While reading The SCUM Manifesto by Valerie Solanas I found many of her ideas strange because she talks about men in a very negative way. I understand that she is criticizing how women are treated in society. I was surprised by how she blames almost every problem on men. On page 1 she says that “To be male is to be deficient emotionally limited” . I found this interesting because of criticizing specific behaviors she makes it sound like all men are the same. I think this makes her argument difficult to agree with even when she brings up problems that are important.
Another thing that caught my attention was her opinion about money and work. Solanas believes that society would be better if money disappeared and machines did most of the work. On page 2 she writes that “There is no reason for money or for anyone to work more than two or three hours a week at the very most” . I found this idea interesting because work and money are such a part of everyday life that it is strange to imagine a society without them. At the time I think she makes everything sound too simple as if removing money and changing society would automatically solve its problems.
Overall I think The SCUM Manifesto is an extreme text. I can understand that Solanas wanted to criticize the way society treated women. I do not agree with the way she generalizes an entire group of people. What stood out to me most was how she goes from criticizing society to suggesting that almost everything, about it needs to be destroyed. It made me think about how anger can make someone see the world in a different way. For me the book is interesting to read because it makes arguments but it also makes me question whether the solutions she proposes would actually make society better.