Lillian Fishman: “Policy has overrestricted sexuality in recent years”

“I saved hundreds of nude photos on my phone but never sent them to anyone.” that’s how it starts goodness (Reservois Books), Lillian Fishman’s first and explosive novel (New York, 1994). Eve, a 30-year-old lesbian with a “stunning” body occupied by “a sense of urgency and disuse” this will post one of those nudes on the internet and an addictive relationship with a strong and dominant man and his submissive lover. The hidden triangle of high erotic thriller that raises many questions about desire, power, sex and feminism.

novel full extreme outdoor scenesis a violent hymn to sexual libertarianism (Fishman is a fan of Eve Babitz and Annie Ernaux and shows it), and its author is well aware of how provocative his argument, which seems to come from a fantasy devised by the fiercest heteropatriarchy: ah, a man-dominated A lesbian who dumped her girlfriend for a threesome. In the novel, the main character, Eve, turns into a sensual triangle again and again, although she is dependent on herself. hang up it makes him feel offended, slave and criminal because she is not a good feminist.

“I always wanted to talk about something disturbing that I perceived in the environment, and what most people avoid talking about: how patriarchal culture has a very powerful effect on everyone, no matter how much we criticize it on an intellectual level.Fishman explains. “We can talk about all these values ​​we want to live by, but that doesn’t remove the enormous weight that history and culture continue to hold. It is something that affects the public and the most private.”

The novel is, in a way, a response to a fundamental idea that permeated Fishman’s entire education and marked his generation in a special way, entering the midst of the MeToo boom and into the fourth wave and twenties. . Feminist in complete burning. “Eve dislikes anything that represents heterosexuality. and especially the kind of guy that Nathan is. But society placed a charm on him. And it doesn’t magically disappear just because the politics of the moment criticizes it.. That’s why he feels deeply uncomfortable with his own sexuality,” the author writes.

Decades ago, Gloria Steinem had said, “You have to eroticize equality,” something Fishman wasn’t quite compatible with. “I am one of those who think that power inequality is a tremendous erotic power. Sex is a unique space, a place where a very special freedom occurs. There are very few situations with a similar level of sincerity and provocation. Therefore, the rules of sex are different from the rules of social life”.

Like most women of her generation, the protagonist grew up accepting her gender as something women should do and whenever they wanted, and sexual freedom as a feminist pillar. However, when exercising, it feels entrenched. “It’s an ideological trap like I would have had to face 50 years ago, but the other way around.” Fishman revolves around this idea throughout the novel without reaching a definitive conclusion. “We live in a world We believe that casual sex can be great for anyone, It is one of the greatest achievements of the second feminist wave. But Consent to a relationship doesn’t mean it can’t hurt you. It is assumed that only things that go against our will can harm us, and vice versa, whatever we want will do us good, and this is not true. What you want can also harm you.

they are politically incorrect

The truth is that at a time when public speaking more than ever revolves around what sexual relations should be like, what is acceptable and what is acceptable, and consent, there are few writers—almost all too young—who have chosen to research fictions. power dynamics, encounters and obsessions that have been radically removed from what is politically correct. An example ‘Brillo’ (Blackie Books), Raven Leilani’s harrowing debut (1990). Critically acclaimed as one of the best debuts of the past year (even Barack Obama put it on his celebrity reading list), novel stars a young black woman living badly like rider She is in the worst precariousness in New York until she starts a relationship with a white, married, upper middle class man. Whose house will he move in with his wife and his adopted daughter, a 12-year-old black girl? With the high-tension erotic and occasionally masochistic event, the brutal inequality between two lovers (at all levels: gender, race, economic and social) in ‘Brillo’ is the erotic engine of an ultra-problematic relationship.

Something similar was suggested by Emma Cline in stories collected in ‘Papi’. (Anagram) parades between stories full of stories, with middle-aged men displaced in a post-MeToo world and young women thirsting for male approval in nearly all the lead roles. clouded desire and self-destructive urges. A theme that will sound all too familiar to fans. Ottesa MoshfegAnother of those young writers who, since ‘My year of rest and relaxation’ (Alfaguara), has not ceased to portray miserable and human depravity in their books.

sex and politics

For the fisherman, It’s no coincidence that many young writers like him are writing about the dark side of sex in a time like today.. “In every cultural period, there is a gap between the feelings, emotions and desires of people and the politics of the moment. Literature and art are also safe places to talk about it,” he explains. “If many of us write about exactly this, it’s because we live in a time when what is sexually acceptable is very limited“she thinks.”Politics has severely restricted sexuality in recent years. For good reason, they were designed first and foremost to protect women. But this political tightness is the opposite of the erotic. And people’s sex lives will always rebel against this narrowness, no matter who it is for protection.”

When ‘Favors’ was released, nearly all of Fishman’s friends commented:What a provocation! People will be offended!”. But the truth is that no such discussion ever took place. “There’s a feeling we’re living in conservative times,” Fishman says. “But on a personal level, most people are very open.”

Source: Informacion

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