Andrea Dworkin: Dead at 58

I heard that Andrea Dworkin died via the radio in the car as we were driving home from a concert. I only heard her speak once in person and the image I still hold of her in mind is still intense. Andrea dressed in cutoff blue coverall and boots, heavyset, her hair long and curly standing in an open space next to Sisterhood Bookstore in WestWood. She attracted a big crowd. She said what no other women I knew had the guts to say. She spoke the truth about male violence against women and she made you feel the enormity of what women have suffered and saw squarely the connection between our miseries and the culture of pornography that men had created for their own selfish benefit.

Some people even some feminists say Andrea went too far, fighting for a cause that crossed over the line of free speech and a free press. I found myself standing on both sides during the heat of the battle. It was strange but I felt both sides were right and both were wrong. In the end, the louder voices which always do seem to win made Andrea and her friends like Catharine MacKinnon and Pauline Bart seem smaller and less powerful in their struggle against pornography and sadomasochism. As I sit here wondering, maybe if we had listened to Andrea and not fallen somewhere in the middle or on the free speech side we wouldn't be here thinking feminism was dead. Andrea, your voice was clear and strong but hard to hear. Some won't miss you but the soft voice inside me was glad you were here. Your voice, Your position will rise again.