Witches, Sluts, Feminists

Conjuring the Sex Positive

Exposing how "witch" and "slut" are used to police female sexuality, the author rehabilitates these sex positive archetypes.

Witch, Slut, Feminist: these contested identities are informing millennial women as they counter a tortuous history of misogyny with empowerment. This innovative primer highlights sexual liberation as it traces the lineage of "witch feminism" through art, film, music, fashion, literature, technology, religion, pop culture, and politics. Juxtaposing scholarly research on the demonisation of women and female sexuality that has continued since the witch hunts of the early modern era with pop occulture analyses and interviews with activists, artists, scholars, and practitioners of witchcraft, this book addresses and illuminates contemporary conversations about reproductive rights, sexual pleasure, queer identity, pornography, sex work, and more. Author Kristen J. Sollee elucidates the ways in which women have been persecuted for their perceived connection with witchcraft, and how they have fought back, harnessing the legacy of the witch for revolutionary means.

About the Author 
Kristen J. Sollee teaches undergraduate gender studies courses at The New School and is the founding editrix of Slutist, an award-winning sex positive feminist website. Her popular Legacy of the Witch charity festival in Brooklyn honors the witch as an icon of female power and persecution through music, art and burlesque.

Published
2017