In Defence of Witches: Why women are still on trial

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What do Walt Disney, William Shakespeare and Roald Dahl have in common? Aside from the fact that they're men, or perhaps because of this, they have all created at least one enduring evil witch character. Centuries after the infamous witch hunts that swept through Europe and America, witches continue to hold a unique fascination for many: as fairy tale villains, practitioners of pagan religion, as well as feminist icons. Witches are both the ultimate victim and the stubborn, elusive rebel. But who were the women who were accused and often killed for witchcraft? What types of women have centuries of terror censored, eliminated, and repressed? Elle est ensuite pigiste pour Charlie Hebdo. Mais son contrat est interrompu en 2000 après sa contestation d'un éditorial du directeur de la rédaction Philippe Val, qui qualifiait les Palestiniens de « non-civilisés ». Elle raconte : « Quelques jours après, il m’a convoquée, et il m’a annoncé qu’il arrêtait mon CDI après le mois d’essai, alors que j’étais pigiste depuis un an. Ça m’a sidérée »1. Hotjar sets this cookie to identify a new user’s first session. It stores a true/false value, indicating whether it was the first time Hotjar saw this user. Chollet says it took her half a lifetime to appreciate the degree of misunderstanding within this “magnet for fantasy”; to understand that, before becoming a spark to the imagination, the word “witch” had been “the very worst seal of shame”.

In Defence of Witches by Mona Chollet review — ‘The louder we

m'a donné envie de vieillir avec sérénité, d'avoir un jour peut être des enfants parce que je le veux vraiment, de changer le monde et de me révolter contre les injustices faites aux femmes. Et puis de lire tout plein d'autres livres (la bibliographie est riche et intéressante). This book has single-handedly done more to quell my anxiety regarding the pressure of motherhood than therapy ever has, bless Mona Chollet. As a woman who chose not to have children, Chollet is particularly strong on the prejudice, and the fear, of a society that judges her deficient based on this decision. She quotes other well-known female writers on this topic, among them Elizabeth Gilbert, Rebecca Solnit, Gloria Steinem and Jeanne Safer, the latter eventually coming to the realisation that she "didn't want to have a baby: she 'want[ed] to want' to have a baby". MyHome.ie (Opens in new window) • Top 1000 • The Gloss (Opens in new window) • Recruit Ireland (Opens in new window) • Irish Times Training (Opens in new window) Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.

The truth about witches is far more than that and far less evil and ugly. In today's world, a woman deemed to be too independent, too sure of herself, too aware of her self worth, and just plain solitary are sometimes called "witch", using the term in a most derogatory manner not fitting with the true definition of the word. A journalist who, in the early 1970s, became an ardent defender of women’s rights, Gloria Steinem has always offered her critics a good run for their money. First, her beauty and her many lovers give the lie to the old chestnut that feminist protest only masks the bitterness and frustration of plain Janes whom no man has done the honor of rescuing from the shelf. What’s more, the full and dynamic life Steinem has led and leads today, a whirlwind of travels and new vistas, of activism and writing, of love and friendship, seriously complicates the picture for those who believe a woman’s life means nothing without partnership and motherhood. To a journalist who asked why she wasn’t married, Steinem gave the justly celebrated reply: “I can’t mate in captivity.”

In Defence of Witches: Why Women Are Still On Trial In Defence of Witches: Why Women Are Still On Trial

But this is a minor point in a very interesting take on contemporary feminist politics. In Defence of Witches asks us to really consider how today’s society treats women who are no longer young, fertile or conventionally beautiful, which is to say, judged to be no longer of use. Sarah GilmartinThe Witch is arguably the only female archtupe that has power on its own terms. She is not defined by anyone else.'

In Defence of Witches – Pages of Hackney In Defence of Witches – Pages of Hackney

Chollet’s discussion about the “childless woman” falls perfectly into this category of female power and is unfortunately just as relevant as it was 500 years ago. Women who disrupted the patriarchal structure by forgoing married life or children were viewed with contempt, labelled as witches, and excluded from society. The vehement condemnation of the childless woman seems to be more about the women who dared to take control of their own lives than anything else. What types of women have been censored, eliminated, repressed, over the centuries?Mona Chollet takes three archetypes from historic witch hunts, and examines how far women today have the same charges levelled against them: independent women; women who choose not to have children; and women who reject the idea that to age is a terrible thing.And, in a widely read book from 1967, André Soubiran, a doctor, reflected: “One wonders whether feminine psychology can accommodate freedom and the absence of men’s domination as well as we imagine.”27 Taking three archetypes from historic witch hunts – independent women, women who avoid having children and women who embrace ageing – Chollet examines how women today have the same charges levelled against them. She calls for justice in healthcare, challenging the gender imbalance in science and questioning why female bodies åre still controlled by men.

In Defence of Witches by Mona Chollet, Sophie R Lewis In Defence of Witches by Mona Chollet, Sophie R Lewis

Allows us to understand... the witch hunts of the past influenced the representation of women today.” — Le Monde (France) Here are a few of the “villainous” things women are doing: “loving myself”, “existing unapologetically”, ”self-dates”, “drinking water and exercising”, and “treating others how they treat me”. Whilst it’s great to see women reclaim the villains of old, should we consider it radical for women to simply exist? Should we consider it radical for women to take care of their physical and mental health? Women have been so far removed from both rights and respect that to speak out and exist as individuals, they must first don the guise of a witch. This false renaissance of witches and villains may seem empowering, but it hides a deeper message - that women who put themselves first are villains in today's society, just as they were in the 1500s. The self-label of “villain” shows how deeply ingrained in society and women this notion truly is. It is not just having abortions which makes a woman a witch-like figure - simply existing can sometimes be enough to be labelled a villain. Some of the women labelled witches or villains Edit : je rajoute ma grogne sur l'invisibilisation des sorcières queer que j'ai développé dans les commentairesle rapport de domination qu'il y a encore sur les femmes, avec de belles analogies avec la Terre, et en abordant des sujets comme les violences médicales et des exemples qui retournent l'estomac Celebrated feminist writer Mona Chollet explores three types of women who were accused of witchcraft and persecuted: the independent woman, since widows and celibates were particularly targeted; the childless woman, since the time of the hunts marked the end of tolerance for those who claimed to control their fertility; and the elderly woman, who has always been an object of at best, pity, and at worst, horror. Examining modern society, Chollet concludes that these women continue to be harrassed and oppressed. Rather than being a brief moment in history, the persecution of witches is an example of society’s seemingly eternal misogyny, while women today are direct descendants to those who were hunted down and killed for their thoughts and actions.