs who don't feel it's necessary to wipe their ass before they visit a jack shack. Het men do a lot of licking and sucking of other men's ejaculate, which is the only reason they need women: legitimation of the act. :)
Sex work is wonderful (for Lewis), exhibiting a female solidarity Lewis finds nowhere else, something she'd never choose not to do had she to live here life over. *And* it is also Teh Suckage (tm), contributing to the dehumanization of human sexuality by turning men into wallets and women into body parts, each preying on the other. And yet Lewis participates in the industry and perpetuates the problem, not because she has to, but because she wants to. Excellent book, though I thought she could have stopped 3/4 of the way through without losing too much. Though, damn, I don't know if I could have done without her tales of The Relaters (tm) or the story of dancing in New Orleans. Oh well, toss up.
Also read about 1/5 of the Foucault and Post-Foucauldian inspired book, Welfare Refrom and Sexual Regulation by Anna Marie Smith. Smith is exploring Foucault's concept of biopower and swarming via a study of the contemporary "welfare state" under neo-liberalism. She shows the benefits and limitations of Foucault's approach and explores "post-Foucauldians" which I was finding interesting b/c I hadn't read about them. She has a critique of Hardt and Negri I've been meaning to post here and ask about.
I put that down to read Lewis and Shirin Ebadi's book, Iran Awakening, which arrived in the mail. She's the feminist attorney who'd been a judge in the 70s, but was kicked out along with all the other women as women in Iran saw their rights and status erode under the Islamic Republic's constitution. She was the attorney who represented the family of the slain reformists, as well as others. In her research, uncovering the state murders of dissidents, she learns that she'd been on their hit list.
I have an extra copy of Reading Lolita in Tehran for anyone who asks! I will even breath heavily on the book before shipping! I can leave coffee rings on the cover, too! :)