This is a delightfully shameless plug — nay, rave! — for a fantastic critique of Hakim’s approach to feminism, her book, Honey Money, combined with an analysis of a talk the academic gave the other day at The Watershed venue in Bristol. The article is by @MadamJMo and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did. @MadamJMo is a Bristol-based feminist, magazine editor and activist — and clearly she’s impressive on all those bases.

Not only is her article thorough in its research, but also her clinical, scrupulous attention to detail of the event, the way Hakim engaged her audience (or, rather, didn’t); the author’s comments about her book and the questions made and answers given, make it well worth the read.  @MadamJMo understands, unlike Hakim, that to deconstruct an opponent’s argument properly, you have to pay both close attention and have great analytical appreciation of the event.  The insight into subtext and counterpoint of views are impressive and we are shown what hides behind the Wizard of Oz’s curtain: a deeply ingrained antifeminist, contradictory with a frankly bizarre, incomprehensible and spurious perspective.  Sadly, this review confirms what I suspected: that Hakim herself seems to delight in disparagement of the female, while excusing the male (for his high sex drive, poor thing). Yes, she subjects the object woman — for that, it seems, is what ‘woman’ is to Hakim — a bauble, a man’s plaything to enjoy at his behest; the proverbial spare rib from Adam’s cage — to her patriarchal-forgiving-excusing gaze.  Insufferable. Do, please, take five minutes out this weekend to read it and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. Ah, what the heck: I mean, it’s bloody marvellous! 

Be prepared to be impressed, because here’s the link:  http://bit.ly/pLdBZD

PS – BTW – Hakim’s advocacy of a certain type of behaviour by the woman towards the man essentially strike me as boiling down to doing what the wonderfully delightful Amy Sedaris did on Jimmy Fallon’s Late Night Talk Show on 30th August 2011. (The article is worth reading, too, but I bring readers’ attention to the nbc.com embedded video and around 2 minutes in you soon begin to get the picture of what erotic capital is all about.)  I suspect not even Hakim’s prepared to go that far with her male professorial colleagues — is she? No, presumably, so why on earth should other women flirt themselves like doped up barbie dolls to satisfy certain men’s sexist gaze? http://lat.ms/amyinaction.  It’s a fantastic video. Have a gander and a lovely weekend.