''Free Women, Free Men: Sex, Gender, Feminism'' is a 2017 essay collection by American academic and cultural critic

Camille Paglia Camille Anna Paglia (; born April 2, 1947) is an American feminist academic and social critic. Paglia has been a professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, since 1984. She is critical of many aspects of modern cultu ...

. Comprising previously published essays, the book's central principles, according to Paglia, are "free thought and free speech—open, mobile, and unconstrained by either liberal or conservative ideology"; she argues for an "enlightened feminism, animated by a courageous code of personal responsibility".

Reception

Dwight Garner of ''

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'' felt that, though the collection has moments where "she's a fearless public intellectual and more necessary than ever", ''Free Women, Free Men'' " isplaysher worst qualities". While praising Paglia's arguments as "incisive and worth tangling with", he found her vain and criticized the book as repetitive, opining that reading it "is like being stranded in a bar where the jukebox has only two songs, both by

Pat Benatar Patricia Mae Giraldo ('' née'' Andrzejewski, formerly Benatar; born January 10, 1953), known professionally as Pat Benatar, is an American rock singer and songwriter. In the United States, she has had two multi-platinum albums, five platinum al ...

." In '' Kirkus Reviews'', it was stated of the essays that "to read a few is to read them all". In ''

The Province ''The Province'' is a daily newspaper published in tabloid format in British Columbia by Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, alongside the '' Vancouver Sun'' broadsheet newspaper. Together, they are British Columbia's on ...

'', Mark Abbott argued that although Paglia's views can be inflammatory, she "genuinely cares about the current state of education". Abbott also called the book "timely" and stated that it "serves as a good introductory text to Paglia 101". ''

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'' included the book in their list of "27 Nonfiction Books By Women Everyone Should Read This Year", stating that "at times infuriating, at times glittering, Paglia's prose is always biting and relentless."

References

{{reflist

External links

Presentation by Paglia on ''Free Women, Free Men'', March 20, 2017
C-SPAN 2017 non-fiction books American non-fiction books Books about feminism Books by Camille Paglia English-language books Pantheon Books books